"From Yesterday"
Single by Thirty Seconds to Mars
from the album A Beautiful Lie
ReleasedNovember 7, 2006
Length4:08
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Josh Abraham
Thirty Seconds to Mars singles chronology
"The Kill (Bury Me)"
(2006) 		"From Yesterday"
(2006) 		"A Beautiful Lie"
(2007)
Music video
"From Yesterday" on YouTube
Audio sample
From Yesterday

"From Yesterday" is a song by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, and the third single released from their second album A Beautiful Lie. The song impacted radio on October 17, 2006.[1] The music video for the song is believed to be the first ever American music video shot in the People's Republic of China in its entirety.[2] The music video is also the last video by the band to feature bass player Matt Wachter. The song won the Kerrang! Award for Best Single.

Music video

There are three video edits, a 13 and half-minute full edit complete with dialogue, scenes and ending credits, a 5 and half minute edit, an edited 4-minute version intended for broadcast. It was filmed using 400 Chinese soldiers (they are seen holding flags at the beginning of the video) and 20 horses. The film starts with a young boy, presumably the Emperor Puyi, being asked what he would like for his birthday. He simply states "The Sound of Tomorrow". The action then cuts to a plain white room with the band members, clad in white outfits similar to those worn in fencing, each doing their own thing in preparation for a show. An Asian woman enters and tells them that it is time. She leads them out into the hall and disappears. They walk down to the end of the hall where they attempt to open the door. They are unable to and understand it's locked, as Jared says. The lights start to flicker and they go out, leaving the band puzzled.

It then opens to another scene where the band is walking through giant gates into the row of Chinese soldiers, now wearing black ninja-like outfits. As they are all walking down, Jared notices a woman wearing a white mask walking on the exterior of the row, unnoticed by the others.

The band are then taken to the hall where the Emperor is situated, and are given scrolls. Jared then says to his brother, Shannon Leto (the band's drummer): "This is a gift?"

The band is then shown putting on supposedly traditional Chinese armor before meeting in an alleyway for a battle against four others, dressed in identical armor. This scene is mixed with each band member being led to a different part of the kingdom, encountering various practices believed to be Chinese traditions. Matt Wachter encounters the butler whipping himself who then laughs maniacally; Tomo Miličević finds a dead woman lying on her bed, and someone proceeds to put a small black ball (A black pearl of wisdom,[3] which is a Chinese custom[4][5]) into her mouth; Shannon sees a grown man being breast-fed by his mother or wife; and Jared accidentally walks in on silver long nosed masks wearing occult ritually preparing to sacrifice three young women with their heads in a single pillory board.

At the end of the video, the band members end up fighting each other and four warriors. They wear masks, and thus cannot see who is who. Four of the warriors are slain, and the remaining four wind up in a stalemate. They slowly remove their masks, revealing that 30 Seconds to Mars are all alive. The video then samples "A Beautiful Lie", released as the band's next single.

For a very brief period of time during the butler's whipping scene, an image of the butler appears where he is wearing a rabbit suit mask. It does not seem that this image has anything to do with the story, but may be a brief allusion to "The Kill" in which something similar appears midway through the video.

The video can be seen as a tribute to the film The Last Emperor since several of the scenes and characters are directly inspired by the film. The MV was shot on location in the Forbidden City and the Emperor Qin palace.[6]

Track listing

  1. "From Yesterday" (radio edit) – 3:52
  2. "The Story" – 3:59 (Live @ AOL Sessions Undercover)
  1. "From Yesterday" – 4:07
  2. "The Story" – 3:59 (Live @ AOL Sessions Undercover)
  1. "From Yesterday" (radio edit) – 3:52
  2. "Stronger" – 6:01 (Radio 1's Live Lounge 2)
  3. "From Yesterday" – 13:40 full director's cut video (enhanced CD)

This limited edition vinyl is clear, and comes in a gatefold case

  1. "From Yesterday" – 4:14 (Chris Lord-Alge Mix)
  2. "The Kill (Bury Me)" – 3:47 (Radio 1 Live)

This is also limited edition, but is red, and has the band members' signatures etched into the back

  1. "From Yesterday" – 4:07
  1. "From Yesterday" – 4:07
  2. "The Kill (Bury Me)" – 3:51

Personnel

Commercial performance

"From Yesterday" reached number 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, making it Thirty Seconds to Mars' first number 1 on any Billboard chart. It peaked higher than "The Kill", which is considered to be the band's breakthrough single (although "The Kill" did better on the Hot 100 and stayed longer on the Modern Rock Tracks chart).

Charts

Chart (2007–2008) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 33
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 53
Canada Rock (Billboard)[9] 18
Czech Republic (Rádio – Top 100)[10] 27
Finland Download (Latauslista)[11] 16
Germany (Official German Charts)[12] 72
Italy (FIMI)[13] 45
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 56
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 13
Portugal (AFP)[16] 17
Scotland (OCC)[17] 10
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[18] 78
UK Singles (OCC)[19] 37
US Billboard Hot 100[20] 76
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[21] 1
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[22] 11

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[23] Gold 7,500*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for "From Yesterday"
Country Release date Version
United States November 7, 2006 Original
United Kingdom January 16, 2007
Australia April 20, 2007
Italy
Latvia February 4, 2008
United Kingdom Re-release

In popular culture

References

  1. ^ "AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly". AllAccess. October 10, 2006. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  2. ^ "30 Seconds To Mars: 'We've Always Been Open And Engaged With Our Listeners' | Interviews @". Ultimate-guitar.com. February 24, 2010. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  3. ^ "Moorea Black Pearl - Pearl Legends". May 6, 2015. Archived from the original on May 6, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  4. ^ "Moorea Black Pearl - Pearl Legends". May 6, 2015. Archived from the original on May 6, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  5. ^ "Chinese death rituals | Infopedia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  6. ^ billboard.com
  7. ^ "Thirty Seconds to Mars – From Yesterday". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  8. ^ "Thirty Seconds to Mars – From Yesterday" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  9. ^ "Thirty Seconds To Mars Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  10. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200729 into search. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  11. ^ "30 Seconds to Mars: From Yesterday" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  12. ^ "Thirty Seconds to Mars – From Yesterday" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  13. ^ "Thirty Seconds to Mars – From Yesterday". Top Digital Download. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  14. ^ "Thirty Seconds to Mars – From Yesterday" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  15. ^ "Thirty Seconds to Mars – From Yesterday". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  16. ^ "From Yesterday by 30 Seconds To Mars – Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  18. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200731 into search. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  19. ^ "30 Seconds to Mars: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  20. ^ "30 Seconds to Mars Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  21. ^ "30 Seconds to Mars Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  22. ^ "30 Seconds to Mars Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  23. ^ "Latest Gold / Platinum Singles". Radioscope. August 21, 2011. Archived from the original on August 31, 2011. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  24. ^ "Guitar Guitar Hero(R)'s February Downloadable Content Lineup Packs a Powerful Punch With Fresh Music From Top Bands". Activision. January 28, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
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