Yungblud flashed back to his younger days with the release of his new music video for “Lowlife,” which made its broadcast premiere on Thursday (Aug. 3) on MTV Live, MTVU, MTV Biggest Pop and on the Paramount Times Square billboards.
The clip was directed by Priya Minhas and Yungblud and features the singer making his way around Camden Town, London with a representation of his younger self.
“I wanted to make something that looked like emo Shameless or St Trinians on Acid,” Yungblud shared of the video. “As I was writing the song, I was visualizing the video in my head, it literally helped me get the words down on paper. I knew it had to be shot in Camden Town and I wanted to be walking side by side with my younger self, guiding him through a f—ed up world based on real memories and people I have encountered in my life,” he continued. “Almost a message to myself saying that life doesn’t always have to be so deep and there is beauty to be found in chaos and opportunity in disaster.”
Watch Yungblud’s “Lowlife” Music Video Below
His Younger Self Was Portrayed By An Actor Named Colt
Yungblud’s young self was portrayed by an actor named Colt, who the English musician met while filming a live session in New Orleans.
“Immediately upon meeting him I knew he had to play the little me,” Yungblud recalled. “He was such a little brat with a load of bite and energy and felt exactly like me when I was his age so we flew him out to London for the shoot. This video is completely bonkers, but that’s what makes it perfect.”
Yungblud wrote “Lowlife” with Jake Torrey and Paul Meany, both of whom produced the song with him.
“I’ve not been going into the studio intent on making something like, ‘Close To Me’ or ‘Born This Way’ or ‘Life On Mars,’” the singer explained of the writing process. “We’d start with a blank canvas each time, bring up a beat and see what the f— happens.”
“Lowlife” Marks A New Era For Yungblud
The song represents the beginning of a new era for Yungblud, a sonic and creative shift that finds him making a return to his alternative roots while also taking creative risks with quirky yet detailed production and considered instrumentation that simultaneously feels both new and nostalgic.
“Lowlife” was originally released in June, and Yungblud shared at the time that he wrote the song “because I just didn’t want to leave my house. I was sick of people, of games, of myself, my friends, anytime I did anything some idiot had an opinion about it. What I should do or be.”
He continued, “The truth is I didn’t want to be anything at all sometimes, I wanted to be nothing. So I just didn’t leave bed. I was dissatisfied and craving some sort of boredom. The type of boredom where you sit in your house, in the same sheets and watch fucking mind-numbing TV, so I wrote a song about it.”
Will Soon Wrap Up His Headlining North American Tour
Yungblud will soon wrap up the North American leg of his Yungblud – The World Tour, which spans 25 dates.
In June, Yungblud shared with fans that he would be offering a limited amount of $20 tickets (including fees) for select dates as a way to ensure that all of his fans could afford to attend his shows. “I don’t want someone to not be able to come to a show because they can’t afford it,” he told fans in a video at the time. “That just hurts. So I just to myself that I’ve got to try my best to do something about it.”
