“Next Semester” is the second promotional single from twenty one pilots‘ sixth full-length studio album Clancy, following “Overcompensate,” and released alongside the official announcement for The Clancy World Tour—spanning nine months and 14 countries.

As an interpretive song, it is difficult to pinpoint what singer-songwriter Tyler Joseph is getting at exactly, but it is evident that “Next Semester” talks about one’s struggles at a young age to find their place and identity. They are stuck between their mistakes from the past—one of which is presumed to be a failed suicide attempt—and the pressure to not fail in the future. The song and music video seem to act as a sort of “opposite side of the same coin” to their earlier song “Heavydirtysoul” and its music video, particularly the car scenes. Another popular interpretation is that the subject had a panic attack in the middle of the road, only somewhat aware of what was going on, evidenced by the loose details in their recount of the experience.

The band announced and teased “Next Semester” in the days leading up to its release. However, despite the song leaking two days before, it stayed true to its original mid-day release of March 27, 2024.