“I feel so good. I’m Vibing,” says Yungblud when he dials into the interview from New York. The “Rotten Apple” is part of its promotional tour for the new album, which was released on June 20. What will follow in autumn is the biggest tour of his career. “It’s blatant,” he says. Idols is a special album, emphasizes the British rock star, because it marks a U -turn, musically and personally. “The first section of Yungblud as an artist is over. This album is the step into a new chapter what my art is about and how I write it.” He wanted to create something completely timeless, says the 27-year-old. Formal and uncompromising, without the commercial restrictions that make music too often “fast-moving and bland”. “I have the feeling that I really changed fundamentally. In the last album campaign, people knew exactly what they could expect from me and what Yungblud was. The time is over now.”
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From then on, Yungblud no longer wants to reveal the stories and backgrounds to his songs, but let the music speak for themselves. “In the past I wrote very specific songs. That was rather inexperienced, because I was young and full of anger. The most important thing I learned as a songwriter is to present a certain event so ambiguous that it is about general human aspects. So if you listen to you, it is about something completely different in your life than in mine; Album like this needs because it celebrates differences and brings people together. “
On a personal level, Idols was the “most liberating experience” of his life, says Yungblud. “It is an album of self -knowledge about who I am now. Of course it was also scary and strange.” Idols addresses what he has now experienced as a rising idol himself: hero worship and idealization – often far away from reality – with little scope for self -development. “You are not seen as a person. People love you or hate you. You have to justify yourself more than ever if you just want to be human. This is exactly what I wrote this album. We all get an idea of people and things in our own head instead of standing up to reality. To constantly justify yourself. I have to deal with myself. Has that people could form an opinion about me, although they don’t know me at all. Bossiness is an unpleasant side aspect of his career, explains Yungblud. Because fame sometimes came confrontative. “I had to make this album for myself because I no longer knew who I was. I found it difficult to deal with people who talked about me. There was a lot of negativity. A lot was not true, but I had no control over it.”
Today he can deal with reactions better and made friends with the idea of having no power about what others think about him. “For the first time in my life, I can honestly say that I don’t care what others think. I just do my thing. I think this album really healed me and it is a good feeling. I live my damn life and do what I want and I love it. It was not always like this album that I could control. It was liberating.”
He also found drive for this through conversations with musicians such as Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins and Lewis Capaldi, who encouraged him to “really sing”. “Lewis is a good buddy of mine, and we were always very connected on our way. We have already hung together before we were both under contract. We can really be open to each other. I can count myself lucky to have someone like Lewis in my life.”
Yungblud originally comes from a small town called Doncaster in northeastern England, but now lives in London, not far from the heart of the indie and rock scene in Camden. “London is exactly my thing. I spend a lot of time there.” For Idols, Yungblud retired to the north of England – together with his family and his best friends. It was also musically “back to the roots”. “I experimented with hip -hop, pop tunes and other things, but I’m a rock singer. I love rock music. I grew up with that; only with that I get really alive.” However, he does not exclude cooperation with Travis Scott or Lil Uzi Vert. Likewise a collaboration with Aerosmith or Ozzy Osbourne. “I have the feeling that rock and hip -hop are the same, only from the perspective of another culture. It is a feeling of freedom from two different perspectives, and that’s damn cool.”
For the time being, however, he focuses on the upcoming tour. “I love to be in contact with people and I can do that on tour.” He still gets nervous before appearances. At the same time, Yungblud dreams of playing in a large stadium every night. “That is what I always wanted to do.”
The German audience is of particular importance. Four concerts are planned in German soil. “Germany was one of the first countries that has ever understood. Germany understands rock, and I love a rock audience that turns up, sings loudly and is full. I will never forget the first tour when we played in the Blue Shell in Cologne. We had the feeling for the first time when we played in this really small locations. We were hardly upset.
Before leaving the big tour, the second edition of his own Festival Bludfest is pending in England, with which he wants to make live music affordable again and want to set a sign against horrendous ticket prices. “When I played in America, there was a VIP area that was completely empty, while outside there were 500 kids that could not be able to get the entry. Not serious because I am unconventional or you don’t understand my idea.
Next year he would also like to bring the Bludfest to Germany.
Interview: Ruth Heer