"Stressed Out" is a song written and recorded by American musical duoTwenty One Pilots. Produced byMike Elizondo and recorded at studios inLos Angeles andLondon, it was released as apromotional single from their fourth studio album,Blurryface (2015), on April 28, 2015, throughFueled by Ramen. The song later impacted UScontemporary hit radio as the album's fourth official single on November 10. Elizondo initially took issue with the nature of the song's lyrical content, but relaxed after lead vocalist and songwriterTyler Joseph explained the larger album concept.
"Stressed Out" is a midtempoalternative hip hop,alternative rock andrap rock song with elements ofpsychedelic music. The track is built fromsynths and aCaribbean-style keyboard line alongside rapping vocals by Joseph. Lyrically, it addresses the end ofadolescence, touching on insecurities andmillennial angst while also discussing life challenges. Throughout the song, Joseph personifies the album's titular character, Blurryface, whose self-deprecating lyrics express self-doubt and anxiety, stressing over personal issues ranging from his music to the idea of becoming an adult.
An accompanyingmusic video was directed by Mark Eshleman and primarily filmed at drummerJosh Dun's home inColumbus, Ohio. It features a mixture ofsurreal visuals andexistential scenes while portraying the duo ridingtricycles for a playdate and attempting to relive their childhood. In the video, black paint can be seen on the neck and hands of Joseph, referencing the character Blurryface.
Upon its release, "Stressed Out" received favorable reviews from contemporary music critics. The song was asleeper hit, peaking at number two on the USBillboard Hot 100, giving the duo their first top ten hit in the US. The song topped the USBillboardHot Rock Songs for a record 23 weeks. It also peaked at number one on theBillboardAdult Top 40,Rock Airplay, andMainstream Top 40. It also led Twenty One Pilots to become the first rock act to have a song reach a billionstreams onSpotify. "Stressed Out" wascertified13× platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over thirteen million copies. The song reached the top five on charts in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, and Switzerland. At the59th Annual Grammy Awards, "Stressed Out" was nominated forRecord of the Year andBest Pop Duo/Group Performance, winning the latter.
"Stressed Out" is a focal point for the thematic elements of the duo's second major-label studio album,Blurryface (2015), acting as an introduction to the "Blurryface".[1][2][3] It was written byTyler Joseph from the perspective of the character Blurryface rather than an impersonalthird-person narrator.[3] Blurryface appears as thealter-ego of Joseph, "a monster-image of his insecurities and self-hatreds", and on "Stressed Out" Joseph attempts to defeat it.[2] In an interview withMTV News, Joseph elaborated on the Blurryface, saying "it's a guy that kind of represents all the things that I as an individual — but also everyone around me — am insecure about. When I think about insecurities and my insecurities are getting the best of me, the things that I think of are kind of a feeling of suffocation and then also the things that I create with my hands... Very dramatic, I know, but it helps me get into that character".[4]
"Stressed Out" was produced byMike Elizondo and recorded at Can Am in Los Angeles, California and at Livingston Studios in London, England.[5] The track was thenmixed at the Casita in Hollywood, California.[6] During its recording, Elizondo had but one grievance in regards to the song.[3] Speaking with front-man and principal songwriter Tyler Joseph, he opined that to the average listener, its lyrical content would come off asesoteric. Elizondo recalled: "So I had a good conversation with him trying to say, 'Hey, maybe you should change that; it's a great melody, it's a big hook of the song, but I just don't know what it means."[3] He soon relaxed on the issue after Joseph provided an explanation of the larger album concept.[3]
Opening with its drumbeat, the linear musical arrangement is structured around thephrase "my name's Blurryface and I care what you think."[9][13] The track is built from wobblysynths, aCaribbean style keyboard line and rapped vocals by Tyler Joseph.[14] The song is punctuated by brief bursts ofstring section and synths as well as eerie,theremin-like sounds that underscore his vocals.[3] During its verses, Joseph recites deceptively simple lyrics atop the track'searworm beat.[15] Joseph's rapping has him deliveringconfessional lines in a conversational tone.[3] Following its refrain, the eerie melody precedes the second verse.[14] The musical composition hasdownbeat atmosphere, with lyrical content focusing on personal themes.[14]
Lyrically, "Stressed Out" follows a one-linerhyme scheme pattern[3] and tells a story about the harsh end ofadolescence, touching on Tyler Joseph's aging anxiety and his experience with making music.[8][1] Tyler Joseph was in his mid-20s at the time of the single's release,[3] performing a nostalgic "ode to the innocence ofchildhood" with lyrics speaking on the adolescent insecurity, transition from adolescence toadulthood,[5][16] andmillennialangst.[17][18] He is speaking as a member of millennial generation "drowning incollege loandebt" and sharing their anxieties while feigning apathy and yearningpeer acceptance all oversocial media.[3]
Throughout the track, Josephpersonifies the parent album's titular character, "Blurryface",[4] singing in the song'spre-chorus, "my name's Blurryface and I care what you think".[2] He is a character within a story who represents Joseph's self-doubt and insecurities.[1] Blurryface's insecurities lie in the idea of growing up and becoming an adult[4] and the desire to return to "the good old days" and thetree houses of their carefree youth.[3][19] His voice pines for a time prior to stress of reality, such as student loans and the pressure to get a job and find success.[3] During the chorus, Joseph chants, "wish we could turn back time / to thegood old days / when our mama sang us to sleep / but now we're stressed out."[20] The song closes with an outro where external voices suggest the need to wake up because they need to make money.[3][21]
"At the time I heard the song, I had no idea what Blurryface was, and I was kind of scratching my head going, 'Dude, uh, what's Blurryface?'"[3]
For a time, record producerMike Elizondo was worried Joseph's specificity would limit the single's reception among the larger populace.[3] In retrospect, Elizondo said: "We can all kind of relate to wanting to have more of those simpler days. I think he nailed it; though the lyrical content is very specific to him, the listener is able to impose their own story onto it. That type of feeling will never go away."[3]
"Stressed Out" debuted at number 87 on the USBillboard Hot 100 on the chart dated May 16, 2015.[28] The song later rose from number 45 to number 28 on the chart dated December 17, 2015, giving Twenty One Pilots their first top 40 hit in the United States.[29] Although it was released in 2015, "Stressed Out" did not truly take off and gradually find widespread breakthrough success until the following year.[15] On the chart dated January 16, 2016, "Stressed Out" rose from number 13 to number nine, giving the group their first top-10 hit in the US.[30] A month later, the song rose from number four and reached its peak of number two, being blocked from reaching number one by Canadian singer Justin Bieber's 2015 single "Love Yourself".[31] At the time, Twenty One Pilots earned three top-10 hits: "Stressed Out", "Ride", and "Heathens", joining American electronic DJ and production duoThe Chainsmokers as the only ones to have three or more top-10 hits on the Hot 100 in 2016.[32] It ranked number five on the 2016 Hot 100 year-end list.[33]
"Stressed Out" debuted at number one on theBillboardHot Rock Songs chart, giving Twenty One Pilots their first number one hit on the chart.[34] The song spent a record 23 weeks at number one on the Hot Rock Songs.[32][35] It also peaked at number one on theBillboardairplay charts:Adult Top 40,[36]Rock Airplay,[37]Mainstream Top 40,[38] andAlternative Airplay.[39] In September 2023, for the 35th anniversary of the latter chart,[40]Billboard ranked "Stressed Out" at number 85 on its list of the 100 most successful songs in the chart's history.[41] On April 30, 2021, the single was certified 13× platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting track-equivalent sales of 10,000,000 units in the US based on sales and streams.[42][43] In March 2021, years after "Stressed Out" was released, it peaked at number 182 on theBillboard Global 200.[44] The song peaked at number one in record charts of Russia and Mexico.[45][46] It peaked within the top five in Australia,[47] Austria,[48] the Belgium Flanders chart,[49] Canada,[50] Czech Republic,[51] Ecuador,[52] France,[53] Germany,[54] Ireland,[55] Israel,[56] the Netherlands,[57] New Zealand,[58] Portugal,[59] Slovakia,[60] and Switzerland.[61] According to theInternational Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), "Stressed Out" was the tenth best-performing single of 2016, with 9.9 million units combined sales and track-equivalent streams worldwide.[62]
Forbes called "Stressed Out" as an anthem for a millennial generation of a young man who has been discovering in mid 2010s that life as an adult is plagued with issues.[63][19] Philip Cosores and the staff ofConsequence mentioned the song "resonates with listeners, as the two sing about 'the good 'ol days' before the stress of reality set in".[64] Writing forThe Salt Lake Tribune, Sean P. Means felt that the song is "nostalgia-tinged".[65] Andja Curcic ofRenowned for Sound commented that it "places an importance on lyrics that look at the transition from adolescence to adulthood".[66] In her review forThe New York Times, Caryn Ganz considered the song an "anxiety anthem" and mentioned it is known for its "sing-songy chorus".[67]
Jia Tolentino ofThe New Yorker stated the song's chorus is as "bright as its minor key will allow".[68] Randy Holmes forABC News Radio described the track as a "multi-genre breakout hit",[69] while Madison Desler of theOrange County Register called it a "monster hit".[70] Rachel Aroesti, writing forThe Guardian, said "Stressed Out" is a "mode that is both evergreen and all the rage".[71]Tampa Bay Times' Jay Cridlin lauded it as an "arena-shaking hit".[72]The Oregonian reviewer Troy L. Smith felt that the song hit a "radio-friendly sweet spot".[73] Molly Lambert ofMTV wrote that the song "has a haunted, music-hall feeling, and a slightly embarrassing but highly effective earnestness in its longing for a romanticized, innocent past". She continued, saying it "genuinely stressed me out at first, with its herky-jerk from the verses into the chorus, but I eventually found myself constantly sing-saying 'My name's Blurryface and I care what you think' under my breath in all kinds of situations".[74] The staff ofLoudwire said that while they were listening to the song's lyrics, it was "not hard to see why the song has resonated with so many music fans".[75] Critic Cole Waterman ofSpectrum Culture called "Stressed Out" one of the album's best songs.[76]
In mixed to negative reviews:The Sydney Morning Herald critic George Palathingal deemed the song as "catchy", and "essentially inoffensive".[77] Chris Deville ofStereogum saw it as the "probably the most linear" song the group has made, and said it still manages to mergeSublime,Portishead, andASAP Rocky.[13]Slate's Carl Wilson criticized the song, stating the song's refrain is "menacingly flat and paranoiacally self-conscious in affect".[2] Larry Fitzmaurice ofVulture opined the track is "arguably the most noxious quality of Twenty One Pilots' sound—front and center".[78] Peter Sblendorio fromNew York Daily News considered the song to be a "radio staple".[79]
Retrospectively, critics have considered "Stressed Out" one of Twenty One Pilots' best songs. Jason Pettigrew ofAlternative Press called it a "diamond" and stated "Gen X boredom gives way to exasperated millennial neurosis" during the track.[80] Bryony Symes fromLouder Sound opined that "Stressed Out" is the group's best song to date and that the "kind of complex melody, with its slew of catchy hooks, that will get caught in a loop in your head, and have you humming along for hours after you've heard it".[81] Writing forCleveland.com, Anne Nickoloff and Troy Smith mentioned it was "going to be a hit right from the opening beat" and that it is as "pure of a rap-rock song the band has written, but its pop sensibility is clear. Even Tyler Joseph's self-deprecating lyrics couldn't slow its momentum".[9]Variety's Chris Willman stated the "mortal concerns" of Twenty One Pilots' 2018 albumTrench makes him feel "a little nostalgic" for some of the "in-your-face youth angst of 'Stressed Out'".[82] Sam Law forKerrang! deemed the track "a pop culture changing of the guard fading the disenfranchisement ofGeneration X into the neuroses of their millennial successors"; he opined it "feels judderingly relevant but also destined to live forever".[15] In 2018,Louder Sound ranked the song number one on their list of the 10 greatest Twenty One Pilots songs,[83] and in 2020,Kerrang ranked the song number three on their list of the 20 greatest Twenty One Pilots songs.[84]
By the time ofBlurryface's release, Twenty One Pilots had been touring for a long time. When it was time to shoot amusic video for "Stressed Out", the group had been feeling homesick from excessive touring. Their creative director, Mark Eshleman, arranged a time for the group to return to their hometown ofColumbus, Ohio to shoot the video and finally be with their loved ones.[93] Most of the video was shot atJosh Dun's childhood home, subsequently making it a destination for fans of the duo to visit. Dun said his parents have since had to cancel theirlandline telephone service in order to stop calls coming in at all hours.[8]
Twenty One Pilots released the video for "Stressed Out" on April 27, 2015,[4][20] and it was directed by Eshleman.[94] The story begins on a partly cloudy day with Joseph pedalling down a street on athree wheeler.[21] Throughout the music video, black paint can be seen on his neck and hands.[4] Joseph arrives at a house and enters a bedroom where Dun is waiting for him.[21] The two perform the song within the mind of the young man who resembles the two save their tattoos and colored hair.[21] At one point, the pair drinkCapri Suns while sitting near a curb.[20] The scene then changes to Joseph and Dun lying in beds as members from their combined families who are dressed in black watch them sleep and all chant "wake up, you need to make money" in unison.[8][20][21]
The video depicts a bleak narrative set in a dreary suburban neighborhood,[63][21] summoning a mixture ofexistential sequences and drawing visual cues from fairy tales such asAlice's Adventures in Wonderland.[21] It follows a theme of the desire to forever remain a child instead of taking a journey into a disorienting environment as adults.[21]
Writing forDiffuser, Michael Haskoor described it as a "perfectly paired visual", and said it is way more "minimalist than their video for the explosive "Tear in My Heart" and seems to fit well with the song's chorus".[20] Courtney E. Smith ofRadio.com compared the visual to Scottish novelistJ. M. Barrie's 1904 playPeter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up,[21] while Brenna Enrlich of MTV News compared it to the works of American rock bandBlink-182 and stated the video is about "growing up and being an adult and whatnot. I think we can all relate to that".[4] Cassie Whitt fromAlternative Press opined it is a "sentiment any recent entrant into adulthood can relate".[63] The video received a nomination for Best Music Video at the 2016Alternative Press Music Awards.[95] It was also nominated for Favorite Music Video at the2017 Kids' Choice Awards.[96][97]
Tyler Joseph wearing black paint on his hands and neck, while performing in New Orleans on October 31, 2014
During the promotion of their forthcoming studio album, Joseph began wearing black paint in every video and live performance promotingBlurryface.[4] Both the lyrics of "Stressed Out" as well as the paint reference the name and titular character of the album.[4][3][14]
"Stressed Out" has since become a fan favorite at live concert venues.[98] Twenty One Pilots performed "Stressed Out" onLate Night with Seth Meyers on September 21, 2015.[99] Twenty One Pilots performed "Stressed Out" on their 2016Emotional Roadshow World Tour in Ohio, with Joseph altering the lyrics of the first verse, which characterized the song as "overplayed, overstayed".[100] Twenty One Pilots performed the song during a concert at the UNSW Roundhouse in Sydney, Australia on April 20, 2016.[98]
^Tyler, Joseph; Pilots, Twenty One (February 29, 2016)."Stressed Out".Musicnotes.com.Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. RetrievedJune 8, 2021.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic.Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 20167 into search. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
^"Top singles 2016".Pure Charts (in French). chartinfrance.net. January 6, 2017.Archived from the original on January 7, 2017. RetrievedJanuary 9, 2017.
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