Yungblud discussed social media’s effect on today’s artists in a recent chat with MusicWeek. He argued that getting real-time feedback made making music harder compared to the past and gave Pink Floyd as an example:
“Can you imagine if Pink Floyd had that while putting ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ out? They probably wouldn’t have f*cking done it. They didn’t have the whole world on their phone going, ‘You’re sick, you’re sh*t, you’re fake, you’re a liar, you’re dope, I hate you, I love you, my sister loves you, blah, blah, blah.’”
The singer continued:
“People love you or hate you, and it’s really hard to deal with because you become f*cking ketchup. It’s like, ‘You f*cking love ketchup on your bacon sarnie or you f*cking hate it.’ Once I got it into my head, it was like, ‘This is just the way it’s meant to be.’”
Social Media Damaged The Singer
Yungblud debuted in 2017 and released his first studio album, ‘21st Century Liability,’ the following year. His popularity grew after releasing his second album, ‘Weird!,’ which won an NME Award for Best Music Video for the track ‘Original Me.’
The singer said of social media’s impact on his career:
“I wouldn’t have made it without it. Everyone in a position of power turned their nose up at me, and all that mattered was the people and me being able to have a platform. But also, it’s damaged me more than anything in my life.”
He noted:
“It’s made me afraid to go outside or to the pub sometimes, because those people who were so savage about me could be in that bar. So, it’s pretty dark, but it’s also beautiful. You live by the sword; you die by the sword. It’s coming to terms with the fact that people will like me and people will not, and that is not in my control.”
Yungblud Has A New Record On The Way
The ‘I’m a Mess’ singer released his latest song, ‘Abyss,’ in March 2024. He also mentioned a new album in an interview with NME the same month:
“I’m turning 27 next and for a character like me, it’s either death or rebirth. This point has been amazing up to now. I’ll never lose what it’s about in terms of Yungblud and the soul of it – but musically, this next album is something I’ve been working on for two years and it’s a f*cking adventure. It’s a full concept that you can play from start to finish.”
He added about the follow-up to 2022’s self-titled record:
“It’s been made in England. It’s been made in the North, and I flip the narrative where I’ve sung about darkness. This album is the light. It’s all about getting through it; it’s positive.”
Yungblud is currently touring Europe. He will wrap up his shows in Austria on August 15.