Hurricane (Thirty Seconds to Mars song)

"Hurricane" is a song written by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars that is featured on their third studio album, This Is War. The song was written by lead vocalist and songwriter Jared Leto and produced by Leto, Flood and Steve Lilywhite. There are two versions of this song, one of which is included on the album and another which is a collaboration with rapper Kanye West, titled "Hurricane 2.0". "Hurricane" was awarded Best Single at the Kerrang! Awards 2011. The thirteen-minute music video, directed by Leto under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins, garnered controversy when it premiered on November 29, 2010. It was banned by MTV because of its sexual content. An edited version, however, was put on heavy rotation on MTV2.^{[citation needed]}

"Hurricane"
Promotional single by Thirty Seconds to Mars
from the album This Is War
Released	December 4, 2009
Recorded	2008–2009; The International Centre for the Advancement of the Arts and Sciences of Sound, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Space rock symphonic rock
Length	6:12
Label	Virgin EMI
Songwriter(s)	Jared Leto
Producer(s)	Flood Thirty Seconds to Mars
Music video
"Hurricane" on YouTube

Background and recording

Leto wrote the piano ballad "Hurricane" in winter 2007 whilst in Berlin. 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."^[1]

— Jared Leto

Music video

The video, which runs for 13 minutes and 10 seconds and was directed by 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 bisexual female couple known as Shae and Sunisa engage in sexual bondage activities with Jared while he is confronted by hallucinations. Jared spends the entire video shirtless and being chased by a sledgehammer-wielding killer obsessed with trying to kill him. Shannon battles with a woman, who shares romantic feelings for him, ending with a kiss. Tomo, who liberates a woman from her abuser (who is also Jared's stalker), receives a key as a gift. He composes the orchestral score of the song with three identical copies of himself.

Controversy

The music video for the song was banned by MTV^{[citation needed]} and several other TV channels around the world. 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 a letter from an unnamed network 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 clad woman, which was classified as "restricted". Another offensive scene is the Rabbi, Priest, and Monk burning religious books. It was these two shots which had made the video completely restricted.^[2] 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.

Hurricane 2.0

Not to be confused with "Hurricane", a similarly titled song featuring Kanye West.

"Hurricane 2.0"
Single by Thirty Seconds to Mars featuring Kanye West
from the album This Is War (Deluxe version)
Released	November 15, 2010[3]
Recorded	2009 The International Centre for the Advancement of the Arts and Sciences of Sound (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Space rock symphonic rock
Length	6:12 (album version)
Label	Virgin EMI
Songwriter(s)	Jared Leto
Producer(s)	Flood Thirty Seconds to Mars
Thirty Seconds to Mars singles chronology
"Closer to the Edge" (2010) "Hurricane 2.0" (2010) "Up in the Air" (2013)
Kanye West singles chronology
"Start It Up" (2010) "Hurricane 2.0" (2010) "All of the Lights" (2010)

"Hurricane 2.0" is a song written by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars that is featured on their third studio album, This Is War (deluxe version), which was released as the fourth single from the album in November 2010. The song, produced by Flood and Thirty Seconds to Mars, features vocals from American rapper Kanye West. This version only appears on the deluxe version. The latter has a variation in certain parts of the track.

Background and recording

During May 2009, Kanye West posted a photo of himself, Brandon Flowers (the frontman of The Killers), and Jared Leto together and announced that he and Leto 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.^[4] 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."

— Jared Leto^[5]

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.^[6] The early leaked versions of the album had the version of "Hurricane" featuring Kanye West included. The deluxe version of This Is War included this version of the song as its first bonus track, retitled "Hurricane 2.0".

Charts

Chart (2010–11)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[7]	67
Germany (Official German Charts)[8]	45
Lebanon (The Official Lebanese Top 20)[9]	15
Portugal (AFP)[10]	27
South Africa (RISA)[11]	7
UK Singles (OCC)[12]	193
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[13]	4

References

1. James Montgomery (30 April 2009). "Character Profile: 30 Seconds to Mars". MTV. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012.
2. "Notes from the Outernet". JaredLeto.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-16. Retrieved 2011-11-17.
3. "Hurricane 2.0 (Feat. Kanye West) - EP by Thirty Seconds to Mars". iTunes. 15 November 2010.
4. Heisel, Scott (January 2010). "File Under: Nu-Arena Rock". Alternative Press (258). Cleveland, Ohio: Alternative Press Magazines Inc.: 91. ISSN 1065-1667.
5. Montgomery, James (2009-05-01). "30 Seconds To Mars Reveal Details Of Kanye West Collaboration". MTV Networks. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
6. "Failure Fan Jared Leto". Contact Music. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
7. "The ARIA Report: ARIA Top 100 Singles – Week Commencing 7th March 2011" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. March 7, 2011. Archived from the original on May 30, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
8. "THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS FEAT. KANYE WEST – HURRICANE 2.0". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
9. "Thirty Seconds To Mars (Chart History)". The Official Lebanese Top 20. July 17, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
10. "PORTUGAL SINGLES TOP 50". Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. February 20, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
11. "The Power of 5FM | Studio Number 089 11 00 505". www.5fm.co.za. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
12. "The Official UK Singles Chart for the week ending January 22, 2011". ChartsPlus (491). Milton Keynes, England: IQ Ware Ltd: 3.
13. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. January 11, 2011. Retrieved October 5, 2023.

External links

• Hurricane Video Clip