The Judge (song)

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.

For the Soul Asylum song, see While You Were Out (album).
"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, Tyler Joseph
Music video
"The Judge" on YouTube

Recording

"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.[1] "The Judge" is the first album track to bring forth Tyler Joseph's usage of ukelele instrument into the framework of Blurryface. It stands as among one of the record's most radio-friendly songs and in contrast with its more darker themes.[2][3]

Composition

"The Judge" lasts for a duration of four minutes and fifty-eight seconds.[4] The track is summery, ukulele-driven pop and indie rock number that draws on simplistic ukulele folk and enduring emo.[5][6][7][8] 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.[4] "The Judge" is composed in the key of A Minor while Tyler Joseph's vocal range spans two octaves, from the low-note of D4 to the high-note D6.[4] 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.[4]

The musical arrangement begins with an introduction, opening with a vocal refrain consisting of "Na na na na, oh oh."[2] The song's chorus has Joseph raising up his free-flying vocals to the falsetto range.[3][2] He sings in a blissful pop style, asking, "You’re the judge, oh no, set me free."[2] The musical composition has Joseph lightly strumming his ukulele to an effective measure.[3][9] The ukulele-driven track subsequently builds up, with additional musical layers being incorporated throughout.[6][2] Toward its end, the light strumming combines with a jolly piano sing-along.[3] A piano solo takes lead prior to a grand conclusion in which all of the instruments unite as one whole.[2]

The lyrical content of "The Judge" finds Tyler Joseph struggling with his inner demons.[9] He expresses blithe despair through his ukulele, with feelings such as fear and anxiety seeping throughout.[9][10] 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."[5] The song's lyrics contain free-flying storytelling and inspire equality.[3][11]

Critical reception

AllMusic's Neil Z Yeung claimed, "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.'"[9] 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."[5] The Austin Chronicle writer Kevin Curtin remarked, "these aviators... inspire equality with 'The Judge.'"[11] 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.'"[10] 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."[3] However, Smith also felt "The Judge" was as among the songs which dragged the album down, and was critical of its "overlong emo."[7] In a less favorable review, Rolling Stone Australia writer Rod Yates compared the track's musical style to that of American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz.[6]

Live performances

Twenty One Pilots performed "The Judge" at the Aragon Ballroom when WKQX hosted the first of its four "Nights We Stole Christmas" concerts on December 3, 2015.[10]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts
Chart (2015–16) Peak
position
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[12] 32

Year-end charts
Chart (2015) Position
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[13] 68

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[14] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[1]

Twenty One Pilots

  • Tyler Joseph – piano, lead vocals, backing vocals, Hammond organ, synths and gang vocals, ukulele
  • Josh Dun – drums, percussion, backing vocals

References
  1. Blurryface (Booklet). Twenty One Pilots. Fueled by Ramen. 2015. 7567-86692-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. Parker, Jack (May 29, 2015). "Album Review: Twenty One Pilots - Blurryface". All Things Loud. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  3. 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.
  4. Joseph, Tyler. "Twenty One Pilots 'The Judge' Sheet Music in A Minor - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  5. LeRoy, Dan (September 2, 2015). "The 10 Best Twenty One Pilots Songs". Alternative Press. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  6. Yates, Rod (May 11, 2015). "Twenty-One Pilots – Blurryface". Rolling Stone Australia. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  7. Smith, Troy L. (May 18, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots' 'Blurryface' leaves a haze of disappointment (album review)". Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  8. "Twenty One Pilots: Blurryface - Review". Spectrum Culture. 2015-06-01. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  9. Yeung, Neil Z. "Blurryface – Twenty One Pilots". AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  10. Blumenfeld, Zac (December 4, 2015). "Twenty One Pilots Makes Young-Person Angst...Ecstatic?!". Gapers Block.
  11. 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.
  12. "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard.
  13. "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  14. "American single certifications – Twenty One Pilots – The Judge". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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