Yungblud has collaborated with Oli Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon on his new track ‘Happier’.
The new single marks the second collaboration from the pair following Bring Me The Horizon’s 2020 single ‘Obey’, and arrives ahead of Yungblud’s stint with the band on their upcoming Asia tour.
“Broken, I’m not broken, I’m not broken / I’m just a little depressed,” the pair sing together on the purging track. “I’m just scared to belong here / Scared to be happier.”
Speaking about the track in a press statement, Yungblud – real name Dominic Harrison – said: “I have almost been conditioned by myself my whole life to be in pain. When I’m in pain I work better. I function better because I have something to combat. It’s dark but it’s all I’ve ever known.
“The feeling of happiness is scary because you feel like it’s all about to go wrong. I have always felt that if I’m happy I’ll get complacent so it’s lost me a lot of opportunity for friendships and relationships in the past.”
He continued: “I got really emotional when writing this. I was craving another Yungblud song that would burn in my stomach, make me feel like it’s all gonna be ok and encourage me to fight back against old habits and try my best to re-align myself to be better. It’s ok to find happiness, it’s ok to feel it. I hope you find a little bit of it in this song. You deserve it. Everyone does.”
Listen to it below.
Speaking to NME for his big read interview about the pair’s first collab, Yungblud said he found comfort in the similarities between Sykes’ style, music and upbringing to his own.
“He literally redefined my perception of growing up in wearing make-up and being different in the north. He basically saved my life,” he said.
Speaking about ‘Obey’, Yungblud added: “I’d waited my whole life to scream on a Bring Me The Horizon song. I was pissed in LA when he called and I told him that I was going to the studio immediately.
“He’s like, ‘Woah, woah, woah – we haven’t finished the song’. I said I’d been waiting for this call my whole life, got into the studio, turned the mic on and just screamed for seven hours.”
Sykes also previously loaded praise on Yungblud in an interview with NME. “He’s [Yungblud] the kind of artist that rock needs – the kind of rockstar that changes a scene. I love him; he lights up a room. He’s the polar opposite to me. I wish I could have that confidence that he has. It’s infectious and that’s why a lot of kids look up to him.”
He added: “Not since Bowie have we had people who are just so unashamedly and genuinely themselves and don’t give fuck or play by the rules.
“Even Yungblud was like, ‘Doing a song together is so good for the scene’. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got the best band in the world, because if that’s the only one, then that scene dies… You can count on two hands the prominent rock bands that aren’t legacy acts or indie/pop bands like The 1975.”
‘Happier’ followed Yungblud’s recent singles in his new era, ‘Lowlife‘ and ‘Hated‘. The latter saw him confront childhood trauma after opening up about being molested as a child.
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