Yungblud’s Grammy-nominated song “Zombie” is said to be inspired by The Smashing Pumpkins, and now the artist has teamed up with frontman Billy Corgan on a re-imagined version of “Zombie,” produced by Matt Schwartz and Corgan – marking the first time the band has ever been featured on another artist’s recording.
Yungblud and Corgan first met in Birmingham last July during Black Sabbath’s farewell concert, Back To The Beginning, where both artists took part in tributes honoring Ozzy Osbourne. The origins of the new collaboration was detailed by Yungblud in an interviw with Loudwire, where he shared, “When I was making ‘Zombie,’ I was really channeling Siamese Dream. It was really the sadness and the melancholic emotion mixed with the aggression of Billy’s f***ing 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 if it .. I called Billy and I was like, ‘Billy, please help me scratch this itch. I want this record to dig in harder.’ There still needs to be an almost Jekyll and Hyde element, there needs to be the version that’s full of light and full of life and optimism, but then there needs to be this dark version that is pessimistic and a little bit bitter and a bit aggressive.”
Corgan, adds, “Yungblud’s star shines bright, so it’s been great fun to lend our zig-zag voice to his ‘Zombie’, which he’s said was inspired by one of our own. Hence, the encouragement that we make this rendition as personal as possible and I’m proud to say we’ve done that; if only to honor him in return.”
Yungblud also recently scored his first Top 10 debut on the Billboard 200 with One More Time, his collaborative EP with Aerosmith, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart. He will also be heading out on the road this year for a 24-date North American run, in support of his latest solo album, ‘Idols’ (stream HERE).
Check out the video for Yungblud and The Smashing Pumpkins’ reimagined version of ‘Zombie’, directed by Charlie Sarsfield, HERE.
Editorial credit: Ben Houdijk / Shutterstock.com
