Machine Gun Kelly released his fifth album, Tickets to My Downfall, in 2020; it marked a complete departure from hip hop and entry into pop punk. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, the only rock album to do so that year, and contained the single "My Ex's Best Friend",
Kelly has previously opened up about his history of drug use, telling Dave Franco in a 2020 Interview magazine discussion that therapy helped him tackle the "intense" dichotomy of his artistic persona Machine Gun Kelly and his personal identity.