Combining emotional and thought-provoking lyrics with an edgy, genderfluid aesthetic, 22-year-old Dominic Harrison (aka YUNGBLUD) is pushing down any walls that try and box him in. Whether it’s genres, fashion, or straight-up politics, YUNGBLUD is sticking his middle finger up to all of it while sporting his cheeky and contagious grin.
In just under 3 years, the star has become a King to all the misfits; preaching to just be yourself and shedding light on the issues that need it most. Everything about him is anti-establishment, but here are our favourite songs that prove it best.
1. ‘parents’ (the underrated youth, 2019)
The premise of ‘parents,’ quite hilariously, tells the older generation to just “f**k off.” YUNGBLUD calls on uncaring and immoral adults, touching mostly on their homophobia and their belief in simply knowing everything. It’s a new wave of rebellion that’s come with a new wave of youth, and who better than YUNGBLUD to be leading us into this battle? At least that’s what he’s promising with the end of the chorus, “But I know I’ll never be alone. It’s alright, we’ll survive. ‘Cause parents ain’t always right.” Youths, assemble!
2. ‘I Love You, Will You Marry Me’ (YUNGBLUD, 2018)
The pop-rock hit is one of YUNGBLUD’s biggest and also involves a tragic backstory that cements the star in his anti-establishment roots. In 2001, a man named Jason spray-painted “Clare Middleton I love you, Will U Marry ME” on the side of Park Hill bridge in Sheffield, England. The simple graffiti ended up being romanticised and commercialised by companies with a neon sign sitting on top of the words (‘Clare Middleton’ was left to fade). But what YUNGBLUD aims to preach is the awful tragedy that is the reality of both Clare and Jason. (Clare passed away a few years after the message was written and Jason became homeless and horribly depressed). ‘I Love You, Will You Marry Me’ shows how companies can profit off false stories and how the public can romanticise something that isn’t even real. Whew, talk about sticking it to the man.
3. ‘Psychotic Kids’ (21st Century Liability, 2018)
Following a similar theme to ‘parents,’ this track taps more into YUNGBLUD’s personal history with mental illness and how he and other kids with ‘issues’ are simply seen as psychotic in the eyes of the older generation. He touches on his own struggles with suicide and depression and shows the clear generation gap between the youth and their elders and how they “Don’t know f**king anything.”
4. ‘Machine Gun (F**k the NRA) (21st Century Liability, 2018)
An in-your-face message deserves an in-your-face song, and YUNGBLUD definitely didn’t leave much to the imagination with this one. ‘Machine Gun’ steers into the wild debate of gun laws in America and their problem with mass shootings. YUNGBLUD makes a mockery out of how mass shooters are portrayed as mentally ill by the media and how they end up immortalised due to their names being in headlines. “You’re making us famous,” he chillingly repeats, shedding a direct light on such a continuous issue.
5. ‘King Charles’ (YUNGBLUD, 2018)
Probably the most anti-establishment one can get, ‘King Charles,’ rather literally, sees YUNGBLUD going after King Charles I of England and his tyrannical power. The track was the star’s official debut, and it was certainly a strong one. Aiming to reinforce the message that the youth are being ignored, taken advantage of and ripped of not only their rights but their money, YUNGBLUD gives a political commentary of the world and those who have, and likely always will, lead it.
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