The Judge (song)

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"The Judge"
Song by Twenty One Pilots
from the album Blurryface
ReleasedMay 17, 2015
Studio
Genre
Length4:58
LabelFueled by Ramen
Songwriter(s)Tyler Joseph
Producer(s)Mike Crossey

"The Judge" is a song by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots. It was released on their fourth studio album Blurryface in May 2015. It was written by Tyler Joseph and produced by Mike Crossey.

Background[edit]

On their fourth studio album Blurryface, lead vocalist Tyler Joseph explored various lyrical and musical styles throughout several of its songs.[1] "The Judge" was one of the softer moments in the album and features repetitive lyrics that are driven by a narrative.[2][3][1]

Drawing inspiration from the use of ukulele, "The Judge" is the first track to introduce Joseph's usage of the instrument into the framework of Blurryface.[3][4] It is a tender sing-along that stands in contrast with the album's darker themes as one of the most sonically radio-friendly songs.[5][6][4]

Recording[edit]

"The Judge" was produced by Mike Crossey and recorded at Livingston Studios in London, United Kingdom. The track was then mixed at The Casita in Hollywood, California and mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City.[7] It is built on Joseph lightly strumming his ukulele before additional instruments are incorporated into the arrangement.[1][6][8] The band opted to eschew synthesized sounds in favor of the acoustic instruments such as piano and guitar in addition to vocals and marimba.[9][10]

Composition[edit]

"The Judge" is a pop song that lasts for a duration of four minutes and fifty-eight seconds.[11][12] It is a summery sing along with an island flavor that is based on ukulele folk and enduring emo.[13][14][11][15] The track features acoustic guitar and piano, marimba tones, soulful singing, rapping and multiple changes in time signature.[9][10] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc, the song is written in the time signature of common time, with a tempo of 80 beats per minute.[12] "The Judge" is composed in the key of A Minor while Tyler Joseph's vocal range spans two octaves, from the low-note of D3 to the high-note D5.[12] The song has a basic sequence of Am–F–C–Dm–Am–F–C in the introduction and verses, changes to Em–B–Am–G during its pre-chorus, and follows F–C–G–Am–F–G–C–Am–F at the refrain as its chord progression.[12]

The musical arrangement begins with an introduction, opening with ukulele strums and a cooing vocal refrain, "Na na na na, oh oh."[16][4] Throughout the song, the ukulele-driven track gradually builds up and takes on more musical layers.[11][4] At the chorus, percussive piano keys create buoyant piano pop while Joseph recites a hook.[10][17] Joseph rises to the falsetto range as he blissfully sings the emotive chorus, asking, "You're the judge, oh no, set me free."[4][16][9] Towards its end, a piano solo takes lead before all of the instruments come together in a conclusion.[4]

Lyrically, "The Judge" finds Joseph struggling with his inner demons and examining his psyche.[8][18][2] He blithely communicates despair, exuding feelings of fear and anxiety.[18][8] The repetitive yet catchy lyrics appear as a stream of consciousness.[3] They convey thoughts pertaining to situations in life and over thinking about writing the song itself.[3] Joseph confesses, "I don't know if this song is a surrender or a revel/I don't know if this song is about me or the devil."[13] While his storytelling lyrics are personal in nature, they also inspire equality.[6][19][20]

Critical reception[edit]

AllMusic's Neil Z Yeung wrote, "Despite the intensity of some of the lyrics, when one focuses strictly on the music, it's a party... Joseph strums his ukulele to effective measure on 'The Judge.' "[8] Sharing similar sentiments, Anne Nickoloff and Troy Smith from The Plain Dealer stated, "Of all the Twenty One Pilots ukulele-based songs, 'The Judge' stands out on top with its free-flying vocals and lyrical storytelling. By the end of the song, the light strumming collides with a playful piano singalong bop—a needed sonic contrast to the darker themes on the rest of Blurryface.[6] However, Smith also felt "The Judge" was as among the songs which dragged the album down, and was critical of its "overlong emo."[15] Writing for Eagle News Online, Ashley Wolf favorably compared "The Judge" to that of Jason Mraz's music, claiming it was "the most pop-sounding song on the album. It is possible that if this song became a single, pop and hip hop radio stations across the country would have the track on instant replay for the entire summer."[3] Dan Leroy for Alternative Press considered "The Judge" to be the album's standout track. He said, "What it is is the best pure pop song the band has come up with yet, taking the simple ukulele folk of Vessel's "House of Gold" and sculpting it into summer singalong nirvana."[13] Jason Pettigrew, from the same publication, added, "This classic from Blurryface is totally awesome for one great reason: Dun makes it swing from revival meeting to teenage dance party. Totally groovy."[21] The Austin Chronicle writer Kevin Curtin remarked, "these aviators... inspire equality with 'The Judge.'"[20] Writing for Gapers Block, Zac Blumenfeld praised the song's music, saying, "Joseph has found a masterful way to connect with people their age and become their inner demons, expressing blithe despair through his ukulele in 'The Judge.'"[18] Emily Jayne Beard from PopBuzz opined, "...you'll stay for the softer moments like "The Judge"... which delve even deeper into Joseph's psyche."[2] Kerrang!'s Emily Carter characterized "The Judge" as being a "touching ukulele sing-along."[5] Conversely, Rolling Stone Australia writer Rod Yates unfavorably compared the song's style to that of American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz.[11] Likewise, Cole Waterman from Spectrum Culture said, "'The Judge', ...is unpleasantly reminiscent of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.' Even worse, as the tune’s overwrought refrain emerges, it mirrors the wincingly-prosaic cheeseball indie rock of Fun."[16]

Accolades[edit]

"The Judge" was ranked number eight by Billboard critics on their "Top 40 Deep Cuts by Popular Rock Bands of the 21st Century" list.[10] Billboard writer Chris Payne remarked, "Who was it that decided Twenty One Pilots' most Billy Joel–sounding song shouldn't be a single? ...'The Judge' bops along like a polite ukulele ditty, then lodges permanently in your brain when Tyler Joseph pounds the ivories and drops an immaculate falsetto hook."[10]

Commercial performance[edit]

Despite not being released as a single, "The Judge" became a hit song.[10][22] It peaked at number thirty-two on the U.S. Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart for the date issued June 13, 2015.[23] The song has also accumulated more plays on the streaming platform Spotify than any other non-single by Twenty One Pilots.[10] On January 17, 2019, "The Judge" was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 1,000,000 paid digital downloads.[24]

Live performances[edit]

Twenty One Pilots performed "The Judge" during a sold-out concert at The Powerstation in Auckland, New Zealand on July 9, 2015.[19] The duo gave a live performance "The Judge" for a live venue held at Shepherd's Bush Empire in West London, England on November 8, 2015.[9] Before an audience of the thousands who were wearing beanie hats, they performed on a stage with red and white lighting, creating a dark yet warm atmosphere.[9] Twenty One Pilots provided a live rendition of "The Judge" at the Aragon Ballroom when WKQX hosted the first of its four "Nights We Stole Christmas" concerts on December 3, 2015.[18] Twenty One Pilots performed "The Judge" for an audience of 15,000 during a concert at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on November 3, 2018. Tyler Joseph wore a flowery caftan while strumming a ukulele as stagehands wearing gas masks sprayed the stage with colorless gas.[25] The band provided a live performance of "The Judge" for the fifteenth consecutive sold-out concert at The BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida during their Bandito Tour on November 4, 2018.[26][22] Josh Dun performed a drum solo while Joseph changed into a flower-printed shirt and strummed a ukulele as they segued into the song.[26]

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[29] Gold 35,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[30] Platinum 80,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[31] Gold 25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Silver 200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[33] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Blurryface.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Laing, Philip (September 1, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots - Blurryface". Cross Rhythms.
  2. ^ a b c Beard, Emily Jayne (December 9, 2015). "PopBuzz's 20 Best Albums Of The Year". PopBuzz. Global.
  3. ^ a b c d e Wolf, Ashley (May 28, 2015). "Album Review: Twenty One Pilots – A Change in Sound, But for the Better". Eagle Newspapers. Archived from the original on August 2, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Parker, Jack (May 29, 2015). "Album Review: Twenty One Pilots - Blurryface". All Things Loud. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Carter, Emily (August 7, 2020). "twenty one pilots: Every Album Ranked From Worst To Best". Kerrang!. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d Nickoloff, Anne; Smith, Troy (July 5, 2019). "All 65 Twenty One Pilots songs ranked from worst to best". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Blurryface (Booklet). Twenty One Pilots. Fueled by Ramen. 2015. 7567-86692-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ a b c d Yeung, Neil Z. "Blurryface – Twenty One Pilots". AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d e Ager, James (November 8, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots at Shepherd's Bush Empire". The Upcoming.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Payne, Chris (November 22, 2017). "The Top 40 Deep Cuts by Popular Rock Bands of the 21st Century: Critic's Picks". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  11. ^ a b c d Yates, Rod (May 11, 2015). "Twenty-One Pilots – Blurryface". Rolling Stone Australia. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  12. ^ a b c d Joseph, Tyler (September 28, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots 'The Judge' Sheet Music in A Minor - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c LeRoy, Dan (September 2, 2015). "The 10 Best Twenty One Pilots Songs". Alternative Press. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  14. ^ Matthews, Kent (June 5, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots Climbs Charts". Houston Chronicle.
  15. ^ a b Smith, Troy L. (May 18, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots' 'Blurryface' leaves a haze of disappointment (album review)". Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  16. ^ a b c Waterman, Cole (May 31, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots: Blurryface - Review". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  17. ^ Caryn Ganz (August 11, 2016). "Review: For Twenty One Pilots, Time to Shine on a Stage of Dreams". The New York Times.
  18. ^ a b c d Blumenfeld, Zac (December 4, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots Makes Young-Person Angst...Ecstatic?!". Gapers Block.
  19. ^ a b Bache, Rachel (July 9, 2015). "Concert Review: Twenty One Pilots, Powerstation". The New Zealand Herald.
  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. ^ Pettigrew, Jason (September 26, 2019). "Twenty One Pilots Songs Ranked in All Of Their Pop Majesty". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  22. ^ a b Heizer, Pedro (November 5, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots Sell Out BB&T Center With Highly-Anticipated Bandito Tour". The Boca Raton Tribune.
  23. ^ "Chart History | Twenty One Pilots | Hot Rock & Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  24. ^ "Gold & Platinum —- RIAA". Recording Industry Association of America. August 26, 2015.
  25. ^ Cridlin, Jay (November 3, 2018). "Review: Twenty One Pilots Drop Apocalyptic Set on Diehard Fans At Tampa's Amalie Arena". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  26. ^ a b Rhodes, Wendy (November 5, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots Lit Up the Sold-Out BB&T Center Last Night". Miami New Times.
  27. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
  28. ^ "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  29. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2022 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  30. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Twenty One Pilots – The Judge". Music Canada. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  31. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2021 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  32. ^ "British single certifications – Twenty One Pilots – The Judge". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  33. ^ "American single certifications – Twenty One Pilots – The Judge". Recording Industry Association of America.
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