YUNGBLUD released a new version of his song "Zombie" last Friday, the 2nd, featuring The Smashing Pumpkins . The original version of the track was released on the album Idols and earned the musician a 2026 Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song.
In an interview with the website Loudwire , YUNGBLUD said: “When I was making 'Zombie', I was really channeling Siamese Dream . It was really the sadness and melancholic emotion mixed with the aggressiveness of Billy's guitars… Billy, as a songwriter, was really at the forefront of my inspiration when I was making this album. When 'Zombie' came along, I knew I wanted to do a new version of it.”
The young musician also recounted how he made the request to Billy. “I called Billy and said, ‘Billy, please help me relieve this itch. I want this record to impact me more deeply.’ There still needs to be an almost Jekyll and Hyde element , there needs to be the version full of light, life and optimism, but there also needs to be this dark, pessimistic, somewhat bitter and somewhat aggressive version.”
The partnership with Smashing Pumpkins represents just another step in YUNGBLUD's constant expansion within the music scene. In 2024, the artist drew attention by performing a striking version of “Changes,” Black Sabbath classic , during the Back to the Beginning . After that, he collaborated with Aerosmith on the EP One More Time and even shared the stage with the band in a special tribute performance to
Ozzy Osbourne at the MTV Video Music Awards .
READ ALSO: Aerosmith achieves unprecedented feat with EP 'One More Time', in collaboration with YUNGBLUD
