Yungblud has joined forces with The Smashing Pumpkins for a reimagined version of ‘Zombie’, and it’s the version Dom always wanted to make.
Here’s the thing: when Yungblud originally wrote ‘Zombie’ for his album Idols, it was heavier. He pulled it back because he worried it sounded too much like The Smashing Pumpkins. Now, with Billy Corgan on board, he’s finally let the track become what it was meant to be. This collaboration marks the first time in their storied career that The Smashing Pumpkins have featured on another artist’s recording. Let that sink in.
The track was written about Dom’s late grandmother, who died from alcoholism. It’s deeply personal, and you can hear it. With over 100 million streams, ‘Zombie’ is already Yungblud’s fastest streaming solo single, but this darker, more aggressive take digs into the song’s emotional core in a way the album version only hinted at.
Since Ozzy handed Yungblud the crown, Dom Harrison has been climbing the ranks at a pace that’s genuinely exciting to watch. We’ve seen him create music with Ozzy Osbourne, Steven Tyler, and now The Smashing Pumpkins. What’s refreshing about Dom is that we’ve watched him grow up on socials and through the media. He’s just this young lad who had a dream, always had attitude, always showed immense kindness, and then went through this transformation. That’s not to say he wasn’t a badass before, but now he’s one of the coolest and maybe youngest rockstars at his level.
“‘Zombie’ is the most important song of Idols to me,” Dom said. “It’s deeply personal and it was heavily influenced by The Smashing Pumpkins’ ability to mix emotion, cinema and heavy guitars. To watch one of my idols work on something that I had written was one of the greatest honours of my life.”
Corgan has been a believer for a while, having spotted Dom’s potential early on and compared his trajectory to Elton John. “Yungblud’s star shines bright, so it’s been great fun to lend our zig-zag voice to his ‘Zombie’,” he noted.
The track drops ahead of Yungblud’s sold out UK arena tour kicking off April 11th, with Grammy nods for Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Performance. The lad from Yorkshire has well and truly arrived.
