Hurricane (30 Seconds to Mars song)
Encyclopedia
"Hurricane" is a song written by American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars
which is featured on their third studio album, This Is War
. The song was written by lead vocalist and songwriter Jared Leto
and was released in January 2011 as the fourth single from the album. The track was produced by Jared Leto, Flood and Steve Lilywhite.
wrote the piano ballad "Hurricane" in winter 2007 whilst in Berlin
. In an interview, Jared said the following about the song:
posted a photo of himself, Brandon Flowers
(the frontman of The Killers) and Jared Leto together and announced that he and Jared were working together on a song named "Hurricane". This collaboration was only included on an early version of "Hurricane", and West's work did not make it onto the album. Leto said that he,
West's vocal contribution to the song was ultimately removed because of legal issues surrounding the rights of each record company. Although it was not released on the original pressing of the album, Leto has said the track will be heard eventually. The early leaked versions of the album had the version of "Hurricane" featuring Kanye West included. The album was released in a Deluxe form with this version of the song titled "Hurricane 2.0".
and several other TV channels around the world. The video, which runs for 13 minutes and 10 seconds and was directed by Jared Leto under the pseudonym
Bartholomew Cubbins, premiered on MTV on November 29, 2010.
The experimental short film is 12 minutes long and contains excerpts from the tracks "Escape" and "Night of the Hunter." It takes place in what is believed to be a dream, and explores a violent and sexual world where 30 Seconds to Mars are stalked and attacked by various figures known as "The Gimps", while a lesbian couple known as Shae and Sunisa engage in sexual bondage activities and Jared is confronted by hallucinations. Jared spends the entire video being chased by a sledgehammer-wielding killer obsessed with trying to kill the seemingly invincible Jared. Shannon battles with a woman who shares romantic feeling for him and Tomo composes the orchestral score of the song with three identical copies of himself.
The video was censored and banned because of its elements of violence, nudity and sex in an almost pornographic context. On November 28, 2010, Jared Leto posted the letter from MTV about the censorship of the video on his blog. The list features the offending scenes, such as a woman running her finger on the anus of another G-string woman, which was classified as "restricted". It was only this shot which had made the video completely restricted. The video is still available online with a viewing certificate of 18+. The video uses the version of the song without Kanye West
, hence West does not make an appearance in the video.
30 Seconds to Mars
30 Seconds to Mars is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1998. Since 2007, the band has consisted of actor Jared Leto , Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević...
which is featured on their third studio album, This Is War
This Is War
This Is War is the third studio album by American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars, released through Virgin Records and EMI on December 8, 2009. It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard 200.- Background and development :...
. The song was written by lead vocalist and songwriter Jared Leto
Jared Leto
Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...
and was released in January 2011 as the fourth single from the album. The track was produced by Jared Leto, Flood and Steve Lilywhite.
Background and recording
Jared LetoJared Leto
Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...
wrote the piano ballad "Hurricane" in winter 2007 whilst in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. In an interview, Jared said the following about the song:
"I wrote 'Hurricane' in Berlin in the winter in 2007. It was winter, it was getting dark at like 3:30 in the afternoon, and it could go either way. It could be incredibly comforting or incredibly depressing. Thankfully, it was a little bit of both. It was inspiring nonetheless."
Hurricane 2.0
During May 2009, Kanye WestKanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
posted a photo of himself, Brandon Flowers
Brandon Flowers
Brandon Richard Flowers is an American musician, best known as the frontman of the Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers. He has also released a solo album titled Flamingo.-Early life:...
(the frontman of The Killers) and Jared Leto together and announced that he and Jared were working together on a song named "Hurricane". This collaboration was only included on an early version of "Hurricane", and West's work did not make it onto the album. Leto said that he,
"...had actually brought up [the idea of working with West] some time ago, but it's pretty unbelievable that it actually happened. [...] He came by here, he was here in the studio, and we did some initial kind of listening, and he did some singing, and we knew we needed to kind of follow up and finish things, so I went over to Hawaii [with] an engineer and a small crew, and we had a great time."
West's vocal contribution to the song was ultimately removed because of legal issues surrounding the rights of each record company. Although it was not released on the original pressing of the album, Leto has said the track will be heard eventually. The early leaked versions of the album had the version of "Hurricane" featuring Kanye West included. The album was released in a Deluxe form with this version of the song titled "Hurricane 2.0".
"Hurricane" video controversy
The music video for the song "Hurricane" was banned by MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and several other TV channels around the world. The video, which runs for 13 minutes and 10 seconds and was directed by Jared Leto under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Bartholomew Cubbins, premiered on MTV on November 29, 2010.
The experimental short film is 12 minutes long and contains excerpts from the tracks "Escape" and "Night of the Hunter." It takes place in what is believed to be a dream, and explores a violent and sexual world where 30 Seconds to Mars are stalked and attacked by various figures known as "The Gimps", while a lesbian couple known as Shae and Sunisa engage in sexual bondage activities and Jared is confronted by hallucinations. Jared spends the entire video being chased by a sledgehammer-wielding killer obsessed with trying to kill the seemingly invincible Jared. Shannon battles with a woman who shares romantic feeling for him and Tomo composes the orchestral score of the song with three identical copies of himself.
The video was censored and banned because of its elements of violence, nudity and sex in an almost pornographic context. On November 28, 2010, Jared Leto posted the letter from MTV about the censorship of the video on his blog. The list features the offending scenes, such as a woman running her finger on the anus of another G-string woman, which was classified as "restricted". It was only this shot which had made the video completely restricted. The video is still available online with a viewing certificate of 18+. The video uses the version of the song without Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
, hence West does not make an appearance in the video.
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
67 |
| Germany Singles Chart | 45 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
193 |
| UK Rock Singles UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
4 |