New Kids On The Block is celebrating the release of their first new album in 11 years, Still Kids, and they stopped by the Hard Rock Hotel New York for an Audacy Check In with Foxx& Annie to chat all about it.

Released May 17, Still Kids, features 14 new tracks including everything from pop anthems and dance tracks to love songs and grooves that have all become fast favorites for their Blockheads fan club. “We’re excited it’s finally out, people can listen to it and we can share the experience,” shared the band’s Joey McIntyre. “It’s something we’re proud of. It’s a good mix of back in the day, but talking about things that are going on in our lives now.”

With a little bit of old and a little bit of new, what makes the guys most proud is the cohesiveness of the project allowing fans to reminisce on the days of listening to an album from top to bottom — no skips.

“I think what we’re most excited about… is we think we made an album you can listen to like we did in the old days,” said Donnie Wahlberg. “Nowadays you go on iTunes and you skip around, but when we were young, we put in a CD [or] an 8-Track of an album and listened to everything.”

He continued, “I remember listening to [MichaelJackson’s] Thriller from front to back — I didn’t skip a song. We wanted to make an album where you don’t skip a song and I think we accomplished that... Every song means something, there’s no filler, there’s nothing that’s just there to take up space and after 11 years, the fans deserve that.”

To celebrate their new music further, the guys have revealed plans for a brand new tour, The Magic Summer 2024 Tour. Kicking off June 14, the trek will visit more than 40 cities and feature members Jonathan and JordanKnight, JoeyMcIntyre, DonnieWahlberg and DannyWood. 

While bringing fans some of their greatest hits from the past, the guys also look forward to sharing their new music that has already proven to be a hit with fans everywhere.

“The album is authentic,” said Wahlberg. “It’s still New Kids, it still sounds like New Kids, feels like New Kids — it has the feels — but is very genuine from all of us and is a very genuine love letter or ode to the fans, but also real stuff that we’re talking about, real experiences related to the journey of the band, some related to personal life stuff that, because it’s authentic, the fans are relating to it in a tremendous way.”

Hear about the new music, the album-making process, what they’ve been up to the past 11 years and so much more by checking out Audacy’s Check In with New Kids On The Block, above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Foxx & Annie

New Kids On The Block is celebrating the release of their first new album in 11 years, Still Kids, and they stopped by the Hard Rock Hotel New York for an Audacy Check In with Foxx &amp; Annie to chat all about it.
Released May 17, Still Kids, features 14 new tracks including everything from pop anthems and dance tracks to love songs and grooves that have all become fast favorites for their Blockheads fan club. “We’re excited it’s finally out, people can listen to it and we can share the experience,” shared the band’s Joey McIntyre. “It’s something we’re proud of. It’s a good mix of back in the day, but talking about things that are going on in our lives now.”
With a little bit of old and a little bit of new, what makes the guys most proud is the cohesiveness of the project allowing fans to reminisce on the days of listening to an album from top to bottom — no skips.
“I think what we’re most excited about… is we think we made an album you can listen to like we did in the old days,” said Donnie Wahlberg. “Nowadays you go on iTunes and you skip around, but when we were young, we put in a CD [or] an 8-Track of an album and listened to everything.”
He continued, “I remember listening to [Michael Jackson’s] Thriller from front to back — I didn’t skip a song. We wanted to make an album where you don’t skip a song and I think we accomplished that... Every song means something, there’s no filler, there’s nothing that’s just there to take up space and after 11 years, the fans deserve that.”
To celebrate their new music further, the guys have revealed plans for a brand new tour, The Magic Summer 2024 Tour. Kicking off June 14, the trek will visit more than 40 cities and feature members Jonathan and Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood. 
While bringing fans some of their greatest hits from the past, the guys also look forward to sharing their new music that has already proven to be a hit with fans everywhere.
“The album is authentic,” said Wahlberg. “It’s still New Kids, it still sounds like New Kids, feels like New Kids — it has the feels — but is very genuine from all of us and is a very genuine love letter or ode to the fans, but also real stuff that we’re talking about, real experiences related to the journey of the band, some related to personal life stuff that, because it’s authentic, the fans are relating to it in a tremendous way.”
Hear about the new music, the album-making process, what they’ve been up to the past 11 years and so much more by checking out Audacy’s Check In with New Kids On The Block, above.
Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Foxx &amp; Annie

Listen as our favorite artists Check In for candid conversations about music and more.

Listen as our favorite artists Check In for candid conversations about music and more.

Audacy Check-In

New Kids On The Block | Audacy Check In | 5.22.24

With a cleansed IG feed, a brand new self-titled album out, and a current North American tour underway, Bryson Tiller Checked In with Jen From BK of Audacy NYC's 94.7 The Block at the Hard Rock Hotel in New York to catch us up on this latest phase in his career, and a whole lot more.

After sharing his favorite cities to perform in and his usual pre-show ritual, Bryson spoke on his love for video games -- which he’s very into developing -- and actually was the inspiration for his new album’s cover art.

Tiller went on to discuss the evolution of his musicality and admitted his reason for delving into new sounds on his latest album came from the natural drive of not wanting to stay stagnant.

“Well… I’m just bored making the same stuff over and over," Bryson expressed. "It just gets so boring and repetitive, same stuff... I’m just like... I love all music, I’m trying to do everything. So, I think that’s the main reason, well, no, one of the reasons.”

“The main reason,” Bryson continued, “is just because I really wanted to show people my versatility as an artist and where I could take it -- and just kind of take my creative control back ‘cause I feel like a lot of fans and people thought that they had creative control over my life and what I do, what I create. So, I’m a rebel, always have been, and… nobody can tell me what to do. I like to do my own thing.”

Another way in which Tiller decided to take control of the discourse was with the title of the album. While usually it’s an artist's first album that gets the self-title treatment, Bryson shared why he dubbed his fourth album after himself.

“I just feel like people just keep talking about this album and that album and… they would just make that my identity. My only identity is that I’m Bryson Tiller, you know what I mean? I know how to do everything, you know? And I’m gonna try new things and things that I’ve never done before. You know, I can hang with the people who do that type of stuff. I just wanna be able to prove that. And if I didn’t prove it this time… just know that I will continue to do stuff that will shock you for sure…”

Discussing the sequencing of the album, and sharing why he decided to start with an instrumental intro, he says, “I wanted to give people some time to think, you know, and give them a cool sound to think over,” Tiller expressed. “Every time I heard that… it would just put me in a zone and a vibe and I would just start thinking and reflecting on everything that I've done thus far and what's about to happen."

“I just wanted to create that kind of somber build-up for the album… I had to start that and take it back to like R&B that I've studied for so many years,” Bryson added about the wordless track that he admitted was very Trapsoul coded, before delving his different and various songwriting processes.

Bryson also shared that he recorded a Christmas song with his oldest daughter, and how fatherhood has changed him, including if his kids recognize that their dad is famous. Bryson additionally opened up about being “super honest” about mental health, feeling “confident and unstoppable,” and making music for fans while evolving at the same time.

To hear Bryson’s entire conversation, press play on the interview above.

Words by Maia Kedem Interview by Jen From BK

With a cleansed IG feed, a brand new self-titled album out, and a current North American tour underway, Bryson Tiller Checked In with Jen From BK of Audacy NYC's 94.7 The Block at the Hard Rock Hotel in New York to catch us up on this latest phase in his career, and a whole lot more.
After sharing his favorite cities to perform in and his usual pre-show ritual, <a href="https://www.audacy.com/topic/bryson-tiller">Bryson</a> spoke on his love for video games -- which he’s very into developing -- and actually was the inspiration for his new album’s cover art.
Tiller went on to discuss the evolution of his musicality and admitted his reason for delving into new sounds on his latest album came from the natural drive of not wanting to stay stagnant.
“Well… I’m just bored making the same stuff over and over," Bryson expressed. "It just gets so boring and repetitive, same stuff... I’m just like... I love all music, I’m trying to do everything. So, I think that’s the main reason, well, no, one of the reasons.”
“The main reason,” Bryson continued, “is just because I really wanted to show people my versatility as an artist and where I could take it -- and just kind of take my creative control back ‘cause I feel like a lot of fans and people thought that they had creative control over my life and what I do, what I create. So, I’m a rebel, always have been, and… nobody can tell me what to do. I like to do my own thing.”
Another way in which Tiller decided to take control of the discourse was with the title of the album. While usually it’s an artist's first album that gets the self-title treatment, Bryson shared why he dubbed his fourth album after himself.
“I just feel like people just keep talking about this album and that album and… they would just make that my identity. My only identity is that I’m Bryson Tiller, you know what I mean? I know how to do everything, you know? And I’m gonna try new things and things that I’ve never done before. You know, I can hang with the people who do that type of stuff. I just wanna be able to prove that. And if I didn’t prove it this time… just know that I will continue to do stuff that will shock you for sure…”
Discussing the sequencing of the album, and sharing why he decided to start with an instrumental intro, he says, “I wanted to give people some time to think, you know, and give them a cool sound to think over,” Tiller expressed. “Every time I heard that… it would just put me in a zone and a vibe and I would just start thinking and reflecting on everything that I've done thus far and what's about to happen."
“I just wanted to create that kind of somber build-up for the album… I had to start that and take it back to like R&amp;B that I've studied for so many years,” Bryson added about the wordless track that he admitted was very Trapsoul coded, before delving his different and various songwriting processes.
Bryson also shared that he recorded a Christmas song with his oldest daughter, and how fatherhood has changed him, including if his kids recognize that their dad is famous. Bryson additionally opened up about being “super honest” about mental health, feeling “confident and unstoppable,” and making music for fans while evolving at the same time.
To hear Bryson’s entire conversation, press play on the interview above.
Words by Maia Kedem Interview by Jen From BK

Bryson Tiller | Audacy Check In | 6.10.24

Billie Eilish and FINNEAS dropped by the KROQ studios in Los Angeles for a special Audacy Check In with the Klein.Ally.Show, diving deep into their brand new album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, what to expect on their upcoming world tour, and much more.

HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, Billie Eilish's highly-anticipated follow-up to 2021's GRAMMY-nominated Happier Than Ever is available now, taking listeners through a rollercoaster of emotions as the record progresses through its 13 tracks.

There was no defined road map that the brother and sister team decided to stick to when compiling the new collection, though Billie admits, “Honestly, I wish we had because then we could recreate it, but it was such a mess -- we didn't know where we were gonna go, or what we were gonna do, or how it was gonna turn out until we had most of the songs already floating around. That was when we put them together.”

“I mean, they also had similarities,” she acknowledges. “We were thinking about them the whole time… thinking about calling back and having some lyrics on some songs that refer to other songs, or melodies that refer to other songs, but we didn't have a plan of like, ‘This is gonna be this, and this is gonna be this.’ It kind of just happened, which is frustrating because I don't know how to do that again. It just was so natural.”

Touching on the many twists and turns throughout the new album, Billie reiterated her thoughts on the concept of musical genres being “such a funny thing,” especially seeing the way other artists she enjoys are categorized. “I'm always shocked. I don't know what that is,” she says. “I've really never cared about the idea of a genre. If someone says, ‘What kind of music do you listen to?’ I'm like, ‘Dude, everything.’ I love music so much and I really don't have lines like, ‘Oh, I don't listen to this genre or this genre.’ It's just music, you know? So, I think we try to do that with our own stuff too.”

As the duo began to put songs together for HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, FINNEAS tells us when things became “messy --sub that in for if I wasn't feeling inspired anymore, if we were feeling like the momentum was slowing down a little bit, we'd just kind of like, get up and walk away, change gears. Maybe go on a hike or something or just start something completely different.”

“I think it was about always feeling as engaged as possible,” he explains. “Sometimes as a producer and as a songwriter, it feels good to finish something and sometimes you have a great little chorus or great verse and you think, ‘Let's just write a bridge so that the song is done.' It was an effort on this album to be like, ‘If we don't have a good idea for a bridge today, let's write a bridge next week.’”

Allowing themselves that space, he says, rewarded them with songs like “The Greatest.” “We came back to that song a week after starting it and Billie was like, ‘I think we should write a bridge for this,'" FINNEAS says "Then we had this whole fresh idea because we were approaching it on a different day, with different circumstances. There's just no way we would have written that bridge.” Billie adds, “Then that bridge then became the throughout melody of the album.”

Though they're both unable to choose a favorite track, “I think if I were going to give an answer, ‘The Greatest’ was a really important process,” FINNEAS says. "Us making that song meant a lot to me. It was a big hurdle that we crossed in the process of writing all these songs. That was a song that I felt like we'd been looking for for a long time.”

Suffering for her art is something Billie has never shied away from, even going to great lengths for the new album cover, which shows her almost drowning in dark waters -- eerily similar to something that happened to her when she was younger. “It felt like I was gonna drown,” she explains of her childhood experience. “I don't think I was actually in danger -- I was in the ocean and I did have to get saved by lifeguards, but it’s all good. I wasn't going to die. Definitely, water is a scary thing for me.”

“It's not even like I have to suffer for the art,” Eilish says. “It's just that the art has to be exactly right, and if it requires suffering, then all the better is kind of the idea. I don't know, it makes me feel real and worth it.”

With the album now officially on shelves, FINNEAS admits it has been difficult to tune out the comments around the release after a few years away. “Number one, I don't go looking for it, you know, I'm not searching new album reviews,” he explains. “It's very meaningful to see somebody talk about the things I love about the record.” On the contrary, “If it's clear on TikTok or wherever that somebody's about to say a bunch of backhanded stuff, I just scroll… that's their opinion, which is fine.”

As the duo gets set to hit the road on a world tour to celebrate the new album, fans can only speculate about any guest appearances at this point. “I only started doing it recently,” Billie says of jumping on stage with her friends. “I've never really done it before and I did these couple shows in December 2022 where I brought out a bunch of people for these hometown L.A. shows that I did. I've never done anything like that before and it was the coolest thing in the world. People that I love so much and I always admired and idolized, and they're on my stage, you know, in front of my fans with me, and it's my show -- that is insane.”

“Honestly, it's embarrassing,” she adds. “Like every time I brought someone out -- it's like someone really cool being in your bedroom and you're like, ‘Get out of here.’ But it's the coolest thing.”

Don’t miss our full Auday Check In with Billie Eilish and FINNEAS above, and stay tuned for more conversations with your favorite artists on Audacy.com/Live.

Words by Joe Cingrana Interview by Klein.Ally.Show

Billie Eilish and FINNEAS dropped by the KROQ studios in Los Angeles for a special Audacy Check In with the Klein.Ally.Show, diving deep into their brand new album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, what to expect on their upcoming world tour, and much more.
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, Billie Eilish's highly-anticipated follow-up to 2021's GRAMMY-nominated Happier Than Ever is available now, taking listeners through a rollercoaster of emotions as the record progresses through its 13 tracks.
There was no defined road map that the brother and sister team decided to stick to when compiling the new collection, though Billie admits, “Honestly, I wish we had because then we could recreate it, but it was such a mess -- we didn't know where we were gonna go, or what we were gonna do, or how it was gonna turn out until we had most of the songs already floating around. That was when we put them together.”
“I mean, they also had similarities,” she acknowledges. “We were thinking about them the whole time… thinking about calling back and having some lyrics on some songs that refer to other songs, or melodies that refer to other songs, but we didn't have a plan of like, ‘This is gonna be this, and this is gonna be this.’ It kind of just happened, which is frustrating because I don't know how to do that again. It just was so natural.”
Touching on the many twists and turns throughout the new album, Billie reiterated her thoughts on the concept of musical genres being “such a funny thing,” especially seeing the way other artists she enjoys are categorized. “I'm always shocked. I don't know what that is,” she says. “I've really never cared about the idea of a genre. If someone says, ‘What kind of music do you listen to?’ I'm like, ‘Dude, everything.’ I love music so much and I really don't have lines like, ‘Oh, I don't listen to this genre or this genre.’ It's just music, you know? So, I think we try to do that with our own stuff too.”
As the duo began to put songs together for HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, FINNEAS tells us when things became “messy --sub that in for if I wasn't feeling inspired anymore, if we were feeling like the momentum was slowing down a little bit, we'd just kind of like, get up and walk away, change gears. Maybe go on a hike or something or just start something completely different.”
“I think it was about always feeling as engaged as possible,” he explains. “Sometimes as a producer and as a songwriter, it feels good to finish something and sometimes you have a great little chorus or great verse and you think, ‘Let's just write a bridge so that the song is done.' It was an effort on this album to be like, ‘If we don't have a good idea for a bridge today, let's write a bridge next week.’”
Allowing themselves that space, he says, rewarded them with songs like “The Greatest.” “We came back to that song a week after starting it and Billie was like, ‘I think we should write a bridge for this,'" FINNEAS says "Then we had this whole fresh idea because we were approaching it on a different day, with different circumstances. There's just no way we would have written that bridge.” Billie adds, “Then that bridge then became the throughout melody of the album.”
Though they're both unable to choose a favorite track, “I think if I were going to give an answer, ‘The Greatest’ was a really important process,” FINNEAS says. "Us making that song meant a lot to me. It was a big hurdle that we crossed in the process of writing all these songs. That was a song that I felt like we'd been looking for for a long time.”
Suffering for her art is something Billie has never shied away from, even going to great lengths for the new album cover, which shows her almost drowning in dark waters -- eerily similar to something that happened to her when she was younger. “It felt like I was gonna drown,” she explains of her childhood experience. “I don't think I was actually in danger -- I was in the ocean and I did have to get saved by lifeguards, but it’s all good. I wasn't going to die. Definitely, water is a scary thing for me.”
“It's not even like I have to suffer for the art,” Eilish says. “It's just that the art has to be exactly right, and if it requires suffering, then all the better is kind of the idea. I don't know, it makes me feel real and worth it.”
With the album now officially on shelves, FINNEAS admits it has been difficult to tune out the comments around the release after a few years away. “Number one, I don't go looking for it, you know, I'm not searching new album reviews,” he explains. “It's very meaningful to see somebody talk about the things I love about the record.” On the contrary, “If it's clear on TikTok or wherever that somebody's about to say a bunch of backhanded stuff, I just scroll… that's their opinion, which is fine.”
As the duo gets set to hit the road on a world tour to celebrate the new album, fans can only speculate about any guest appearances at this point. “I only started doing it recently,” Billie says of jumping on stage with her friends. “I've never really done it before and I did these couple shows in December 2022 where I brought out a bunch of people for these hometown L.A. shows that I did. I've never done anything like that before and it was the coolest thing in the world. People that I love so much and I always admired and idolized, and they're on my stage, you know, in front of my fans with me, and it's my show -- that is insane.”
“Honestly, it's embarrassing,” she adds. “Like every time I brought someone out -- it's like someone really cool being in your bedroom and you're like, ‘Get out of here.’ But it's the coolest thing.”
Don’t miss our full Auday Check In with Billie Eilish and FINNEAS above, and stay tuned for more conversations with your favorite artists on <a href="https://www.audacy.com/live">Audacy.com/Live</a>.
Words by Joe Cingrana Interview by Klein.Ally.Show

Billie Eilish and FINNEAS | Audacy Check In | 5.31.24

Twenty One Pilots’ Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph joined host Brad Steiner for a special Audacy Check In at the Hard Rock Hotel New York to celebrate the release of their 2024 album, Clancy, upcoming tour dates, and more.

The duo’s new offering, Clancy, is named after the protagonist introduced on 2018's Trench, and marks the final chapter in Twenty One Pilots' intricate story told across multiple albums, beginning with the band's 2015 breakthrough, Blurryface. Throughout the four album series -- which also includes 2021’s Scaled and Icy -- everything from art details to music videos had been specifically chosen for a reason.

“The story, I guess it was a bit of a hybrid in the overall arc of it was written out from the beginning, but there were a lot of twists and turns inside of the journey that we made,” Tyler says. “I guess in a way, we were really inspired by our own fans. As the story was being told, there were certain details that came out of the story because of watching how people reacted to it and what they were drawn to.”

“We knew what we were gonna say and what we wanted to accomplish with the story,” he adds. “Basically, the album ‘Blurryface’ is a reference to a character in the story that we've been telling, who's kind of the antagonist. We find out his real name is Nico and he's constantly -- basically, the lead character of ‘Clancy’ is constantly hunted down by this character. A lot of details go into where they're from and how they got there, and I'm really excited to tell how it all ends -- and that's what this, this album is gonna do.”

The idea to build a world around their music, Tyler says, arose when he realized that inside of his and Josh’s common goal of making music together, there were “so many artistic opportunities, whether it's the colors you use to tell the story, the font that you use, the band name, the album title, the album cover…. So, where it just starts out as ‘I just wanna make music and maybe perform some of it in front of some people,’ you quickly realize, ‘Oh wait, there's a ton more opportunity to be creative other than just making the music.'”

“We have some awesome people on our team too,” Tyler adds. “They've been helping us on the creative side for a long time. Shout outs to our crew of creatives that help us. ‘We'll be like, OK, hold on, what is the weather supposed to be like in this world in the city of Dema?’ I’ll remember we established that, you know, it's cloudy here and there's a sound that happens at night -- there's a lot of details of the world that you create, and sometimes you need to be reminded of, ‘What was this character's motivation, and what were we trying to do again?’ To have a few people to help you kind of collect and archive all of the story that you've been telling has been really important.”

“Like Tyler said earlier,” Josh adds, being inspired by fans has been a major driving force, “because when we started, we were playing in clubs so we didn't know. We had kind of like visions and dreams of what this would turn into, but we didn't know how deep we could get into it. Even starting the story, it's kind of just like, ‘OK, well, I hope people care enough to look into the story.’ As time's gone on and we've seen people do like find things and understand things, then that gives us more freedom really to be able to expand on that and have different areas in which we can share those visuals.”

As far as intricate fan theories go, Tyler admits, “Sometimes we'll text each other, we'll see something where someone's theorizing… they spend a lot of time coming up with that theory, you want it to be right for them. So I would say, ‘Should we tell them that's not right?’ There have been times where we've wanted to jump in and be like, ‘It's close, but not right.’”

“I can't think of anything particularly that's made it in,” he says of the many fan theories that have evolved. “If anything, they brought a lot of clarity to who these characters were and what their motivations were.”

In celebration of the new release, Twenty One Pilots’ has plans to hit the road on The Clancy World Tour this summer, set to kick off in Denver, CO on August 15 and make stops across the U.S. and Canada before heading overseas to Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and finally ending with two nights at London’s O2 arena in May of 2025. 

“We've always talked about, when we write songs, it's hard not to imagine what it's gonna feel like to perform the songs live,” Tyler explains. “In a way, a lot of times the decision-making when you're writing the song can be impacted and influenced by the fact that it will happen live. So, I think I'm just really excited to play some of the new songs.”

“I've been to shows where an artist has a new project or a new album,” he says, “where I've felt a little disappointed in the show because the artist put so much emphasis on the new stuff that it almost felt like they were turning their back on some of the old stuff. We want to balance out what is kind of a delicate thing, which is the setlist: ‘How much of the new stuff do you put in? How much of the old stuff do you keep in?’ I was doing the math the other day, we've got over 90 songs that we've released. So to pick a set list out of there -- it's getting harder and harder each round. I guess it's hard for me not to just get excited about the new stuff, so I have to kind of remind myself that you got to balance it out.”

While breaking down some of the album’s lyrics, Joseph acknowledged, “We're so lucky to be here having done this for, you know, 12-plus years now and a lot has changed since we started doing it. We've personally changed… maybe live music is the thing that's changed the least. But the way that people listen to music has changed, the way that people share music has changed, what people are writing about in music has changed a lot. When I first started writing music, I didn't think anyone would hear it, so there was a honesty just naturally there that is hard to recreate, because now I know that if we write a song, people are going to hear it. Because people resonated with it early on, the honesty, I realized that honesty was really important.”

“So, we started writing songs honestly, hopefully that's at least how they were perceived and accepted. I do think that we now live in a time of music where culturally it's way more common, in a good way, for people to be writing about mental health and about their own personal struggles and what they're going through. That seems to be a part of our overall musical culture more than it was when we first started doing it,” he adds. “Because of that, I feel less inclined to articulate what a song is specifically because I think we all know, we're all familiar with the terminology of depression, and what it could mean, and how it could impact someone we know. As a culture, we're more aware of diagnosing it personally, or with someone we know. I feel comfort in that knowing that we're now in a culture that feels way more accepting of that conversation.”

Words by Joe Cingrana Interview by Brad Steiner

Twenty One Pilots’ Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph joined host Brad Steiner for a special Audacy Check In at the Hard Rock Hotel New York to celebrate the release of their 2024 album, Clancy, upcoming tour dates, and more.
The duo’s new offering, Clancy, is named after the protagonist introduced on 2018's Trench, and marks the final chapter in Twenty One Pilots' intricate story told across multiple albums, beginning with the band's 2015 breakthrough, Blurryface. Throughout the four album series -- which also includes 2021’s Scaled and Icy -- everything from art details to music videos had been specifically chosen for a reason.
“The story, I guess it was a bit of a hybrid in the overall arc of it was written out from the beginning, but there were a lot of twists and turns inside of the journey that we made,” Tyler says. “I guess in a way, we were really inspired by our own fans. As the story was being told, there were certain details that came out of the story because of watching how people reacted to it and what they were drawn to.”
“We knew what we were gonna say and what we wanted to accomplish with the story,” he adds. “Basically, the album ‘Blurryface’ is a reference to a character in the story that we've been telling, who's kind of the antagonist. We find out his real name is Nico and he's constantly -- basically, the lead character of ‘Clancy’ is constantly hunted down by this character. A lot of details go into where they're from and how they got there, and I'm really excited to tell how it all ends -- and that's what this, this album is gonna do.”
The idea to build a world around their music, Tyler says, arose when he realized that inside of his and Josh’s common goal of making music together, there were “so many artistic opportunities, whether it's the colors you use to tell the story, the font that you use, the band name, the album title, the album cover…. So, where it just starts out as ‘I just wanna make music and maybe perform some of it in front of some people,’ you quickly realize, ‘Oh wait, there's a ton more opportunity to be creative other than just making the music.'”
“We have some awesome people on our team too,” Tyler adds. “They've been helping us on the creative side for a long time. Shout outs to our crew of creatives that help us. ‘We'll be like, OK, hold on, what is the weather supposed to be like in this world in the city of Dema?’ I’ll remember we established that, you know, it's cloudy here and there's a sound that happens at night -- there's a lot of details of the world that you create, and sometimes you need to be reminded of, ‘What was this character's motivation, and what were we trying to do again?’ To have a few people to help you kind of collect and archive all of the story that you've been telling has been really important.”
“Like Tyler said earlier,” Josh adds, being inspired by fans has been a major driving force, “because when we started, we were playing in clubs so we didn't know. We had kind of like visions and dreams of what this would turn into, but we didn't know how deep we could get into it. Even starting the story, it's kind of just like, ‘OK, well, I hope people care enough to look into the story.’ As time's gone on and we've seen people do like find things and understand things, then that gives us more freedom really to be able to expand on that and have different areas in which we can share those visuals.”
As far as intricate fan theories go, Tyler admits, “Sometimes we'll text each other, we'll see something where someone's theorizing… they spend a lot of time coming up with that theory, you want it to be right for them. So I would say, ‘Should we tell them that's not right?’ There have been times where we've wanted to jump in and be like, ‘It's close, but not right.’”
“I can't think of anything particularly that's made it in,” he says of the many fan theories that have evolved. “If anything, they brought a lot of clarity to who these characters were and what their motivations were.”
In celebration of the new release, Twenty One Pilots’ has plans to hit the road on The Clancy World Tour this summer, set to kick off in Denver, CO on August 15 and make stops across the U.S. and Canada before heading overseas to Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and finally ending with two nights at London’s O2 arena in May of 2025. 
“We've always talked about, when we write songs, it's hard not to imagine what it's gonna feel like to perform the songs live,” Tyler explains. “In a way, a lot of times the decision-making when you're writing the song can be impacted and influenced by the fact that it will happen live. So, I think I'm just really excited to play some of the new songs.”
“I've been to shows where an artist has a new project or a new album,” he says, “where I've felt a little disappointed in the show because the artist put so much emphasis on the new stuff that it almost felt like they were turning their back on some of the old stuff. We want to balance out what is kind of a delicate thing, which is the setlist: ‘How much of the new stuff do you put in? How much of the old stuff do you keep in?’ I was doing the math the other day, we've got over 90 songs that we've released. So to pick a set list out of there -- it's getting harder and harder each round. I guess it's hard for me not to just get excited about the new stuff, so I have to kind of remind myself that you got to balance it out.”
While breaking down some of the album’s lyrics, Joseph acknowledged, “We're so lucky to be here having done this for, you know, 12-plus years now and a lot has changed since we started doing it. We've personally changed… maybe live music is the thing that's changed the least. But the way that people listen to music has changed, the way that people share music has changed, what people are writing about in music has changed a lot. When I first started writing music, I didn't think anyone would hear it, so there was a honesty just naturally there that is hard to recreate, because now I know that if we write a song, people are going to hear it. Because people resonated with it early on, the honesty, I realized that honesty was really important.”
“So, we started writing songs honestly, hopefully that's at least how they were perceived and accepted. I do think that we now live in a time of music where culturally it's way more common, in a good way, for people to be writing about mental health and about their own personal struggles and what they're going through. That seems to be a part of our overall musical culture more than it was when we first started doing it,” he adds. “Because of that, I feel less inclined to articulate what a song is specifically because I think we all know, we're all familiar with the terminology of depression, and what it could mean, and how it could impact someone we know. As a culture, we're more aware of diagnosing it personally, or with someone we know. I feel comfort in that knowing that we're now in a culture that feels way more accepting of that conversation.”
Words by Joe Cingrana Interview by Brad Steiner

New Kids On The Block | Audacy Check In | 5.22.24

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