Rolling Stones‘ lead singer Mick Jagger recently praised two young singers whom he said are helping keep rock and roll alive.
According to RadioX, Jagger mentioned artists Machine Gun Kelly and Yungblud in an interview with the Swedish radio station P4.
“In rock music you need energy, and there have not been a lot of new rock singers around. Now there are a few,” Jagger said. “You have Yungblud and Machine Gun Kelly. That kind of post-punk vibe makes me think there is still a bit of life in rock and roll,” he added.
Machine Gun Kelly reacted to Jagger’s comments with P4 during a May 26 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“Mick Jagger said something about you recently,” Fallon told the singer before sharing Jagger’s comments with him. “Mick Jagger, how does that feel?”
Machine Gun Kelly, whose real name is Colson Baker, admitted he heard the comments the “Paint It, Black” singer made about him “on a bad day.”
“That’s a good day to hear it,” Fallon responded.
“Absolutely,” Machine Gun Kelly agreed. “I’m polarizing to people for some reason, so there was a lot of, uh, like you can just feel a lot of hate coming at you sometimes, and I just remember like, I was feeling it that morning, and then I read that quote and then I just said, ‘[Well] I didn’t say it,’ he explained.
“That’s gotta make you feel fantastic,” Fallon said. “Have you ever met Mick Jagger?”
Machine Gun Kelly said he hadn’t, telling the talk show host it would be hard to be across from the singer and not do the rooster strut with him.
“You gotta do that,” Fallon assured him.
The rapper-turned-rocker has generated his fair share of controversy over the years. Machine Gun Kelly has allegedly made inappropriate comments about reality TV star Kendall Jenner and rapper Eminem’s daughter Hailie while both girls were still underage, has been open about his struggles with Adderall addiction, and has raised eyebrows about his relationship with fiancé, actress Megan Fox when the pair shared they “drink each other’s blood.”
And while the singer has yet to meet Jagger, the same can’t be said for Yungblud.
Yungblud, also known as Dominic Harrison, was invited to a Rolling Stones show on their Sixty Tour back in June. Yungblud met Jagger, who presented him with a Buddy Holly-inspired guitar to welcome him into the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation, where he’s an ambassador, according to NME.
Following their meeting, Yungblud posted photos of himself and Jagger on social media, writing, “thank you for a beautiful night. A masterclass in rock n roll. always meet ur heroes !!!,” adding a black heart emoji to the caption.
thankyou for a beautiful night. a masterclass in rock n roll. always meet ur heroes !!! 🖤 https://t.co/6zQ1qUKLV3
— YUNGBLUD (@yungblud) June 10, 2022
The singer also shared his thoughts on Jagger’s comments about him during a conversation with the BBC. “It is pretty mental that. I don’t know him. I know him from pretending to be him in a mirror. I wonder how I crossed his radar. It was definitely a day where I was like, ‘What?,’” he told the outlet.
In another conversation where he was asked about the famous rocker, Yungblud revealed he took a shot of whiskey to calm his nerves before their meeting.