Before performing the song, Joseph shared how he had been looking in his journal to prepare for the special and remembered where his mindspace was.

The performances were part of SiriusXM's Town Hall special with the duo on Alt Nation, accompanied by story-telling and followed by a Q&A session featuring both Joseph and bandmate Josh Dun, which was hosted by SiriusXM's Jeff Regan. With only a piano, Joseph played an intimate, career-spanning set list of stripped-down songs before one-hundred fans of Twenty One Pilots. The origin of 'Holding on to You' was revealed by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph during a special SiriusXM event on January 17, 2019. The music video for 'Holding on to You' was praised for its choreography, and Twenty One Pilots was subsequently nominated for the Artist to Watch award at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. It features smoke, ballerinas and other contemporary dancers who wear skeleton facepaint and makeup while swaying and weaving their bodies around Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun as they perform the song. The video exhibits a mixing of an abstract blend of a live-shoot and radical stage performances. An accompanying music video for the single was directed by Jordan Bahat and released on November 15, 2012. Upon its release, 'Holding on to You' received universal acclaim from contemporary music critics. It impacted rock and alternative radio in 2012 and later mainstream radio in the following year. The song was released as the lead single from Vessel on September 11, 2012. The song's lyrics express introspective lines as well as a sentiment about taking back control of one's own mind, lost to mental health. It addresses the claiming of one's own life and holding onto your values.

Lyrically, 'Holding on to You' is an ode to self-control. The song contains lyrical elements of ' Lean wit It, Rock wit It' by Dem Franchize Boyz. The track's indie-inspired synth-pop transforms from a sensitive ballad to a hip-hop number with rapped verses and codas. 'Holding on to You' features upbeat rhythms and bouncy suspended chords over which Tyler Joseph delivers scattershot raps with down-to-earth sentiments and sings grandiose, euphoric choruses. It was re-recorded and later included as the second song on the track-listing of their major-label debut album, Vessel (2013). ' Holding on to You' is a song by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots from their second studio album Regional at Best (2011).

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