Fake You Out

"Fake You Out" is a song by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots, from their third studio album, Vessel (2013). Lead vocalist Tyler Joseph wrote the track and produced it alongside Greg Wells. It is a synth-pop and indie rock song whose lyrics talk about "putting a facade for people" and lying about one's true self.

"Fake You Out"
Single by Twenty One Pilots
from the album Vessel
ReleasedSeptember 15, 2013 (2013-09-15)
Genre
Length3:51
LabelFueled by Ramen
Songwriter(s)Tyler Joseph
Producer(s)
Twenty One Pilots singles chronology
"House of Gold"
(2013)		 "Fake You Out"
(2013)		 "Car Radio"
(2014)

It was released as the album's fourth single on September 15, 2013, through the iTunes Store in the Scandinavian countries, and was offered on the same platform as the single of the week for free in Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It was well received by critics, who commended its production and lyrics. The track charted on Billboard's Christian Rock songs chart, peaking at number 21 and spending five weeks on it. It was also certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for 500,000 units sold in the country. The band performed "Fake You Out" during their Quiet Is Violent World Tour (2014), as part of a medley with a cover version of "Summertime Sadness" by American singer Lana Del Rey.

Production and release

After signing a record deal with Fueled by Ramen in 2012, Twenty One Pilots started working on their label debut record alongside producer Greg Wells, who had previously collaborated with Adele and Katy Perry.[1][2] Vessel, their third studio album and first under the label, was released in January 2013, and included new songs as well as re-recorded versions of tracks from the duo's previous album, Regional At Best (2011).[3][4] "Fake You Out", alongside the rest of Vessel, was recorded and mixed at Rocket Carousel Studio in Los Angeles, California. The track was written by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph and produced by Greg Wells. Band member Josh Dun played the drums and the auxiliary percussion. Howie Weinberg and Dan Gerbarg mastered the song at Howie Weinberg Mastering in Los Angeles, California. Additionally, Joseph held the programming and co-production, and played the keyboard instruments. Wells also mixed the song and assisted on the programming and the keyboards.[5]

"Fake You Out" was released as the fourth single from Vessel on September 15, 2013, through the iTunes Store in the Scandinavian countries.[6][7][8][9][10] Two days later, it was made available for free as the single of the week on the platform in the United Kingdom.[11] The aforementioned offer was given through the same store in Netherlands in the week of October 13, 2013.[12]

Composition

"Fake You Out" is a synth-pop and indie rock song with a length of three minutes and fifty-one seconds.[13][2] Joseph composed the track in F-sharp, the first note he learned to play on piano while using the black keys, because he considered it easier than the C note.[14] The song has a tempo of 115 beats per minute.[15] Joseph stated that he was excited while writing the track, since he implemented on it many elements that he had not heard on music before. During the verses, he sings in falsetto; regarding this, he called this part one of his favorite melodies because he wanted to write a song that had verses as infectious as the chorus: "I feel like writers slack on verses when it comes to melody... I've always felt like why not have the verses—the melody of the verses be just as infectious as the chorus? So I'm proud of this song in that way".[16] The vocalist also expressed that he tried to implement many musical genres in the song; he elaborated: "Also, it does the whole mash-up genre thing that everyone is freaking out about. Truly, I just didn't know that there were rules to songwriting and, you know, so I just worked on transitioning from one genre to the next. I wanted to hear a song that did that. I've never heard a song do that before, I wanna hear that, so I made that".[16] Concerning the meaning of the lyrics, Joseph stated:

Lyrically, it just talks about what it talks about, you know. It's hard for me to explain it, but it's really about just putting a facade for people. I think about being on stage trying to look cool... just so the people think that like I'm worth listening to or something. The song kinda touches on how we constantly have to lie to people about who we really are, and it gets dangerous when you start lying to yourself. I like this song because it's a moment of honesty for me.[14]

Maria Sherman of Fuse compared the track to the music of American band The Killers "with a purposeful-youth tinge", while describing the beat of the bridge as "pulsing".[17] Additionally, Jacob Testa of Mind Equals Blown compared it with the works of bands Passion Pit and The Darkness.[18] Adam R. Holz of Plugged In opined that "Fake You Out" talks about "how hard it is to tell people the truth about ourselves, even those to whom we're supposedly the closest" and pointed out references to suicide.[19] Laura Coulter stated that the lyrics, especially the rap verse, talk about depression.[20] Some publications noted a contrast between the song's lyrics and melody.[20][21] Craig Roxburgh of Mind Equals Blown commented that the track "does as the title says and fakes happiness with its beat, when it is in fact a rather sad song lyrically".[22]

Reception and live performances
"I actually play the keytar on this song – my goal is to look cool every night when I play it but I fail miserably sometimes, it's a little challenge every night. It's definitely all over the place, genre wise but that's the point I think. The bridge still catches me off guard, I sometimes even forget its coming when I play it live, I absolutely love that, that I as the songwriter and performer have to wrap my mind around what the song is doing. That's a freaking good song I think!"

—Joseph talking about the live performances of "Fake You Out".[23]

Shelby Lum of The Lantern opined that Joseph's vocals "truly shined" on the track and stated that he reached "higher octaves" and pushed "the limits of his rapping" in the track.[24] Laura Coulter wrote that: "For such a serious song, the layered vocals and electronic instruments make for a fun chorus."[20] Jacob Testa of Mind Equals Blown wrote that the track had "a heaping portion of hook, momentary injections of synth-pop and sharp rapping, sprinkles of record scratches and screams, and 100% uniqueness". He also said that it was "a true culmination of the artists, synthesizing a variety of inputs and outputting something individually expressive".[18]

Fred Thomas of AllMusic selected "Fake You Out" as an album pick and called it as a "banging tune" with "a take on the parts of indie rock that appeal to a mass market".[2] A reviewer of Teen Ink described it as "an upbeat and fun song, despite its heavy lyrics".[21] An editor of website Mezzic opined that the track was both quirky and brutal.[25] "Fake You Out" charted on Billboard's Christian Rock songs chart during 2015, peaking at number 21 and spending five weeks on it.[26] On February 27, 2019, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for 500,000 units sold in the country.[27] In 2014, the band performed the song live on their Quiet Is Violent World Tour, as part of a medley with a cover version of "Summertime Sadness" by American singer Lana Del Rey.[28][29]

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Vessel.[5]

Twenty One Pilots

Additional musicians

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Christian Rock Songs (Billboard)[26] 21

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[27] Gold 500,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history
Country Date Format Record label
Sweden[8] September 15, 2013 Digital download Fueled by Ramen
Norway[9]
Denmark[7]
Finland[10]
United Kingdom[11] September 17, 2013
Netherlands[12] October 13, 2013
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References
  1. "Twenty One Pilots sign to Fueled By Ramen Records". Columbus Alive. April 29, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  2. Thomas, Fred. "Vessel". Allmusic. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  3. Thomas, Fred. "Twenty One Pilots Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  4. Sawyer, Thea (November 16, 2016). "20 Facts on twenty one pilots' 'Vessel'". Medium. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  5. Vessel (liner notes). Twenty One Pilots. United States: Fueled by Ramen. 2013.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. Smolinski, Jillian (June 20, 2016). "Twenty One Pilots to bring sold out Emotional Roadshow to Canalside". AXS. Retrieved May 27, 2017. ...includes the singles 'Holding On to You', 'Guns for Hands', 'Lovely', 'House of Gold', 'Fake You Out' and 'Car Radio'.
  7. "Fake You Out – Single by twenty one pilots". iTunes Store. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  8. "Fake You Out – Single by twenty one pilots" (in Swedish). iTunes Store. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  9. "Fake You Out – Single by twenty one pilots". iTunes Store. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  10. "Fake You Out – Single by twenty one pilots". iTunes Store. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  11. "UK: Download 'Fake You Out' for Free!". Fueled by Ramen. September 17, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  12. Gayadien, Amrish (October 13, 2013). "Apples Single van de Week: Fake You Out twenty one pilots" (in Dutch). AppleSpot.nl. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  13. Pettigrew, Jason (January 22, 2013). "Twenty One Pilots – Vessel". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  14. Track By Track Video Commentary, from Vessel (Bonus Tracks Version). Twenty One Pilots. iTunes Store. Fueled by Ramen. 2013.
  15. "Fake You Out – Digital Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  16. Vessel [Commentary Version]. Twenty One Pilots. Spotify. Fueled by Ramen. 2013.
  17. Sherman, Maria (December 3, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots' Albums, Ranked". Fuse. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  18. Testa, Jacob (January 16, 2013). "Twenty One Pilots: Vessel". Mind Equals Blown. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  19. Holz, Adam R. "Vessel Album Review (2013)". Plugged In. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  20. Coulter, Laura (September 11, 2014). "Album Review: Vessel". Lauracoulterwrites.com. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  21. "Vessel by Twenty One Pilots". Teen Ink. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  22. Roxburgh, Craig (February 5, 2014). "Twenty One Pilots: Vessel". Mind Equals Blown. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  23. Twenty One Pilots (September 4, 2013). "Track-By-Track: Twenty One Pilots – Vessel". Rock Sound. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  24. Lum, Shelby (January 7, 2013). "Album review: Twenty One Pilots push limits, shine with 'Vessel'". The Lantern. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  25. "Review:Twenty One Pilots – Vessel". Mezzic. January 7, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  26. "Chart Search". Billboard.biz. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  27. "American single certifications – Twenty One Pilots – Fake You Out". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 6, 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  28. Kosiewicz, John (October 3, 2014). "Twenty One Pilots Chicago 2014 Aragon Ballroom". Front Row Music News. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  29. "Twenty One Pilots en El Plaza. Galería y reseña" (in Spanish). Sopitas. November 22, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
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