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Today, YUNGBLUD makes history alongside two-time GRAMMY® award-winning iconic rock band The Smashing Pumpkins on a groundbreaking, re-imagined version of his GRAMMY®-nominated Best Rock Song “Zombie,” produced by Matt Schwartz and Billy Corgan, and marking the first time in their storied career that the band have featured on another artist’s recording. Originally released to widespread acclaim, “Zombie” stands as Yungblud’s fastest-streaming solo single of his career with over 100 million streams to date. Listen HERE.
Yungblud first crossed paths with Billy Corgan in Birmingham last July during Black Sabbath’s farewell concert, Back To The Beginning, where both artists took part in tributes honoring Ozzy Osbourne. Their connection, however, dates back further — with Corgan first discovering Yungblud through a live performance video and immediately recognizing his raw potential and powerful voice. In a 2023 interview with Allison Hagendorf, Corgan spoke openly about Yungblud’s trajectory, noting, “I can tell where he’s going, and if I’m right, we’ll be talking about him for the next 50 years.” That belief — echoed more recently on Corgan’s podcast The Magnificent Ones (LISTEN), where he likened Yungblud’s evolution to that of Elton John— deeply resonated with Yungblud, which helped lead him to create the rock album he had long envisioned. Coming full circle, their eventual meeting in Birmingham led to Yungblud inviting Corgan to collaborate — giving rise to this new iteration of “Zombie,” with The Smashing Pumpkins now featuring on a song that Corgan had indirectly inspired years earlier.
Accompanied with an official music video, directed by Charlie Sarsfield, starring Yungblud and The Smashing Pumpkins, “Zombie” kicks off the new year in the best possible way, ahead of Yungblud’s highly anticipated sold-out UK arena tour which starts this spring on April 11.
This latest incarnation of “Zombie” follows a landmark 2025, which saw the British superstar blast to the top of the charts and into the hearts of rock fans around the world following the release of his GRAMMY® nominated Best Rock Album IDOLS [LISTEN], a sold-out world tour, and an emotional live tribute to his beloved friend Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, which also earned him GRAMMY® nomination for Best Rock Performance [Watch HERE].
Showing no signs of slowing down, Yungblud continues to bridge the generations of rock, collaborating with some of the world’s most revered and respected artists who have influenced him over the years.
Speaking on the collaboration, Yungblud shares: “Siamese Dream was an album that was there for me more than I could ever explain when I was growing so to be making music with the band that created it is really quite hard to comprehend. Billy has always been such a massive inspiration to me but more recently a huge mentor of mine. His outlook on the importance of truth in art is something that I’ve always held close to my heart.
‘Zombie’ is the most important song of IDOLS to me. It’s deeply personal and it was heavily influenced by The Smashing Pumpkins’ ability to mix emotion, cinema and heavy guitars. I sent Billy an email, asking if he would re-imagine this song with me and when he agreed to it, it was a dream come true. To watch one of my idols work on something that I had written was one of the greatest honours of my life. I love that this new version of ‘Zombie’ is heavier, it has Billy Corgan’s iconic guitar sound, it has more urgency and it rips my heart out. I’m so proud of it.”
The Smashing Pumpkins founder and front-man, Billy 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.”
Watch the official music video for YUNGBLUD, The Smashing Pumpkins – Zombie HERE.
Last Autumn, Yungblud earned nominations across all three rock categories at the 68th Annual GRAMMY® Awards, including Best Rock Album for IDOLS, Best Rock Song for “Zombie,” and Best Rock Performance for his live rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Changes.” IDOLS continued his streak of No. 1 albums in the UK and stands as his most ambitious body of work to date.
Further underscoring his momentum, Yungblud 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 and topped the UK Albums Chart, becoming his second UK number 1 album of 2025.. Listen to One More Time HERE.
On the live front, Yungblud completed a sold-out North American headline tour and announced a 24-date North American run for 2026 that sold out within minutes, featuring the largest venues of his career, alongside a sold-out UK arena tour. He also delivered a widely praised tribute to Ozzy Osbourne at the MTV Video Music Awards, performing alongside Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Nuno Bettencourt. [WATCH]
With billions of global streams, chart-topping releases, sold-out tours, and top-tier industry recognition, Yungblud continues to define a new era of modern rock.
For more information, and a list of live dates, please visit www.yungbludofficial.com.
YUNGBLUD, The Smashing Pumpkins – Zombie is available everywhere today.
ABOUT YUNGBLUD
Yungblud is fast becoming one of the world’s key musical voices of his generation, blending influences from Rock and Punk to monumental effect. His arena-filling performances have cemented his place as one of the world’s most electrifying musical exports. He has received several accolades, including the MTV EMAs and the O2 Silver Clef Award for Best Live Act. Known for his electrifying stage presence and boundary-pushing lyrics, Yungblud continues to challenge conventions while inspiring fans worldwide with messages of authenticity and acceptance. In 2024, Yungblud debuted his own curated festival Bludfest and released his first book, the instant No. 1 Sunday Times Best Seller, ‘You Need to Exist: A Book to Love and Destroy’ on Penguin Books.
Born in Yorkshire, England, the 28-year-old multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and performer first picked up a guitar at age two and began writing his own songs at age 10. Following the release of his self-titled EP and his full-length debut, 21st Century Liability (2018), his subsequent 3 albums Weird! (2020), Yungblud (2022) and Idols (2025) all debuted at No. 1 in the UK Official Albums Chart. His lyrics have resonated with millions around the world, earning him meteoric success. He has since accumulated tens of millions of followers, 8 billion streams, sold 3 million albums to date and over 1 million concert tickets. He continues to perform to sold-out crowds around the world and headline some of the world’s biggest festivals.
Last summer marked the start of a landmark new era as he unleashed his critically acclaimed, chart-topping album Idols alongside the Paul Dugdale–directed feature-length documentary YUNGBLUD: Are You Ready, Boy? – a raw and powerful portrait of his journey so far.
About The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are one of the most iconic, iconoclastic, and influential bands of all time, shaping alternative music and culture. Since forming in Chicago in 1988, the group has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and garnered two GRAMMY® Awards, seven MTV VMAs, and an American Music Award. Their catalog includes seminal offerings such as the platinum Gish [1991], the quadruple-platinum Siamese Dream [1993], the diamond-certified Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness [1995], the platinum Adore [1998], and the gold Machina/The Machines of God [2000]. Rolling Stone cited both Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness among its “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” It would also be impossible to envision alternative music and culture without their signature iconography such as the idyllic album artwork for Siamese Dream, the black Zero shirt, the laissez faire bliss of the “1979” music video, the gothic metamorphosis of “Ava Adore,” or the multi-dimensional live shows that sell out worldwide to this day. 2018 saw The Smashing Pumpkins unveil SHINY AND OH SO BRIGHT, VOL. 1 / LP: NO PAST. NO FUTURE. NO SUN. and launched the immensely successful Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour, which packed arenas. Maintaining this momentum, the band released their eleventh full-length double album , CYR [2020], representing yet another evolution, and more recently, ATUM[2023], the sequel to 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and 2000’s Machina/Machine of God. The band’s 2024 album, Aghori Mhori Mei, written in the immediate aftermath of ATUM, sees a return to form for original members Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin, and James Iha, and harkens back to the band’s early 90’s canon; where guitars, bass, drums, and spiking vocals ruled.
