Tear in My Heart

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"Tear in My Heart"
Single by Twenty One Pilots
from the album Blurryface
ReleasedApril 6, 2015
StudioSerenity West Recording (Hollywood, Los Angeles)
Genre
Length3:08
LabelFueled by Ramen
Songwriter(s)Tyler Joseph
Producer(s)Ricky Reed
Twenty One Pilots singles chronology
"Fairly Local"
(2015) 		"Tear in My Heart"
(2015) 		"Stressed Out"
(2015)
Music video
"Tear in My Heart" on YouTube

"Tear in My Heart" is a song written and recorded by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots, for their fourth studio album Blurryface (2015). The song was released as a single on April 6, 2015[1] and was released to radio on April 14 of the same year.[2]

Background[edit]

"Tear in My Heart" is an ode dedicated to a loved one, with Tyler Joseph's wife Jenna being the inspiration behind the song.[3][4] As an unabashed love song, "Tear in My Heart" finds Joseph's in a romantic prose as he writes for his wife Jenna.[5] In particular, its bridge was based on Joseph's personal experience driving long hours back to Columbus, Ohio from a family vacation trip as his future-wife Jenna slept, which left him to deal with all the traffic.[6] "Tear in My Heart" is about how Joseph's wife shocked him out of stasis.[7] By talking about falling in love, it acts as a break from morbidity of which prevailed much of Blurryface.[7] 

Composition[edit]

"Tear in My Heart" is an uptempo pop song that runs for a duration of three minutes and eight seconds.[8][9] The track has exuberant, summery sounds which delve into indie pop that are driven by shining, piano-based rock instrumentation.[10][11][5][12] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music, it is written in the time signature of common time, with a moderately fast tempo of 120 beats per minute.[13] "Tear in My Heart" is composed in the key of D major, while Tyler Joseph's vocal range spans one octave and six notes, from a low of F3 to a high of D5.[13] The song has a basic sequence of D–F♯–G in the introduction and verses, alternates between the chords of A7 and A during its pre-chorus, follows G(add9)–A–Bm–A/C♯–D–A at the refrain, and has a single chord of D major during the bridge as its chord progression.[13]

The musical composition is built from piano chord stabs and trance keyboards and includes a breakdown consisting of finger-snapping.[14] "Tear in My Heart" is strong, hook-laden number propelled by a prominent piano accompaniment.[15][3][16] Opening with a pounding major triad, the musical arrangement begins with its piano motif.[3][16] The song has an upbeat atmosphere, with happy sounding piano chords and sunny, synth-driven melodies intertwining at the anthemic chorus.[17][18] During its bridge, a propulsive, one-chord vamp is played throughout in D minor with a swing feel.[13] 

Lyrically, "Tear in My Heart" is an uplifting love song that expresses goofy, sincere lines.[19][9] The playful song contains tongue-in-cheek lyrics and is decorated with a buoyant chorus: "My heart is my armor / she's the tear in my heart / she's a carver."[19] Joseph's poetic lyrics have him honestly professing great love through revealingly graphic imagery: "She's a carver / She's a butcher with a smile."[5][20][16] During the second verse, in a beguiling moment, he sings, "The songs on the radio are okay, but my taste in music is your face."[5][17] At the song's bridge, Joseph sings about driving while trying to avoid waking a companion who is sleeping in his car by hitting potholes.[21] He sings relatable lines about driving with her: "You fell asleep in my car, I drove the whole time, but that's okay, I'll just avoid the holes so you sleep fine / I'm driving here I sit, cursing my government, for not using my taxes to fill holes with more cement."[5][22]

Critical reception[edit]

Brian Kraus for Alternative Press labeled "Tear in My Heart" an "exuberant pop number."[10] Dan Leroy from the same publication praised it as an "uplifting love song harnessed to an equally buoyant chorus" and claimed it depicted a more playful side of Twenty One Pilots.[19] Slate's Carl Wilson considered the song's bridge, "a goofily touching moment, but it also evokes the absence of infrastructure, of a social contract that is failing to care and protect."[21] Anne Nickoloff and Troy Smith from The Plain Dealer opined, "The lyrics are, at times, heartwarming... and occasionally cheesy."[23] Going further, Smith called the song "catchy" and said "has a David Bowie meets Death Cab for Cutie vibe to it."[24] Jo Ferraro from New Haven Register remarked, "the sunny, synth-driven melodies of "Tear in My Heart" verge on Beatle-esque, with a little bit of "Pure Imagination" Willy Wonka thrown in."[18] Kevin Curtis for The Austin Chronicle claimed, "these aviators rock honest love on 'Tear in My Heart.'"[20] Kerrang!'s Sam Law said, "An unabashed love song, 'Tear in My Heart' finds Tyler on giddily romantic form as he writes a Valentine for his wife Jenna. Built from sunshine and fluttering heartbeats, shining instrumentation holds aloft lyrics that are in turn revealingly poetic, wholly relatable and beguilingly cheesy-as-hell. All the while, you know the love is real."[5]

Citing it the band's first crossover hit single, Spin's Brennan Carley remarked the song was "unlike any of Reed's other smashes".[12]  André Curcic from Renowned for Sound called the single "extremely catchy and summer anthem-like. This track showcases a more pop-friendly sound that shows diversity in the album."[11] Loudwire's Chad Childers remarked, "The duo of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun showed promise on their prior records, but Blurryface was the one that catapulted them to superstardom with a string of immensely popular songs. It all started with the incredibly catchy ode to a loved one 'Tear in My Heart.'"[3] Regarding it as a "triumph", PopMatters's Joshua Copperman hailed "Tear in My Heart" as the duo's "best pure pop single."[9] Maria Sherman of Fuse called the song "one of the best rock tunes of the year."[25]

Accolades[edit]

"Tear in My Heart" received a nomination for Choice Music: Rock Song at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards.[26] The song was also cited as the tenth most reblogged song of the year by Rock Sound.[27]

Commercial performance[edit]

While the duo had found sporadic alternative radio success with Vessel and had been slowly gaining a following that extended outside their hometown of Columbus, Ohio, "Tear in My Heart" was their first notable nationwide radio success.[8] The song peaked at number two on the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart in July 2015.[8]

Music video[edit]

The music video for "Tear in My Heart" was directed by Marc Klasfeld and filmed in Chinatown, Los Angeles.[6][28] Alongside both band members, lead singer Tyler Joseph's wife Jenna Black, whom he married the previous month, also appears in the music video.[29] Tyler and Jenna practiced a fight scene together for the "Tear in My Heart" video.[6] Klasfeld gave the couple a thirty-second video clip of choreography for the fight scene and had them re-enact it. In an Alternative Press interview, Jenna recalled, "It was really late at night when we got it. I'm sure the people around our hotel were like, 'What are they doing in there?'"[6] During the actual shoot, Tyler told Jenna not to worry and just go for it. She imparted, "The very first time I had to fake-throw him, he just took it. There were definitely moments where I could feel that I hit him so hard. He definitely got bruised that day."[6]

In contrast to the wintry music video for their lead single "Fairly Local," the video for "Tear in My Heart" is colorful, being set in a Chinatown.[28] It depicts Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun performing in Chinatown in the town square.[28] The video also stars Tyler's wife Jenna Joseph, who had served as the inspiration behind the song.[4] She appears throughout the music video beating up her husband until he bleeds.[6]

Live performances[edit]

An image of how Twenty One Pilots performed the "Tear in My Heart" remix when live.

Twenty One Pilots concluded a sold-out concert at Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, California with a live rendition of "Tear in My Heart" before segueing into an encore performance of "Goner" and "Trees."[30] The duo were beating bass drums as they were held up by fans in a pit before being swept off the stage.[30]

Track listing[edit]

Digital download / stream
No.TitleLength
1."Tear in My Heart"3:08

Personnel[edit]

Twenty One Pilots

Additional personnel

  • Ricky Reed – producer, bass guitar, programming, executive producer
  • Drew Kapner – engineering
  • Alex Gruszecki – assistant engineer
  • Neal Avron – mixing
  • Scott Skrzynski – assistant mix engineer
  • Chris Wolton – executive producer

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[40] Platinum 70,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[41] 2× Platinum 160,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[42] Platinum 20,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[43] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[44] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format Label
Worldwide[1] April 6, 2015
Fueled by Ramen

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Tear In My Heart – Single". iTunes. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Childers, Chad (November 14, 2019). "The 66 Best Rock Albums of the Decade". Loudwire.
  4. ^ a b Schiller, Rebecca (August 1, 2018). "Every Twenty One Pilots Music Video From 2012 to Today: Watch Their Evolution". Spin. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Law, Sam (April 24, 2020). "The 20 Greatest twenty one pilots Songs – Ranked". Kerrang!. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Pettigrew, Jason (May 17, 2020). "10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Twenty One Pilots' 'Blurryface' Era". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  7. ^ a b DeVille, Chris (May 28, 2015). "The Week In Pop: Meet Twenty One Pilots, The Biggest Band You've Never Heard Of". Stereogum. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c Rutherford. Kevin (November 21, 2019). "Songs That Defined the Decade: Twenty One Pilots' 'Stressed Out'". Billboard. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c Copperman, Joshua (October 12, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots Get Sensitive on 'Trench'". PopMatters. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Kraus, Brian (April 6, 2015). "twenty one pilots release video for exuberant new single, "Tear In My Heart" – Alternative Press". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Curcic, André (June 5, 2015). "Album Review: Twenty One Pilots – Blurryface". Renowned for Sound. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  12. ^ a b Carley, Brennan (May 31, 2016). "Pop Producer Ricky Reed Is Living the Nice Life". Spin. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  13. ^ a b c d "Twenty One Pilots "Tear in My Heart" Sheet Music in D Major". Musicnotes. April 10, 2020.
  14. ^ Harvilla, Ron (February 8, 2017). "No, Really: Root for Twenty One Pilots at the Grammys". The Ringer. The Ringer. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  15. ^ Moser, John J. (June 12, 2016). "REVIEW: Twenty One Pilots is a success at Radio 104.5 Birthday Bash. Here are the reasons why". The Morning Call. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  16. ^ a b c AltPress (May 19, 2015). "twenty one pilots - Blurryface". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  17. ^ a b Parker, Jack (May 29, 2015). "Album Review: Twenty One Pilots - Blurryface". All Things Loud. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  18. ^ a b Ferraro, Jo (January 26, 2017). "Twenty One Pilots had ground control at Webster Bank Arena show in Bridgeport". Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  19. ^ a b c Leroy, Dan (September 2, 2015). "The 10 best twenty one pilots songs". Alternative Press. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  20. ^ a b Curtin, Kevin (October 2, 2015). "ACL Fest 2015 Saturday Record Review – Twenty One Pilots: Blurryface (Fueled by Ramen)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  21. ^ a b Wilson, Carl (January 24, 2017). "The Mood Swing Vote". Slate. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  22. ^ "The 10 Best twenty one pilots lyrics so far — Kerrang!". Kerrang!. August 12, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  23. ^ Nickoloff, Anne; Smith, Troy (July 5, 2019). "All 65 Twenty One Pilots songs ranked from worst to best". The Plain Dealer. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  24. ^ Smith, Troy L. (May 18, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots' 'Blurryface' leaves a haze of disappointment (album review)". Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  25. ^ List. "Twenty One Pilots' Albums, Ranked". Fuse. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  26. ^ "Teen Choice Awards 2015 Winners: Full List". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. August 16, 2015. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  27. ^ "Here Are The Most Reblogged Bands, Albums, Songs And Genres On Tumblr In 2015". Rock Sound. December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  28. ^ a b c Kraus, Brian (April 6, 2015). "twenty one pilots release video for exuberant new single, "Tear In My Heart"". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  29. ^ "Twenty One Pilots' Tyler Joseph Got Married!". Radio 104.5. March 28, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  30. ^ a b Larsen, Peter (October 16, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots fly high at Greek Theatre". Orange County Register. Ron Hasse.
  31. ^ "ARIA CHART WATCH #391". auspOp. October 22, 2016. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  32. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  33. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  34. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  35. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
  36. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  37. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  38. ^ "Hot Rock Songs : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  39. ^ "Rock Airplay Songs - Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  40. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  41. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Twenty One Pilots – Tear in My Heart". Music Canada. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  42. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Platynowe płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2020 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  43. ^ "British single certifications – Twenty One Pilots – Tear in My Heart". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  44. ^ "American single certifications – Twenty One Pilots – Tear in My Heart". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
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