Tickets To My Downfall is the fifth album by rapper and singer Machine Gun Kelly, released on September 25, 2020, and marking a Genre Shift for him away from hip-hop towards Pop Punk.
Having attracted a sizeable Hatedom following his 2018 feud with Eminem, and having found success with the 2019 rock single "I Think I'm Okay", a collaboration with YUNGBLUD and Travis Barker, Machine Gun Kelly sought to explore rock music further, initially spending a day's recording session with Barker that then resulted in the two deciding to collaborate on an entire album of Pop Punk. The plan was for it to release in early 2020.
Then the COVID-19 Pandemic happened, while Machine Gun Kelly was in Florida filming the movie Midnight in the Switchgrass, on the set of which he began a relationship with his co-star, Megan Fox. The two returned to California to go on lockdown, during which Kelly filmed a series of livestreamed "Lockdown Sessions" performances which would go to attract attention to the album (and several became tracks on its deluxe edition). Fox would star in the music video for its lead single, "Bloody Valentine", with the two going public with their relationship — which would inform much of the album — soon after.
To promote the project further, in January 2021, Machine Gun Kelly released his directorial debut Downfalls High, a musical short film based on the album starring Sydney Sweeney and TikToker Chase Hudson.
Tickets To My Downfall was released to commercial success, debuting atop the Billboard 200 album charts and becoming Machine Gun Kelly's first album to go platinum.
Track listing (Standard Edition):
- "Title Track" (2:45)
- "Kiss Kiss" (2:15)
- "Drunk Face" (2:23)
- "Bloody Valentine" (3:25)
- "Forget Me Too" (featuring Halsey) (2:51)
- "All I Know" (featuring Trippie Redd) (2:09)
- "Lonely" (3:10)
- "WWIII" (0:59)
- "Kevin and Barracuda (Interlude)" (1:23)
- "Concert for Aliens" (2:40)
- "My Ex's Best Friend" (featuring blackbear) (2:18)
- "Jawbreaker" (1:57)
- "Nothing Inside" (featuring iann dior) (2:52)
- "Banyan Tree (Interlude)" (1:31)
- "Play This When I'm Gone" (3:22)
additional Deluxe Edition tracks:
- "Body Bag" (featuring YUNGBLUD and Bert McCracken) (2:50)
- "Hangover Cure" (2:40)
- "Split a Pill" (2:46)
- "Can't Look Back" (2:10)
- "Misery Business" (3:21)
- "Roll The Windows Up" (2:25)
- "In These Walls (My House)" (with Pvris) (2:48)
- "Love on the Brain" (2:22)
- "Bloody Valentine (Acoustic)" (3:16)
Tropes in the album include:
- Break Up Song: "Forget Me Too", with a healthy dose of
Reality Subtext since Machine Gun Kelly and Halsey used to date. - The Cameo: Pete Davidson on "Kevin and Barracuda" and Megan Fox on "Banyan Tree".
- Cover Version: "Misery Business" and "Love on the Brain", both originally performed in the Lockdown Sessions.
- COVID-19 Pandemic: Heavily impacted the album's production and release, and is alluded to on "Concert for Aliens" ("the headlines say the world is over") and "Bloody Valentine ("the simulation just went bad").
- Miniscule Rocking: "WWIII", clocking in at less than a minute.
- New Sound Album: Pop Punk, rather than hip-hop or Rap Rock like Machine Gun Kelly's previous works.
- Non-Appearing Title: "Drunk Face", "Concert for Aliens" and "My Ex's Best Friend", and technically "Title Track".
- Ode to Youth: "Drunk Face".
- Record Producer: Travis Barker, who became a highly in-demand producer following its release.
- Sampling: "All I Know" interpolates "Knowledge" by punk band Operation Ivy.
- Surprisingly Gentle Song: "play this when i’m gone" compared to the rest of the album.
- Title Track: Subverted, it doesn't have a title track, but the title appears in a song named "Title Track".
- Unplugged Version: An acoustic version of "Bloody Valentine" is included as a bonus track.
