A Beautiful Lie Songwriting Credits by Thirty Seconds to Mars

A Beautiful Lie (2005) was Thirty Seconds to Mars' commercial breakthrough, certified platinum in the US and UK on the strength of 'The Kill (Bury Me)' and 'From Yesterday,' both written solely by Jared Leto. Every track on the album carries his authorship alone, making it a rare major-label rock record with complete single-author ownership across ten songs. The album's cinematic reach extended to its videos: 'The Kill' recreated scenes from Kubrick's The Shining at the actual Timberline Lodge in Oregon, while 'From Yesterday' was shot in China's Forbidden City with a cast of thousands and a reported budget near $13 million, making it one of the most expensive music videos ever produced. A Beautiful Lie established the band's visual identity as inseparable from their music, a multimedia approach that would define all subsequent releases. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz, who had previously worked with Foo Fighters and Rush, the album's sonic ambition matched its visual scale, and its commercial success made Jared Leto one of the few actor-musicians to achieve genuine rock credibility.