Twenty One Pilots (stylized as TWENTY ØNE PILØTS and sometimes shortened to TØP) is an American musical duo originating from Columbus, Ohio. The band was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with former members Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who eventually left in 2011, and currently consists of Joseph and drummer Josh Dun. The duo rose to fame in the mid–2010s, after several years of touring and independent releases.

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They put out two self-released albums, Twenty One Pilots in 2009 and Regional at Best in 2011, before being signed by Fueled by Ramen in 2012. Their label debut, Vessel, was released in 2013. The duo achieved breakthrough success with their fourth album, Blurryface (2015), which produced the successful singles "Stressed Out" and "Ride." In addition, the single "Heathens," recorded for the soundtrack of the film Suicide Squad, made the group the first alternative artist to have two concurrent top ten singles in the U.S. The duo have been nominated for five Grammy Awards, and have won one for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

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On March 16, 2015, the band announced that Blurryface was to be released on May 19. They also released the first single, called "Fairly Local." Their second single of the album, "Tear in My Heart," and its music video were released on April 5, 2015. On April 28, "Stressed Out," the third single from the album, was released along with a music video. "Stressed Out" peaked at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and number one on both Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts.

Blurryface was released two days early on May 17, 2015, and sold 134,000 copies in the first week in the United States, becoming the band's first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. On May 22, 2016, Blurryface went on to win the category of "Top Rock Album" at the Billboard Music Awards, and the band also won the category of "Top Rock Artist."