Why did Yungblud title his third studio album after himself? Because it’s “about me,” the English rocker says.
Released Friday (Sept. 2) through LOCOMOTION/Geffen Records, Yungblud is the follow-up to 2020’s Weird! and includes singles “The Funeral,” “Memories” (featuring Willow), and “Don’t Feel Like Feeling Sad Today.”
The artist, whose real name is Dominic Harrison, tells Billboard News‘ Tetris Kelly that his latest album “was an exercise for me at finding friends and people like me,” noting that he has experienced feelings isolation and loneliness in the past. “I literally looked into an iPhone and went, ‘Hello is there anyone out there like me?’”
Yungblud says he sees himself more as a communicator than a musician. “To be honest, I don’t even really see myself as a musician first, which is such a mental thing to say,” he notes. “I see myself as a communicator. This album is called Yungblud because I think it is about me.”
During his sit-down with Billboard News, Yungblud also discussed meeting The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who recently gave him a shout-out as a rock act who “makes me think there is still a bit of life in rock and roll” during an interview Swedish radio station P4.
“Mick Jagger is everything to me, as a frontman, as an activist, as a rock star, as a sex icon,” he says, recalling a meeting with the legendary rocker. “When you’re meeting a rock ‘n’ roll star, you can’t be like, ‘Oh, my God!’ I did a shot of whiskey, walked in — alright Mick how are you? In my head, I was like ‘What the f—?’”
Yungblud also shared his thoughts on the state of rock music. “Rock ‘n’ roll is about energy,” he says. “It’s not about a drum kit, it’s not about guitar, it’s not about anything other than freedom and energy, because energy doesn’t lie. Freedom to express, freedom to be yourself, freedom to not conform.”
Watch Yungblud’s full interview above.
