When The White Stripes were inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2025, everyone wanted to know, would the greatest two-piece band of all time reunite? Unfortunately, Meg White didn’t turn up, but Jack White was there, and he was ready to pass the torch to the next generation. When Twenty One Pilots performed “Seven Nation Army” for The White Stripes’ induction, the two-piece proved you don’t need a big band to create a monstrous, thumping groove.
The duo’s thunderous reinterpretation of the classic bop got the nod from Jack, who looked on like a proud uncle as the whole crowd gave a standing ovation at the end. The Music Man has got to hand it to Twenty One Pilots, as covering a band as quirky as The White Stripes is no mean feat. Twenty One Pilots’ frontman Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun really hit the spot by starting off fairly faithful to the original, then taking it to their own sound as the song progressed.
Fans gave plenty of love for Twenty One Pilots’ take on “Seven Nation Army,” and tuned in 3.1 million times since The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame uploaded the video on November 20, 2025. Fans added comments such as “It is the highest honor to see a song’s creator jamming out to your rendition of their song. The HIGHEST honor!” and “I love that they didn’t just do a direct copy of the song but instead they put their own twist on it.”
There’s a good reason why we’re still talking about The White Stripes 14 years after the band called it quits. Their live show was a totally unique beast, as seen in their cut of “Seven Nation Army” live at Bonnaroo in 2007. Jack switches up the vocals and guitar parts to make it sound totally fresh but still keeps the essential groove of the song in place.
The White Stripes were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on November 8, 2025. The Hall brought the band onboard quickly, in only their second year of eligibility, which is a testament to the influence that the duo had on popular music since their founding in 1997. The Music Man readers might note that Twenty One Pilots’ Tyler Joseph made mention of that influence in the band’s performance at the induction, ending the song by saying, “Meg and Jack, you inspired us all.” Jack White then bowed in acknowledgment, clearly approving of the performance. Meg White did not attend the induction, which wasn’t a huge surprise. She quit the entertainment business after The White Stripes split in 2011, and has maintained a low profile since then.