Yungblud shrugs off false narratives: “I am a middle-class kid”
Yungblud is redefining his musical persona, rejecting the ubiquitous “future of rock” label thrust upon him in favour of an identity which feels more honest and in line with his “middle-class” reality.
Last year, the British singer-songwriter, real name Dominic Richard Harrison, released his fifth studio album, Idols, a project which led to many successes and made an arena tour in the US possible.
However, the ‘Lowlife’ singer has set his sights on more success and bigger shows: “I’ve done arenas, I’ve done festivals, but I want to be a stadium artist. I’ve just got to block out false narratives,” the star conceded in a new interview with The i Paper.
Because of his burgeoning fame, the Yungblud moniker has outgrown the musician’s original intentions: “Yungblud has become many different things to many different people, which means I can now be more myself.”
In that way, Yungblud is setting the parameters of his act with more intention, which includes looking at his upbringing with honesty: “I am a middle-class kid, I never claimed I wasn’t, and I’m just doing my thing. I’m an English kid who loves his country.”
This side of his personality finds tension with a label often thrust upon him, no less than by Dave Grohl, who once introduced the star as proof that “rock ‘n’ roll is not dead”.
Yungblud revealed, “It’s been a great year, but I don’t like being called the future of rock. I don’t like people thinking I said that.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Yungblud revealed that he had an issue with the industry at large, too: “I’ve always had a problem with critics in Britain, as they are hesitant to jump on something new. It’s a cliché, but in Britain we don’t like success,” he revealed.
The artist explained that, while the industry in the States operates on a ‘Go get it, kid’ mentality, the British industry favours a different kind of artist.
Yungblud suggests his persona threatens the status quo in the industry, adding, “I’m pretty straight, I don’t do drugs, I work out, I love rock music, and I’ve got a girlfriend, and I love my fanbase. And I think that’s what got me into trouble from a critical perspective. I want to exude positivity. But maybe I don’t need that validation anymore.”
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