Twenty One Pilots

Rising from Columbus, Ohio on the strength of a sizable grassroots following, Twenty One Pilots cycled through lineups and styles before the core duo of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun made their mainstream breakthrough with their chart-topping fourth effort, 2015's Blurryface. Featuring the Grammy-winning single "Stressed Out" and its follow-up chart hit "Ride," the release was certified multi-platinum and became one of the year's best-selling albums in the world. Their 2018 follow-up, Trench, fared nearly as well, going platinum and peaking at number two. The band enjoyed a couple more chart-topping hits prior to their sixth album, 2021's Scaled and Icy.

Formed in 2009 by high school friends Tyler Joseph, Nick Thomas, and Chris Salih, Twenty One Pilots built an enormous regional following across Ohio and the Midwest, spurred on by constant and energetic touring, shrewd use of interactive social media, and connecting with fans on a grassroots level. The trio self-released their eponymous debut album of rap-infused, high-tech pop in December 2009 before Thomas and Salih left the band in 2011. Frontman Tyler Joseph recruited replacement drummer Josh Dun and Twenty One Pilots continued as a duo. Later that year, second album Regional at Best surfaced, the first with the new lineup.

Expanding their audience with a series of videos made by their friend Mark Eshelman, the band's brand grew and caught the attention of the major labels. In 2012, they signed to Atlantic subsidiary Fueled by Ramen, releasing the Three Songs EP and working with Adele producer Greg Wells on Vessel, their debut album for the label. Vessel was released in January 2013 and featured the platinum singles "Holding on to You," "House of Gold," and "Car Radio."

1. All four members, past and present of Twenty One Pilots are from Columbus, Ohio. Friends from the beginning created the unique sound that has drawn so many fans to them and blazing rise to the tops of the charts.
2. They were started in 2009 by Tyler Joseph, Nick Thomas, and Chris Salih. The trio garnered notice from the public from the start, but changes in their lineup brought about a new invigorating product that the public and record companies were hungry for.
3. Thomas and Salih left the group in 2011, as they didn’t have time to commit to the band. They were replaced by drummer Josh Dun later that year.
4. They started as a self-releasing band of their songs but got the attention of about a dozen top record labels during a sold-out performance at the Columbus’ Newport Music Hall in November 2011.
5. They’re signed by Fueled by Ramen, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records since 2012.
6. Twenty One Pilots didn’t have a major hit until their fourth album, Blurryface in May of 2015. Their first single from the album is called ‘Fairly Local’.
7. They’re the first alternative group to have two top ten singles run concurrently in the US in 2015, ‘Stressed Out’ and ‘Ride’ from the album Blurryface from the same year.
8. They performed the song ‘Heathens’ for the 2016 blockbuster anti-superhero flick, Suicide Squad.
9. Their band name comes from the play, All My Sons by Arthur Miller. The play focuses on a man who is responsible for the deaths of 21 pilots whose planes had faulty parts he’d sold.
10. In 2011, drummer Josh Dun signed on with Twenty One Pilots, after being the live drummer for the band ‘House of Heroes’.
11. Their second album, Regional At Best was released as a free CD at the New Albany High School in Columbus, Ohio in 2011.
12. The band once gave away two free unreleased songs in 2011 via their website’s newsletter. The songs are ‘House of Gold’ and ‘Two’.
13. The band actually worked with Greg Wells, the producer of such superstar artists like Katy Perry and Adele, on their first full-length album with Fueled by Ramen, ‘Vessel’. That album was released on January 8, 2013, reaching an ironic 21 on the Billboard 200 chart.
14. Twenty One Pilots is one of only three musical acts to have two singles appear simultaneously in the top five of the Billboard Hot 100.
15. Their fan base is known as the Skeleton Clique.