Doncaster born Dominic Harrison known by his stage name YUNGBLUD has taken the world by storm over the past few years. His high-energy punk fuelled songs speak directly about problems in our current society and he delivers his message in such a sincere but loud manner that it is impossible to ignore the movement he has created. At only 22 years old Harrison has released two EPs, a studio album and has been on multiple sold out tours around the world; it seems as if there is no stopping him.
Starting his career in 2017, YUNGBLUD released a string of singles, ‘King Charles’, ‘I Love You, Will You Marry Me’ and ‘Tin Pan Boy’ and then on January 13th 2018 he released his debut EP YUNGBLUD. His first studio release featured the previously listed singles and two more songs ‘Polygraph Eyes’ and ‘Anarchist’. The single ‘Tin Pan Boy’ and the song ‘Falling Skies’ which features Charlotte Lawrence were chosen to be a part of the Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why soundtrack, which helped give YUNGBLUD more exposure.
Harrison has no fear in discussing difficult topics in his music, and he is very open about his political stance with his audience. His debut single ‘King Charles’ sees him energetically rapping about the financial struggles of being a young person in society, feeling as if you have no power.
On July 6th 2018 YUNGLBUD released his highly anticipated debut album 21st Century Liability. The album features a range very loud, punk fuelled tracks and some more toned down moments, so there is something for everyone. The album is very politically charged, and Harrison’s direct, to the point lyrics make it very easy to decipher what each song is about. His track ‘Medication’ from 21st Century Liability looks at mental health and how society pushes people to take drugs to cover up their issues and find “happiness”. Even though the songs on the album are discussing darker and controversial topics, YUNGBLUD delivers them in such powerful, new and exciting manner, and the passion he has in what he’s discussing is obvious.
In 2019 YUNGBLUD collaborated with various popular artists such as Halsey on the track ’11 minutes’, Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons on the song ‘original me’ which featured on the underrated youth EP and Marshmellow and blackbear on the electronic leaning song ‘Tongue Tied’. These collaborations have helped to get YUNGBLUD’s name out into the mainstream but they are also a reflection of his talent and how quickly he has gained popularity as these big names in music wanted to work with him. 2019 was also a huge year for Harrison’s live performances as he played his biggest UK shows to date, including a sold out headline show at the iconic Brixton Academy, as well as securing a mainstage slot at Reading and Leeds Festival.
At the end of 2019 on the 18th of October Harrison released his second EP the underrated youth. The EP sees a continuation of the musical style seen on 21st Century Liability with a mixture of high energy songs and some slower moments. Tracks like ‘casual sabotage’ and ‘hope for the underrated youth’ see Harrison maturing his music, and his delivery on these two songs feels very raw and genuine. The EP peaked at number six on the UK albums chart and stayed on the chart for two weeks making this YUNGBLUD’s most successful release to date.
As well as having a big year with his music, YUNGBLUD also released his first graphic novel on the 17th of October 2019 entitled Twisted Tales of the Ritalin Club which was made available to fans via Amazon.
At this year’s NME awards YUNGBLUD was both a nominee and a performer on the night. He was nominated for four awards, Best Music Video for the song ‘original me’, which he ended up winning, Best Collaboration for the song ‘original me’, Best British Solo Act and Best Solo Act in the World. On the night YUNGBLUD also gave high energy performances of two songs from his latest EP, ‘original me’ and ‘braindead!’.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, YUNGBLUD has created an online show for his fans via YouTube livestream called ‘The YUNGBLUD Show’ as a form of isolation entertainment for his fans. The livestream features YUNGBLUD doing live performances of his own songs and some covers, as well as getting special guests such as Machine Gun Kelly and Bella Thorne involved to participate in different activities/games.
What can we expect in the future from YUNGBLUD? It seems that a new EP is imminent, and the first single from the potential new project was released on the 22nd of April titled ‘Weird!’. The momentum he has built up over the last few years won’t die down anytime soon and based on his new single, it seems that he is going for a more mature sound.
Listen to YUNGBLUD’s latest single ‘Weird!’ here:
