In 2015, pop punk band Blink-182 split with its lead singer, who had been with the band since its founding in 1993, amid his controversial infatuation with the existence of alien life. Now, in the wake of yesterday’s UFO hearing in the United States Congress, it seems some of us owe Tom DeLonge an apology for doubting him.
Most of the internet has seen bits and pieces of Congress’s UFO hearing, heard before the House Oversight Committee’s national security subcommittee. The hearing took place on July 26, 2023, with the juiciest clips already making the rounds on social media. The most circulated portion of the hearing is the acknowledgment by former military intelligence officer, David Grusch, that the United States government has been withholding information regarding “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” a science-y version of the more popular term: UFOs.
The real lede in Grusch’s testimony was in regard to an interview he conducted with Pentagon officials, wherein they informed him that aircraft of “nonhuman” origins and “biologics” were being kept under wraps by the federal government. Prior to this hearing, believers in extraterrestrial life mainly only had blurry video recordings of strange aerial phenomena, but Grusch’s mention of “biologics” is what piqued the interest of citizen experts like DeLonge.
During his time with Blink-182, DeLonge wrote and recorded a handful of songs alluding to his interest in extraterrestrial life. The most obvious song, “Aliens Exist,” released on the 1999 album Enema of the State, isn’t shy about the singer’s conspiratorial beliefs. The opening lyric states: “Hey mom, there’s something in the back room/Hope it’s not the creature from above,” shortly followed by acknowledgment of the government’s alleged involvement in UFO cover ups: “I know the CIA would say/what you hear is all hearsay/I wish someone would tell me what is right.”
DeLonge recently reunited with Blink-182, launching a world tour that began in May of 2023, as well as teasing the release of a new album. But his lifelong fascination with outer space and the unknown led him down a rabbit hole in the mid-2000s, which ultimately caused his break with the band. In 2015, pop punk’s prodigal son informed his bandmates that he was indefinitely parting from the group to work on his own non-musical projects, but the split was seemingly cordial in nature. The remaining two members of the band, Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker, made an announcement informing fans of the news: “No hard feelings, but the show must go on for our fans.” DeLonge himself remained quiet on social media in the midst of the break and largely stayed out of the spotlight in the years following.
Shortly after the split, DeLonge founded To The Stars, an entertainment and research organization, that works with scholars and government agencies to shed light on the foggy subject of alien life and the U.S. government’s role in covering up the evidence. As Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board, DeLonge plays a big role in keeping his followers up to date and informed on the subject that led to his untimely split with the band he started back in the ’90s.
The Advisory Board at To The Stars is made up of an impressive team of NASA Advisors, White House insiders, weapons experts, medical doctors, biologists, and former CIA higher-ups. Besides disseminating research and providing expert analysis on the existing evidence of UFOs, the entertainment branch of the company, To The Stars Media, has a vast portfolio of publications and other media. The company has produced fiction novels, animated films, soundtracks, comics, children’s books, television shows, e-books, and even a feature film. TTSM has worked with major broadcasters, including the History Channel and A&E, and even founded a research academy in 2017: To The Stars Academy of Arts and Sciences (which is, unfortunately, not accepting applications for enrollment; I already checked).
Whether or not the recent Congressional hearing produced credible testimony, the fact remains that the U.S. government has finally acknowledged the need for a legitimate conversation about the possibility of alien life. In the meantime, Tom: we’ll take you back if you’ll have us.
(featured image: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Coachella)
