Before the epic 2015 MTV Video Music Awards collaboration between arena pop-rock luminaries Twenty One Pilots and rapper A$AP Rocky took form, the band has claimed that the performance almost didn't happen as they declined the award show's first collaborative offer.
During a recent interview with Alternative Press, frontman Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun elaborated on why the performance almost never took place. "There was an artist they mentioned and we said, 'Thank you, but we're going to pass. It doesn't make sense for us for a number of reasons,'" said Joseph. "And we thought that was it: We had blown out chance to play the VMAs-and it's gone forever. But it was a good decision and it made sense. Then MTV came back to us and said, 'What about A$AP Rocky?'"
Why, you might ask, did Joseph and Dun agree to perform with A$AP Rocky instead of this supposed mysterious first act? The singer further elaborated, during the same interview, about his affinity for the mega rap star. "I started diving into what he's all about, and although it's very different from what we're coming, there was a like-mindedness," he stated. "It was one of the favorite moments of my career. Not because of what everyone saw, but just the learning process of working with another artists and working with the politics of what it means to work on a stage that big."
During the VMA performance, the duo, along with Rocky, performed one of their new tracks "Heavydirtysoul," off of their critically-acclaimed 2015 album Blurryface. The trio then launched into Rocky's tracks "M$" and "LSD."
The duo will head out on a massive arena tour kicking off in May 2016 dubbed the Emotional Roadshow, some dates of which, including a headlining spot at Madison Square Garden, have already sold out. Tickets for all remaining available dates are currently on sale. The band continues to enjoy worldwide praise of their latest record, Blurryface, which was released in May of this year via Fueled By Ramen.
