Twenty One Pilots

Twenty One Pilots (stylized as twenty one pilots or twenty øne piløts) is an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. The band was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who left in 2011. The current line-up is Joseph and drummer Josh Dun.

They put out two self-released albums, Twenty One Pilots in 2009 and Regional at Best in 2011, before being signed by Fueled by Ramen in 2012. Their label debut, Vessel, was released in 2013. The duo achieved breakthrough success with their fourth album, Blurryface (2015), which produced the successful singles “Stressed Out” and “Ride”. In addition, the single “Heathens”, recorded for the soundtrack of the film Suicide Squad, made the group the first alternative artist to have two concurrent top ten singles in the United States. The duo’s fifth studio album, Trench, was released on October 5, 2018. They have won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

According to the band, Twenty One Pilots’ purpose for making music is “to make people think”, as well as encourage them to find joy in what they come to believe in life. Joseph came up with the band’s name while studying All My Sons by Arthur Miller, a play about a man whose decision, sending out faulty airplane parts for the good of his business and family, has caused the death of twenty-one pilots during World War II. Joseph explains that the story’s themes of moral dilemma and choosing between the easy and the right decision inspired the name and formation of the band. “Bicycle Thief” and “Chill Coat” were among some of the rejected band names.

Twenty One Pilots’ typeface logo as of 2018
The band’s name was originally stylized as “twenty | one | pilots” on their earlier cover art; however, by the time of their second album, Regional at Best, the formatting was changed to “twenty øne piløts” with a diagonal line through the Os.

Genres: International Rock, Pop Rock, Alternative Rock, Rap Metal