Holding on to You (Twenty One Pilots song)

In an interview with SiriusXM, Tyler Joseph, the lead singer of Twenty One Pilots, revealed that he was considering ending his career in music, but continued as he was excited about a track he was working on called "Entertain my Faith";[6] however, its name was changed to "Holding on to You" when Joseph could not decide on a better title. While originally unsatisfied by the title, he has since grown used to it. "I remember the riff..." Joseph says while talking about the conception of "Holding on to You", "on the piano, on the keys. I'm very visual when I write music and I remember I accidentally jumped over a few notes when I was trying to figure out just the riff and I didn't think it worked. Then I listened to it again and actually the riff anticipates the chord progression in a really nice way and then I fell in love with it."[7] "Holding on to You" contains lyrical elements from the chorus of "Lean wit It, Rock wit It" by Dem Franchize Boyz. The track's vocals on the album Regional at Best were recorded in Joseph's basement, and the same ones were used for their first major-label release Vessel.[8]

"Holding on to You" is a hip-pop song that runs for a duration of four minutes and twenty-three seconds.[9][10] The track contains erratic yet catchy music, transforming from being a indie synth-pop-inspired ballad to banging hip-hop number with rapped verses.[11][12] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by EMI Music Publishing, it is written in the time signature of common time, with a moderate tempo of 90 beats per minute.[9] "Holding on to You" is composed in the key of B Major, while Tyler Joseph's vocal range while Tyler Joseph's vocal range spans three notes from a low F♯₄ to a high of B₅.[9] The song has a basic sequence of B_sus2/G♯–B_sus2/F♯–B/E–B_sus2 in the verses and outro, changes to E–G♯m–B–F♯–C♯m at the chorus, and follows to G♯m–F♯/A♯–B–E during the interlude and follows G♯m–F♯–E–B at the bridge as its chord progression.[9]

The song retains catchy hooks imbued with electro-pop while built on a sleek groove and immense beats.[13] Dun’s drumming provides a rhythm, playing in a punk-inspired fashion.[14] In addition, the track contains a mixture of squelchy synths, zippy keyboards and melodic guitars.[15][16] "Holding On To You" is a realizing of the band's pop sensibilities, as its features the bending of mainstream pop conventions towards introspective means.[17][18] It musical arrangement expresses upbeat rhythms, skittering rap, and euphoric refrains.[18] The song demonstrates Tyler Joseph’s rapping abilitites, which he performs with a catchy delivery.[19][20] Alongside rapping, the musical composition also contains grandiose sung choruses that harbor spirit-lifting sentiments.[19][20][21]

Lyrically, “Holding On To You” is an ode to self-control.[22] It addresses the idea of taking shotgun of your own life and holding onto one's values.[23] The song's lyrical content exhibits both sensitive balladry and sensational introspection.[11][18] It contains thoughtful lines and a sentiment about taking back control of your a mind lost to mental health.[20] "Holding On To You" suggests a different take when it comes tp battling depression, one with a more overtly spiritual subtext.[10] The song's lyrics undoubtedly encourages listeners to fight self-doubt, with Tyler Joseph instructing, "Take the pain / Ignite it / Tie a noose around your mind / Loose enough to breathe fine and tie it".[24] They illustrate Joseph's usage of clever wordplay regarding music beats and heartbeats while encouraging listeners to look inward and dance to their own tune: 'It ain’t the speakers that bump hearts, it’s our hearts that make the beat.[20] His lyrical themes primary take-away lesson being to listen to your heart.[20] Additionally, Joseph passionately criticizes meaningless music, delivering the lines, "When we gonna stop with it / Lyrics that mean nothing / We were gifted with thought / Is it time to move our feet to an introspective beat."[19]

Following its release, "Holding on to You" received favorable reviews from contemporary music critics.[15] Piet Levy from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described the song as "erratic but always catchy music. 'Holding On to You' was transformed from a sensitive, Death Cab for Cutie-style ballad to a hip-hop banger.[11] Complimenting its "silky groove" AllMusic's Fred Thomas cites "Holding on to You" as one of three "relentlessly catchy single-ready standouts" featured on the duo's major label debut album, Vessel.[13] Regarding its opening trio, he continued saying, "These three songs encapsulate the band's unique calling card, offering up the best examples of what makes their approach different from any number of bands working in similar territory, with enormous beats and full-force electro-pop running through hooks modeled for Top 40 radio, each element punctuated by Joseph's down-to-earth sentiments coming through in the form of caffeinated rap codas.[13] Georgina Langford-Biss of MTV UK claimed, "twenty one pilots slyly snuck into the mainstream with the weirdly awesome 'Holding On To You'." [25] Graham Clark of The Yorkshire Times likened the song to being a mixture of the increasingly successful American duo Capital Cities and Of Monsters and Men.[26] Writing for idobi, after panning the awkward flow of "Ode to Sleep" and claiming it left one doubting his rapping ability, Catherhine Yi conceded that Joseph’s quickly redeems himself on "Holding Onto You." She remarked, "... you can truly feel his passion as he criticizes meaningless music ... The song also continues the trend of catchy, grandiose choruses that will lift your spirits every time you hear them."[19]

Kerrang!'s Sam Law considered "Holding on to You" to be the fifth best song by Twenty One Pilots. He stated, "Another Regional At Best relic buffed up to high shine on Vessel, "Holding On To You" sees every ounce of the boys’ early influence and unfettered creativity poured into four-and-a-half minutes of feeling. Bending the machinery of mainstream pop (upbeat rhythms, scattergun rap, euphoric choruses) to their own, far more introspective ends, this was a warning shot from modern rock revolutionaries ready to crumble traditional genre boundaries and capture the mood of a new generation."[18] Kerrang! also praised its lyrical content, writing, "There’s plenty of thoughtful lines in this song about taking back control of your own mind, lost to mental health, but this one stands out in both sentiment and catchy delivery."[20] Dan Leroy of Alternative Press opined the song was wisely reclaimed from Regional At Best (2011). He continued saying, "Another successful hip-pop hybrid, "Holding On To You" offers a different Joseph take on battling depression––this time with a more overtly spiritual subtext––and became the duo’s first national hit."[10] Jason Pettigrew, from the same publication, ranked "Holding on to You" as the their best song. He stated, "This is the answer to the eternal question: What do twenty one pilots sound like? Everything about the band’s character, musical methodology, pop sensibility and raison d’etre are fully realized on this song. The perfect gateway drug with all the elements of where they’ve been and where they will escape from for parts unknown."[17]

The music video for "Holding On To You" was directed by Jordan Bahat and released on November 15, 2012.[3][27] For his promotional video, Bahat blends an abstract combination of a live shoot with radical stage performances from Twenty One Pilots.[3] Bahat elaborated, “The intent for the video was to translate the band’s live energy onto the screen. As a two-piece band, Twenty One Pilots invests a lot into the theatrics of their live shows to give their fans a big experience. ... The song speaks about the demons we wrestle with in our daily lives. Taking some license from the band’s knack for theater, I made the demons literal, added some smoke and ballerinas and let the band to the rest.”[3] It was the very first first official music video that Twenty One Pilots had ever released.[28] The video features contemporary dancers wearing skeleton facepaint bob and weave their bodies around Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun as they perform the song. At its climax, the dancers pull a rope tied around Joseph’s neck as he yells, “This ain't a noose, this is a leash/And I have news for you: You must obey me.”[28] Once the rope breaks, the dancers are sent into an abyss as a skull-faced ballerina dressed in all-black pointed shoes, tights, and a tutu gracefully does a performance.[28]

• Tyler Joseph – vocals, piano, bass guitar, guitar, synthesizers
• Josh Dun – drums, percussion, backing vocals