Holding On to You (Twenty One Pilots song)

The origin of "Holding On to You" was revealed by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph during a special SiriusXM event on January 17, 2019. "Holding On to You" originally appeared on Regional at Best before becoming the first single from the band's major-label debut album Vessel. "Holding On to You" was one of five songs retrieved from the band's sophomore release, Regional at Best (2011). The track's record production received polishing by Wells for inclusion on Vessel. ==Recording==

"Holding On to You" was produced by Greg Wells and recorded at Rocket Carousel Studio in Los Angeles, California. It is one of five songs reclaimed from the band's sophomore release, Regional at Best (2011). The track's record production received polishing by Wells for inclusion on Vessel (2013).  The recording is a realizing of the band's pop sensibilities, bending parts of mainstream pop towards more introspective ends. During an interview with Rock Sound, Tyler Joseph provided insight into each song on the band's forthcoming album Vessel. He elaborated, "I've always just seen it as one big body of work but to have 'Holding On to You' kind of be the focus track makes sense to me. It does stand in the middle of what to expect from ushaving to do with a lot of different genres, the melody in this song is digestible and it's one of my favourite chord progressions I've ever done. I like that the chorus only happens twice in the song which is a big no no! You are supposed to do it four or five times especially if you want to see a lot of success and have your songs on Super Bowl commercials." ==Composition==

"Holding On to You" is a hip-pop song that runs for a duration of four minutes and twenty-three seconds. "Holding On to You" is composed in the key of B Major, while Tyler Joseph's vocal range spans one octave and four notes from a low F3 to a high of B4. Lyrically, "Holding On to You" is an ode to self-control. The song addresses "claiming one's own life and holding onto your values." It delivers a plethora of contemplative lines as well as a sentiment about taking back control of one's own mind, lost to mental health. His down-to-earth lyrical sentiments punctuate the song's musical elements, arriving in energetic rap codas. Joseph passionately criticizes meaningless music on "Holding On to You", rapping the lines, "Lean with it. Rock with it. 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". They illustrate his use of clever wordplay on music beats and heartbeats in order to encourage listeners to look inward and impart a lesson of listening to one's own heart: "It ain't the speakers that bump hearts, it's our hearts that make the beat." ==Release and promotion==

"Holding On to You" was released by Twenty One Pilots as their debut single. It was released as the lead single of their third studio album Vessel. The track originally appeared on "Regional at Best" before becoming the first single from "Vessel". and released to mainstream radio on June 11, 2013.  In an interview with Rock Sound, Tyler Joseph gave his thoughts on the single release. He imparted, "We live in a world where there are singles and to think that way is very foreign to me... I've never thought 'Here's my single and here's all the other songs.' I've always just seen Vessel as one big body of work but to have 'Holding On to You' kind of be the focus track makes sense to me." "Holding On to You" was released as the sixth song on the track-listing the second disc of their live album Blurryface Live. ==Critical reception==

Upon its release, the duo garnered praise from contemporary music critics for "Holding On to You". Rachel Brodsky of MTV News called "Holding On to You" a "ridiculously energetic, genre-spanning track". She exclaimed, "we were immediately struck by the way these guys cram so many sounds into JUST. ONE. SONG. In a really good way!" Graham Clark from The Yorkshire Times likened the song to being a mixture of the increasingly successful American duo Capital Cities and Of Monsters and Men. 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 On to You". Piet Levy from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described it 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." Jay Cridlin for Tampa Bay Times characterized the song as "drama-club backpack-rapper". Georgina Langford-Biss of MTV UK claimed, "Twenty One Pilots slyly snuck into the mainstream with the weirdly awesome 'Holding On to You.  Complimenting its "silky groove", AllMusics 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 (2013). Anne Nickoloff and Troy Smith for The Plain Dealer ranked it as the duo's first best song, saying, Holding On to You' has a special place in Twenty One Pilots fans' hearts and it's easy to see why. ...For many, it was their first impression of the Columbus act. And what an impression it was. 'Holding On to You' is an emotional force of nature that Tyler Joseph clung to during one of the toughest times in his career." Kerrang!s Sam Law also 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." 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." Dan Leroy of Alternative Press that 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 depressionthis time with a more overtly spiritual subtextand became the duo's first national hit." Jason Pettigrew, from the same publication, ranked "Holding On to You" as 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." ==Commercial performance==

Twenty One Pilots experienced their very first hit single with "Holding On to You". The single was modestly successful on rock and alternative radio, becoming the duo's very first national hit in 2013. In the United States, following the album's release, the lead single debuted at number thirty-eight on Billboards Alternative Songs chart. "Holding On to You" subsequently reached number ten on the Alternative Songs chart. == Music video ==

The accompanying music video for "Holding On to You" was directed by Jordan Bahat and released on November 15, 2012. It served as the first official music video release by Twenty One Pilots, following their 2012 debut video clip for the song "Goner", which featured lead singer Tyler Joseph standing in snowy streets with his accordion. For his promotional video, Bahat mixes an abstract blending of a live shoot with radical stage performances. Alternative Press ranked the video for "Holding On to You" at number two on their list of eleven alternative music videos with the best choreography, writing, "they set the standards pretty high for any future videos they would release." Twenty One Pilots received a nomination for the Artist to Watch award with "Holding On to You" at the 30th annual MTV Video Music Awards, losing to pop singer Austin Mahone. == Live performance ==

Twenty One Pilots performed "Holding On to You" during their first appearance at the mtvU Woodie Awards in Austin, Texas on March 14, 2013. The duo began their performance with Tyler Joseph self-deprecatingly telling the audience, "I know you don't know who we are", before he and drummer Josh Dun started jumping all over the stage, with the latter executing a backflip off a raised dais. Twenty One Pilots performed "Holding On to You" for an audience of 15,000 during a concert at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on February 28, 2017. Tyler Joseph wore a black balaclava mask while draped in a black sheet at his piano. == Holding On to You (EP) ==

Holding On to You is an extended play released in 2013. The EP has four tracks. Two of them are featured on the album Vessel, which are "Holding On to You", and "The Run and Go". One track is a live performance of "Holding On to You", and the remaining track is a cover of the Elvis Presley song "Can't Help Falling in Love", exclusive to the EP. Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun are the only performers. ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==