Concert for Aliens

"Concert for Aliens"
Single by Machine Gun Kelly
from the album Tickets to My Downfall
Released	August 5, 2020 (2020-08-05)
Recorded	2019
Genre	Pop-punk
Length	2:40
Songwriter(s)	Colson Baker Nicholas Alex Long Travis Barker
Producer(s)	Travis Barker
Machine Gun Kelly singles chronology
"Bloody Valentine" (2020) "Concert for Aliens" (2020) "My Ex's Best Friend" (2020)

"Concert for Aliens" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song by Machine Gun Kelly. It was released as the second single from his fifth studio album Tickets to My Downfall. It peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart in 2020.

Background

The song debuted live on the nationally televised show Good Morning America on July 20, 2020, when Machine Gun Kelly (Colson Baker) and drummer Travis Barker performed the track.^[1] The following day, Baker posted the clip to social media and confirmed that the song would be the second single from his upcoming fifth studio album Tickets to My Downfall.^[2] Multiple music videos were released for the song. On August 5, an animated video was released, featuring Baker and Barker trying to escape from aliens, which eventually transitions to them playing a concert for the aliens.^[3] A second video, directed by Mod Sun, was released on August 13, 2020.^[4][5] The video, make of live action footage, alternates between footage of Baker and Barker performing the song in front of a crowd of aliens, and footage of Baker dressed up and acting silly in a variety of costumes, including a game show host, an actor, a sailor, an emo teenager, and a stereotypical "villain" type character.^[4][6][7] The video received 250,000 views in the first three hours of availability alone.^[8]

Themes and composition

Publications generally described the song as pop-punk.^{[3][6][9][10][11]} Pitchfork called it a faithful homage to Blink-182's Enema of the State.^[12] Despite the song's upbeat sound and humorous video, Baker noted that the song was meant to have a serious message, serving as a metaphor for the chaos and civil unrest present in the year 2020,^[9] with the song lyrics making allusions to the end of the world.^[3][4]

Reception

AllMusic and Digital Journal considered the song a standout on Tickets to My Downfall.^[13][14] Wall of Sound called it an "absolute fucking anthem."^[10] Rock Sins called it a song Simple Plan would be grateful to still be able to write.^[11] Conversely, Sputnikmusic called the vocals overproduced and that Baker sings in a nasally baritone.^[15]

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2020) Peak position US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[16] 24 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[17] 17

Year-end charts Chart (2020) Position US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[18] 83

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[19]	Gold	500,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[20]

• Machine Gun Kelly – vocals, guitar
• Travis Barker – production
• Nick Long – guitar
• Colin Leonard – master engineering
• Adam Hawkins – mixing

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Various	August 5, 2020	Digital download streaming	Bad Boy Interscope	[21]
Italy	September 4, 2020	Contemporary hit radio	Universal	[22]

References

1. Dowd, Rachael (August 13, 2020). "See MGK Channel his Inner Emo in Otherworldly 'Concert for Aliens' Video". Alt Press. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
2. Skinner, Tom (July 21, 2020). "Check out a snippet of Machine Gun Kelly's pop-punk new single 'Concert For Aliens'". NME. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
3. Aniftos, Rania (August 5, 2020). "Machine Gun Kelly & Travis Barker Throw a Pop-Punk 'Concert for Aliens' in Animated Lyric Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
4. Aniftos, Rania (August 14, 2020). "Machine Gun Kelly Brings the World of Entertainment to Outer Space in 'Concert for Aliens' Music Video". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
5. Redrup, Zach (August 13, 2020). "NEWS: Machine Gun Kelly shares video for 'Concert For Aliens'!". Dead Press. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
6. Lavin, Will (August 13, 2020). "Watch Machine Gun Kelly's new video for pop-punk smash 'Concert For Aliens'". NME. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
7. Johnson, Josh (August 13, 2020). "Watch Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker play a 'Concert for Aliens' in new video". ABC News Radio. Archived from the original on August 24, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
8. Mahjouri, Shakiel (August 13, 2020). "Machine Gun Kelly Holds 'Concert For Aliens' In New Music Video". ET Canada. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
9. "Machine Gun Kelly Drops New Video for Concert for Aliens". Kerrang. August 14, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
10. May, Tamara (September 22, 2020). "MAchine Gun Kelly – Tickets To My Downfall (Album Review)". Retrieved April 3, 2022.
11. Crampton, Simon (September 24, 2020). "Machine Gun Kelly - Tickets To My Downfall Album Review". Retrieved April 3, 2022.
12. Tosiello, Pete (September 30, 2020). "Machine Gun Kelly: Tickets to My Downfall Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
13. Thomas, Fred. "Machine Gun Kelly". AllMusic. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
14. Papadatos, Markus (September 26, 2020). "REview: Machine Gun Kelly releases high-octane 'Tickets To My Downfall' (Includes first-hand account)". Digital Journal. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
15. K., Simon (September 26, 2020). "Review: Machine Gun Kelly - Tickets to My Downfall". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
16. "Machine Gun Kelly Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
17. "Machine Gun Kelly Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
18. "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
19. "American single certifications – Machine Gun Kelly – Concert for Aliens". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
20. "Credits / Tickets To My Downfall – Machine Gun Kelly TIDAL". Tidal. 25 September 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
21. "concert for aliens - Single by Machine Gun Kelly on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
22. "MACHINE GUN KELLY "concert for aliens" | (Radio Date: 04/09/2020)". radiodate.it. September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.