Yungblud digs deeper into the quiet devastation of “Zombie” on a new remix featuring the Smashing Pumpkins. Billy Corgan takes on the second verse for the updated recording before closing out the track alongside the British rocker singing, “Would you even want me, want me, want me?”
“Zombie” originally appeared on Yungblud’s latest album, Idols. Last year, the musician told Loudwire that Corgon was “really at the forefront of my inspiration” while recording the project. He referenced Siamese Dream in particular while discussing the creation of “Zombie.”
“When ‘Zombie’ came along, I knew I wanted to do a new version if it,” he said. “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.”
“Zombie” is nominated for Best Rock Song at the 2026 Grammy Awards. The category also features entries from Nine Inch Nails, Sleep Token, Hayley Williams, and Turnstile. Yungblud will also compete in Best Rock Album for Idols alongside Deftones, Haim, Linkin Park, and Turnstile.
“This album was almost like my last chance,” Yungblud told Rolling Stone ahead of Idols. “If I hadn’t been sure of what I was making, I don’t think there would’ve been a way back for me. I made a fucking incredible album when I was 19 — 21st Century Liability. I got so much bigger than I ever expected to get. And then the mainstream finds you and you become insecure about things you didn’t know existed.”
He added, “If it sounded like the past, I failed. Fuck that. There are so many pastiche rock bands out there. That’s why rock’s been dead for so long. I didn’t want to adhere to a time period… If it felt too specific to this moment, then I failed. And it would cringe me out.”
Yungblud discussed the state of rock during his appearance on Corgan’s The Magnificent Others podcast in October. “For so long, people have been telling me to twist the idea of rock music instead of just really just go for it in its purest form that I fell in love with it,” he said. “And then good old Billy Corgan goes, ‘I wish you’d just sing that.’ And then I’m like, ah, okay, let’s go. I think this whole journey really has been so beautiful because I’ve settled into the first iteration of what I believe I’ll be doing for the rest of my life.”
