Maps of Music

Tickets to My Downfall (2020)

Where the lyrics of Tickets to My Downfall take you, and where it was really made.

Machine Gun Kelly made this album with Travis Barker as a pop-punk record, and it became his first album to top the US Billboard 200.

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Tickets to My Downfall: fifth studio album by American musician Machine Gun Kelly
Released September 25, 2020 by Bad Boy Records and Interscope Records
Marks a departure from his established rap sound and became a more guitar-driven pop-punk album
His first collaborative project with drummer and producer Travis Barker
Guest appearances from Halsey, Trippie Redd, Blackbear and Iann Dior
Deluxe edition adds Bert McCracken and Yungblud
Preceded by the singles 'Bloody Valentine', 'Concert for Aliens' and 'My Ex's Best Friend'

Four earlier studio albums through the 2010s were hip hop and rap styled
The 2019 single 'I Think I'm Okay' from Hotel Diablo, made with Yungblud and Barker, was certified platinum in the US
A single studio day with Barker for 'Bloody Valentine' led Baker to ask for two months to make a full album
During production the project was informally called 'the untitled pop punk project'
Release was originally expected in early 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the plans

Barker played drums on the whole album and worked as a producer
Baker wished for features from Bert McCracken of the Used and Chris Fronzak of Attila before recording
The album originally ended with a track called 'Times of My Life', but Tom Petty's estate did not authorize it
Corey Taylor of Slipknot recorded vocals for a track that did not make the album

The cover art, a sketch of a falling man, was modeled on a photograph the team had no rights to use
Baker apologized and announced a new cover, after signing thousands of copies with the old artwork

1	title track	2:45
2	kiss kiss	2:18
3	drunk face	2:23
4	bloody valentine	3:25
5	forget me too	2:51
6	all I know	2:09
7	lonely	3:10
8	WWIII	0:59
9	kevin and barracuda (interlude)	1:23
10	concert for aliens	2:40
11	my ex’s best friend	2:19
12	jawbreaker	1:57
13	nothing inside	2:52
14	banyan tree (interlude)	1:31
15	play this when i’m gone	3:22

Colson Baker, known as MGK (formerly Machine Gun Kelly), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, and actor.
Born April 22, 1990, in Houston, Texas; grew up partly in Egypt, Kenya, and Germany, and later in Denver and Cleveland.
Began listening to rap in sixth grade; DMX, Ludacris, and Eminem were early influences.
Self-released four mixtapes from 2007 to 2010 before signing with Bad Boy Records, an imprint of Interscope Records, in 2011.

Solo artist; supported by a backing band with members including Travis Barker on drums (2019–present).

Debut album Lace Up (2012) peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200; lead single "Wild Boy" was his first Billboard Hot 100 entry.
Albums General Admission (2015) and Bloom (2017) brought critical praise and commercial success; "Bad Things" with Camila Cabello peaked at number four on the Hot 100.
Tickets to My Downfall (2020), produced entirely by Travis Barker, shifted to pop-punk and debuted atop the Billboard 200.
Mainstream Sellout (2022) matched commercial success, with mixed critical reception.
In 2024 he dropped the Machine Gun Kelly name for MGK and released the collaborative EP Genre: Sadboy with Trippie Redd.
Seventh album Lost Americana (2025) moved into pop-rock.
Acting work includes Beyond the Lights (2014), Bird Box (2018), and portraying Tommy Lee in The Dirt (2019).

The album received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Kelly's successful transition from hip-hop to pop-punk
Wall of Sound praised the album, citing Barker's drumming and production, and it said the lyrics lack substance but are made up for by catchy pop melodies and rock choruses
Kerrang! was similarly positive, praising the album as a slick move away from what fans might expect from Machine Gun Kelly
Kerrang! also praised the lyrics for their open-diary honesty
Sputnikmusic was much more critical, calling the album a copy of Blink-182's sound
Metacritic gave the album an average score of 72 from 6 reviews

Numerous critics and publications listed the album in their year-end ranking of the best albums of 2020
Its popularity is described as having started a pop punk revival in the 2020s
The Evening Standard credited the album with bridging the gap between modern pop punk and mainstream interest from the emo rap scene

Debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 all-format albums chart with 126,000 album equivalent units in its first week
His first number one album, and the first rock album to top the chart in just over a year
Spent thirteen weeks at number one on the Top Rock Albums chart
Peaked at number two on the ARIA Albums Chart in Australia
Debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart
Two-times platinum in the US with 2 million units sold, per RIAA
Double-platinum certification by Music Canada for over 160,000 units
Won Top Rock Album at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards
Received no Grammy nominations, which drew fan backlash

The album's cover art, a sketch of a falling man, was closely modeled on a photograph the team did not have legal rights to use; Baker apologized and announced a new cover.
Baker later noted he had signed thousands of copies of the album with the outdated artwork.
Baker said the album's delay to September 2020 worked out in the end, as its summery, good-times vibe suited the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Baker noted that his own father liked his music for the first time in his career.
The film Downfalls High was premiered at 6 p.m. PST on January 15, 2021, through Facebook.
Fans and Baker argued the album should have been nominated for a Grammy after the album was left out.