Hot off the release of his self-titled third studio album, Yungblud spoke to Billboard about his musical influences and how he’s keeping rock-and-roll alive. In the interview, he recalled meeting Rolling Stones lead vocalist Mick Jagger, who had previously shouted out Yungblud during an interview with Swedish radio station P4.
“Mick Jagger is everything to me,” Yungblud said to Billboard, “as a frontman, as an activist, as a rock star, as a sex icon. When you’re meeting a rock ‘n’ roll star, you can’t be like, ‘Oh, my God!’ I did a shot of whiskey, walked in — alright Mick how are you? In my head, I was like ‘What the f*ck?’”
Over the past year, Yungblud has collaborated with artists like Avril Lavigne, Demi Lovato, Machine Gun Kelly, and Blackbear. As rock sounds are having a resurgence into the pop landscape, Yungblud said that in order for rock music to sound great, it must come from an authentic place.
“Rock-and-roll is about energy,” he said. “It’s not about a drum kit, it’s not about guitar, it’s not about anything other than freedom and energy, because energy doesn’t lie. Freedom to express, freedom to be yourself, freedom to not conform.”
Yungblud is out now via Locomotion and Geffen. Stream it here.