Tyler Robert Joseph is an American musician best known as the frontman of the popular duo Twenty One Pilots. When they mention the “pilots” (as fans used to call the band), two handsome guys immediately come to mind, one of whom (Tyler) captivates with his voice, and the other (Josh Dun) simply tears the audience with amazing drumming.

Biography of Tyler Joseph

Tyler was born into a Christian family of teachers in Columbus, Ohio. A large family, in which, in addition to Tyler, three more children grew up, lived quite modestly. Parents had to work hard. They taught their children to work from a very early age. Since childhood, the guy was fond of sports, namely basketball, but music occupied a special place in his young heart. He discovered his love for writing music and performing quite by accident: in the closet he stumbled upon an old keyboard given by his mother for Christmas, and began to pick up tunes heard on the radio by ear. Parents supported their son in his desire to become a musician. His mother even helped to convey her son’s talent to the public: before one of the first performances of the Twenty One Pilots group, she distributed tickets to a concert at her work, at the university, with a message like “come, look, my son will perform there.” Judging by the subsequent success, no one was disappointed that they went to the concert. The guy became the very son of his mother’s friend, who achieves success in his business.

Musical career and Twenty One Pilots

Before forming the band, Tyler tried to realize himself as a solo artist and even managed to release his own album No Phun in 2008, which became the basis of all subsequent “pilot” albums.

Twenty One Pilots was born in 2009 from Tyler’s initiative. It originally consisted of Tyler Joseph, Nick Thomas and Chris Salih (student friends). Nick and Chris later left the band. But the group did not cease to exist, as Tyler met Josh, who became Tyler’s musical partner as well as Tyler’s best friend. The guys complement each other so much that the idea that there could be not two, but three or four people in the group seems incredible.

Tyler came up with the name of the group “Twenty One Pilots” after reading Arthur Miller’s play “All My Sons”, which tells about the death of 21 pilots during the Second World War. Interestingly, Tyler forbids writing this name in numbers – 21 Pilots. The band’s logo, known to fans as the “kitchen sink”, is also a figment of Tyler’s imagination. The author keeps its meaning a secret.

Aside from the name, all of the band’s hallmarks (such as performing in balaclavas or Tyler wearing black-painted arms and neck) carry a certain meaning. The latter, for example, symbolizes the complexes and shortcomings of the singer and other people. Blurryface (in translation – “blurred face”) – this is the name of the character, whose hands and neck are covered in black. And this is not a split personality, but a creative alter ego of the singer, incarnating into which, Tyler openly faces his fears: insecurity in creativity, fear of expressing himself, and so on. In 2015, an album called “BlurryFace” was created.

Tyler is a virtuoso on the keyboard, but does not play the guitar. However, the absence of a guitar does not make the band’s music inferior. On the contrary, the gentle sound of the piano together with the powerful beats of the drums make their tracks truly unique. And the elements of the show, which are an integral part of the performances of the musical group, make the group recognizable to the whole world.

In 2017, the group finally won the Grammy statuette. The speech by Tyler and Josh, who took the stage in their underpants, made a splash. Tyler explained this by the fact that at the stage of creating the group, he, along with Josh, watched the Grammy awards ceremony and found that they were sitting in nothing but shorts. Then Tyler told her partner that if they suddenly find themselves on stage with a statuette, they will be in this form. At the presentation, Tyler said a very energizing phrase:

“Anyone, no matter where they come from, can do anything.”

What a philosopher.

The frontman of the “pilots” has a lot of tattoos. It is known that the tattoo “X” on the body of both members of the group symbolizes their devotion to fans from Columbus (the musicians’ hometown). The meaning of the other body paintings, some of which are said to be related to religious themes, Tyler does not speak publicly. Many paid attention to the fact that the musician has black hands and neck. This is not a tattoo, but an element of the image for certain clips and concerts. He didn’t beat himself up.

Tyler is the author of the text and music of all the works of the group, which already has a decent number of released albums: “Twenty One Pilots” (2009), “Regional at Best” (2011), “Vessel” (2013), “Blurryface” (2015), Trench (2018).

Tyler’s Christian religion greatly influenced the content of the songs.

Tyler’s personal life

Tyler Joseph, despite widespread rumors about his unconventional orientation, is married to his childhood friend Jenna Black.

Jenna is a huge support for Tyler. She accompanies her husband during his tours and is the first to evaluate Tyler’s newly created musical creations. During the Grammy awards, she was also there. The couple has no children yet. On Instagram, you can see a lot of pictures of a young family with kids, but these are just nephews.

Illness (what makes Tyler sick)

Bipolar disorder is a disease that has been attributed to the musician for many years. Is there any truth in this? It is hard to say. Let’s try to look for clues in the lyrics of Tyler’s songs. For example, in the track “Polarize” he sings “Help me polarize, help me polarize” (in translation – “help me polarize”). Such phrases really suggest a possible bipolar disorder. Also in the compositions “Stressed Out” and “Heathens” there are lines that make fans think about a possible problem. In addition, Joseph, like his partner, Josh, has repeatedly publicly stated problems with anxiety and even depression. However, neither one nor the other mentioned bipolar disorder.

Tyler Joseph now

To date, Tyler Joseph, along with his partner, do not cease to delight fans with new tracks and amaze them with mind-blowing tricks during performances. His songs not only sound great, but also have a deep meaning, which especially catches the fans and makes them wait in awe for the release of the next tracks.

Here is one of the latest tracks by Tyler and Josh (slick as always, but will the video collect its lard?):

A wonderful husband, a true friend and a talented musician – all this can be said about Joseph Tyler.

Photo source: Instagram musician.