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Levitate (Twenty One Pilots song)

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"Levitate"
Single by Twenty One Pilots
from the album Trench
B-side"Nico and the Niners"
ReleasedAugust 8, 2018 (2018-08-08)
Genre
Length2:25
LabelFueled by Ramen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Twenty One Pilots singles chronology
"Jumpsuit / Nico and the Niners"
(2018) 		"Levitate"
(2018) 		"My Blood"
(2018)
Music video
"Levitate" on YouTube

"Levitate" is a song written and recorded by the American musical duo Twenty One Pilots. The song was released as the third single from their fifth studio album Trench on August 8, 2018.

Composition

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"Levitate" is a rap rock song which also contains elements of hip hop and trap with psychedelic synths, electronic beats and fast-paced lyrics.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] It opens with the outro of the previous track on the album, "Jumpsuit". The song contains a reference to the lyrics of their song "Car Radio", where Tyler Joseph raps "I got back what I once bought, back in that slot I won't need to replace" in response to the chorus lyric from the 2013 song, "I ought to replace that slot with what I once bought, cause somebody stole my car radio and now I just sit in silence."[8] The song was described by Rolling Stone as a "minimalist" track where "Joseph raps over warbled synths and Dun's primal pummel". He delivers a complex sequence of cascading rhyme schemes in quick succession metered to the up-tempo cadence of the track's beat in an insistent yet effortless manner that matches the propulsion of the pummeling rhythm.[9] It has a tempo of 93 beats per minute and a duration of two minutes and twenty-five seconds.[10]

Release

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The song was first leaked onto the music platform Tidal on August 7, 2018, only to be quickly removed.[11] This was accompanied by a leaked track listing for the album.[12] The song was subsequently released via Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show as the day's "World Record".[13]

Music video

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The song's music video was released on August 8, 2018.[14] The clip concludes the storyline from the two previous singles to start a new one and was directed by Andrew Donoho, who directed videos for the previous Trench singles.[15] The video shows Tyler Joseph having his head shaved and rapping the song in a torch-lit mountain retreat filled with the rebel "Banditos" before being grabbed by one of the bishops, the leaders of Dema.[8]

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Trench and Twenty One Pilots' official YouTube channel.[16][17]

Twenty One Pilots

  • Tyler Joseph  – lead vocals, bass, keyboards, synthesizers, sampling, programming, songwriting, production
  • Josh Dun  – drums, drum engineering, percussion

Additional personnel

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[22] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Levy, Piet (October 21, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots pull out all the stops at explosive 'Bandito Tour' show in Milwaukee". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  2. ^ "Twenty One Pilots try to replicate 'Blurryface' success, release third new track on upcoming album". USA TODAY. August 9, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  3. ^ Janes, Theoden (June 13, 2019). "Concert review: Was that really the best Twenty One Pilots could do? (TBH, probably.)". The Charlotte Observer.
  4. ^ Yadav, Dylan (August 8, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots Play With Trap In 'Levitate'". Immortal Reviews. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "Twenty One Pilots premiere new track "Levitate"; reveal "Trench" track list". ABC News Radio. August 8, 2018. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  6. ^ "Twenty One Pilots completes trilogy with music video for "Levitate" | KFOG-FM". www.kfog.com. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  7. ^ "Twenty One Pilots release four singles for their album Trench". The Review. September 14, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Kaufman, Gil (August 8, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots Light Their Torches For Battle in Frenetic 'Levitate' Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  9. ^ Reed, Ryan (August 8, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots Join Brooding Bonfire in Video for New Song 'Levitate'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  10. ^ LLC, Blendist. "BPM for Twenty One Pilots - Levitate on songbpm". Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  11. ^ Farrell, Paul (October 3, 2018). "Has Twenty One Pilots' Album 'Trench' Leaked? Yes". Heavy.com. Archived from the original on October 3, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  12. ^ Casteel, Beth (August 8, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots release final video 'Trench' trilogy, drop new song "Levitate"". Alternative Press. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  13. ^ "twenty one pilots on Twitter". Twitter. August 8, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  14. ^ twenty one pilots (August 8, 2018), twenty one pilots: Levitate [Official Video], retrieved September 8, 2018
  15. ^ Reed, Ryan (August 8, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots Join Brooding Bonfire in Video for New Song 'Levitate'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  16. ^ Twenty One Pilots - Topic, Levitate, retrieved December 29, 2018
  17. ^ Trench (Media notes). Twenty One Pilots. Fueled by Ramen. 2018.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 41. týden 2018 in the date selector. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  19. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. July 23, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  20. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  21. ^ "Hot Rock Songs: Year End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  22. ^ "American single certifications – Twenty One Pilots – Levitate". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
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