“Shy Away” is the lead single from twenty one pilots' sixth studio album, Scaled And Icy. The song is based on a conversation frontman Tyler Joseph had with his younger brother where he walked him through his creative process for writing a song. It eventually turned into a letter of advice for his brother, encouraging him to pursue his dreams in the music industry. While Tyler did not specify which brother he was referring to in his interview, it is likely he was speaking about Jay Joseph since Jay dropped his first solo music, Drywall, one month prior to “Shy Away’s” release.

The track was revealed after multiple posters for the band’s Livestream Experience concert were found on the dmaorg.info website, similar to the way Trench was announced.