"Shy Away" is a song written and recorded by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots. It was released through Fueled by Ramen on April 7, 2021, as the lead single of their sixth studio album, Scaled and Icy (2021). A music video was released alongside the single, directed by Miles Cable and AJ Favicchio.
Tyler Joseph, the frontman of the duo, wrote "Shy Away" for his younger brother, Jay Joseph, as a tutorial on how to operate a recording studio.[1] During the recording, Joseph's daughter made a cooing noise which Joseph decided to keep in the song.[1]
The song was created while communicating virtually as the COVID-19 pandemic limited interaction between the members of the band.[2] It was released two days after the announcement of Scaled and Icy, the band's sixth studio album.
The track includes a "brief but tasteful" half-time breakdown for the "hardcore kids", and has been compared to the likes of artists such as the Strokes and Phoenix. It's considered to be one of the band's upbeat songs, and is synth-heavy, with elements of electronic, pop and indie music.[3][4][7]
Music videoedit
The music video for the song, directed by Miles Cable and AJ Favicchio, was released concurrently with the song. The video showcases the duo's new "era", and a new color scheme which changes during each album cycle. The video features the new colors prominently: vibrant shades of light blue, pink and occasional yellow.[8] In the video, a few background musicians portrayed by Joseph and Dun wear torn and burnt ski masks, a reference to the stylings of their earlier albums, Vessel and Blurryface.[8] As of April 2024, the video has surpassed 54 million views on YouTube.
Commercial performanceedit
Within only two days of tracking, "Shy Away" made its debut at No. 20 on the US BillboardHot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, and reached a peak of No. 7.[9] On the Alternative Airplay chart, the song peaked at No. 1, and remained at the peak position for 8 weeks. On the Rock Airplay chart, the track also reached No. 1. In its first full week of tracking, it reached No. 56 in both the United Kingdom and Ireland,[10][11] and peaked at No. 36 in Lithuania.[12] On the chart dated April 24, 2021, the song made its debut on the US BillboardHot 100 at No. 87, also being the only track from the album to chart there, before it fell out the week after.
Personneledit
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Scaled and Icy.[13]
Tyler Joseph – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, synthesizers, programming, production
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
Referencesedit
^ abSavage, Mark (April 7, 2021). "Twenty One Pilots' new single Shy Away 'started out as a tutorial'". BBC. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
^Carter, Emily (April 7, 2021). "twenty one pilots drop new single Shy Away, announce upcoming album Scaled And Icy". Kerrang. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
^ abcShaffer, Claire (April 7, 2021). "Twenty One Pilots Preview New Album 'Scaled and Icy' With First Single 'Shy Away'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
^ abAiex, Tony (April 7, 2021). "Twenty One Pilots mergulha no indie, lança a inédita "Shy Away" e anuncia novo disco". Tenho Mais Discos Que Amigos!. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
^Meyers, Mason (May 22, 2021). "Album Review: Twenty One Pilots - Scaled and Icy". Gigwise. Archived from the original on May 22, 2021. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
^ ab"Shy Away". Musicnotes.com. April 9, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
^ abCampbell, Rachel (April 7, 2021). "Twenty One Pilots Kick off 'Scaled and Icy' Era With "Shy Away"—Watch". AlternativePress. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
^ ab"Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
^ ab"2021 15-os SAVAITĖS (balandžio 9-15 d.) SINGLŲ TOP100" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. April 16, 2021. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
^"TWENTY ONE PILOTS ' SCALED AND ICY' (TNSN DVSN)". TNSN_DVSN. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
^"Twenty One Pilots – Shy Away" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
^"Twenty One Pilots – Shy Away" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
^"Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
^"Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
^"Croatia ARC TOP 100". HRT. Archived from the original on June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 202123 into search. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 202115 into search.
^"Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
^"Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
^"NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 202115 into search. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
^"Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 15". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved April 16, 2021.