Yungblud - 'I’m Turning Away From My Idols'

Ahead of the release of his fourth studio album Idols, I had the pleasure of interviewing Yungblud after many years of watching his growth as a performer.

From acting on Disney Channel to being a young, smaller artist that would fill a venue such as The Factory in Sydney, Dom is now at the stage of his career where selling out arena shows at The Hordern Pavilion are no longer a pipedream. His authenticity as an artist is second to none and he has cultivated a following on a global scale which deserves to be celebrated.

But is that the message Dom is hoping to portray with this new release?

Check out the video below or read on for the best bits.

As we sat down via zoom, jokes were made about how our ADHD would more than likely send us off track, but luckily for us, things didn't stray too far from the path. From the very start of this conversation, it became easy to notice not only Dom’s kind nature and warm heart, but his willingness to deeply listen to what someone is saying and connect with them on a very personal, human level, with absolutely no ego involved whatsoever.

My first question focused on the release of his last single 'Zombie' - where the musician teamed up with actress Florence Pugh for the tear-inducing video. I questioned the meaning behind it and what the experience was like working with Florence, to which he was more than willing to open up about.

“This was the song that really kickstarted the idea of the new album, really wanting to make something timeless in a world where music [to him] currently feels like it lacks a lot of depth, and it’s more about that quick 15 second clip that is catchy, but everything is sounding the same, and as a generation, we are becoming so surface level in our emotions.” explains Dom, touching on how some songs are released as a dopamine fix more so then an emotional connection. He goes on to explain further, “This song is really about would someone really love you at your worst, and how so many of us don’t want to reach out for help when we at our worst because we’re so afraid of people leaving, the fear of judgement, the embarrassment that comes with it; and who was it that really saw us at our absolute worst and loves us unconditionally? Nurses!”

I needed to find an artist that could really truly present this idea with authenticity, grace and truth and Florence Pugh [is] Britain's greatest export at the minute... She's so good and so truthful... I felt really truly grateful to have her...

Dom also touched on the importance of getting the messaging right and how they worked with reps for the healthcare system in the UK to convey the story of what nurses go through on a daily basis. The final result can be seen in the music video which already amassed over 5 million views in the two weeks following its release.

The focus of the next question took us back to the 2020 album Weird! when I recalled seeing that Dom cried while recording the song 'God Save Me, but Don't Drown Me Out'. I asked whether any songs on Idols evoked the same emotional response, to which I felt a shift in Yungblud's energy as he seemed to become quite deep, meaningful and reflective of this moment or memory to which he simply just answered with “Change.” before revealing.

‍“There’s a song called 'Change' on the album, its kind of the start of the second side of the vinyl, and if I didn’t call the album Idols, I would have called it Change, because this has been the biggest transitional period in my life and I really had to face myself with this album, and the whole idea of this is all about idolism and why do we turn to other people before turning to ourselves? Why do we give them credit? Why do we take our aggression, anger out on them? And I think Yungblud has been such a polarising figure as well as we built such a massive community of people, and a lot of people had a lot of things to say about me, and I never really processed it until this album and I realised that what people say about me is really out of my control.

I can’t make people love me, I can only try my best to put great things into the world — people are either going to love it or they’re not and that’s not within my control, and that's actually none of my business."

It became clear in this moment that there was a sense of power that was being taken back. The power of knowing who you are and being so comfortable and proud of that and not wanting to change for anyone no matter who they are or what they say. As long as you are being authentic to yourself. An overarching theme that's prevalent throughout the new album.

While we were on the topic of Idols, I questioned whether track two, 'Idols Pt 1', was a reference to the androgynous and iconic musical figures of the past such as Freddie Mercury, Prince, and Bowie. These artists are inspirational for countless musicians and there's no denying they lead the last generation of music. I asked Dom whether he felt like we was on a similar path - taking inspiration from them - or if he was making his own way in leading this current generation with his music and the following he has amassed.

“I think if I could have a career like any one of those artists you just mentioned, it would be a dream, y'know what I mean? It would be amazing if I could ever dream to be that influential to culture or to an idea of humanity [like] artists like that.

What’s strange about this album is it’s actually not an homage to anyone — It's actually the first time in my life that I’m turning away from my idols.

I wanted to write this album about looking at a photograph on a wall, wanting to become the photograph on the wall, in some cases for some people even becoming the photograph on the wall that they look at, and then realising that the photograph on the wall never had any answers. I never met Bowie, I never met Freddie, never met Prince… The answers that would derive from that photograph were within me. I came up with them. I figured out how to implement things in my own life in the same way that you did.

We give too much credit to people that we don’t even know and we never met.

You looked at a photograph and you figured it out yourself, and you place all your credit on that person? Fuck no. The answers are within you, the answers are within all of us, and I thought what an interesting thing to write an album about. Our first instinct as humans is to alleviate any sort of credit”  

As the conversation came to a close, the lingering thoughts that have stood out even in the days passed, is at the core of what this is really all about and what I felt like Dom was really trying to highlight through his music and our interview, is something that I see through the videos posted on social media of him talking to fans, especially when someone says the classic line when they connect so deeply with someone's music — “you saved my life” in which Yungblud’s reply is always “No, you did that yourself!"

This album and all that it encompasses is showing that you really need to take credit for all the things that you achieved, on your own. We all have Idols, including those we look up to, it is inevitable, but we need to look inwards at ourselves. We are all more powerful than we let ourselves believe and as long as we are authentic to who we are every day and do our best to be good people, then it really shouldn’t matter what someone’s opinion of you is, especially if it is negative and not in a constructive manner.

Interview by Heather McNab @heathermcnab

Yungblud's fourth album Idols is out June 20th. Pre-order here

Yungblud - Idols tracklisting

1. Hello Heaven, Hello
2. Idols Pt. I
3. Lovesick Lullaby
4. Zombie
5. The Greatest Parade
6. Change
7. Monday Murder
8. Ghosts
9. Fire
10. War
11. Idols Pt. II
12. Supermoon