YUNGBLUD is a 22 year old musician from Doncaster, England taking the world by storm. Haven’t heard of him yet? You will soon. Here are 7 reasons why he should be the artist you play on repeat for the next month (but hopefully longer!):
- He is amazing with fans
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YUNGBLUD is a gem in the music industry — he cares about his fans more than anything in the world. At every meet and greet and album signing the pop-punk leader of Gen Z warmly embraces his fans and has intimate conversations with them instead of brushing them off and only taking a picture where he’s fake smiling. He has said countless times before that he loves surprising his fans and generally making them happy. He even asked one fan to draw a page in his comic book as a guest artist after seeing her work! Not only is he so amazing with his fans, but YUNGBLUD cares for his LGBTQ+ fans and their well-being: “Every single person on this planet has the right to love whoever they want, and to be loved in return by whoever they choose,” he said. “That’s it, full stop, period. Everyone who doesn’t like that is completely delusional.”
- He doesn’t care about gender norms — and you shouldn’t either
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YUNGBLUD is known for his gender-bending, break-the-rules style. You will never see him without his signature pink socks on (he even has a line in one of his songs about his socks!) “The pink socks come from a movement that happened in northern England called the Northern soul movement,” he said. “Basically after World War II, American GIs came out and brought a lot of blues and soul records over to England.” He also loves wearing dresses and expressing his exploring the different sides of his gender and sexual identity. “I love black, little, tight dresses,” he continues. “The first time I came to New York, I used to just go into punk shops and buy skirts,” he says. “Just high, short little schoolgirl skirts.”
- He was on Disney Channel
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That’s right! Before becoming the hardcore, f-bomb dropping rockstar he is now, YUNGBLUD, real name Dominic Harrison, was on a Disney Channel tv show in the United Kingdom. Don’t believe me? Watch this music video from his time in the band “The Squeeze”.
- He is vocal about political issues like gun control, sexism and mental illnesses
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His song “Polygraph Eyes” speaks on sexual assault and how girls get taken advantage of when they are drunk. “Machine Gun (F*ck the NRA)” addresses gun violence, “I Love You, Will You Marry Me” tackles corporate greed and losing one’s identity. Rolling Stone described YUNGBLUD as “exploring the internet-and-Ritalin-tinted neuroses of his generation”.
- All your favorite artists have worked with him
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Most of the general public (namely anyone who doesn’t keep up with what’s on the forefront of pop-punk news) was first introduced to YUNGBLUD after his song with ex-girlfriend Halsey and Travis Barker called “11 Minutes” hit radios across the country. He also has songs with Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons (“Original Me”), Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker (“I Think I’m OKAY”), blackbear and Marshmello (“Tongue Tied”), Charlotte Lawrence (“Falling Skies”)
- He’s pretty!
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Wow.
- His 2020 is going to be (in his own words) “mental”
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If YUNGBLUD isn’t your new favorite artist or at least one that has now piqued your interest, then just wait for everything coming in 2020. He is embarking on an anti-tour of the United States (going to venues most big artists normally skip over) early this summer after playing a couple of dates in Asia in March and is also headlining five sold-out nights in London in May. Talk about a busy schedule! He always has an eye for the future and excitedly teases new content all the time.