YUNGBLUD, Dan Reynolds give “original me” TV debut on ‘The Late Show’
YUNGBLUD is fresh off the release of his latest EP, the underrated youth, and celebrating with a high-energy performance of his Dan Reynolds collab, “original me.” The Imagine Dragons vocalist joined the musician on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Monday night where they channeled the same vibe of the recently released music video.
Earlier this month, the duo dropped the cinematic music video, which features both vocalists playing off each other’s energy in a deserted junkyard. Taking an unexpected turn, YUNGBLUD and Reynolds continue to cheat death, offering up the perfect metaphor for getting back up every time you’re knocked down.
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Filmed in Las Vegas, the music video was directed by award-winning filmmaker Jordan Bahat, who previously worked with twenty one pilots on “Holding On To You.” The director also has credits with Meg Myers (“Desire”) and fun. (“Why Am I The One”).
Last night, the duo debuted their first performance of the track together on The Late Show stage. Channeling that same energy, a car sits dead center of the stage, calling back to the original video.
Ahead of the performance, YUNGBLUD shared a behind-the-scenes moment with Reynolds as they prepped for the song’s TV debut with face masks.
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Check out the full performance at The Late Show below.
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YUNGBLUD recently chatted exclusively with AltPress about his latest EP in a track-by-track. The musician specifically opened up about being in New Orleans during the call—the same place Reynolds had reached out to him a few months back.
“Yo, I made a song with Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons. What the fuck? [Laughs.]” YUNGBLUD says. “I’m at Leeds Fest, five years ago, and I’m just fucking in awe of him, and now I made a record with him. It’s fucking crazy. That song is about embracing the part that you don’t like about yourself because your biggest superpower—the superpower you’ve got—is to be originally yourself. You are different [than] every other human on this planet. And fucking embrace that because that is a wonderful thing.
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“It’s so crazy that I’m in New Orleans because the last time I was [here] about three months ago for a day off—same shit—Dan Reynolds calls me. [He’s] like, “Dude, I love what you’re doing. I love [that] you’re an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community”—because he is. Have you seen his documentary about fucking Mormon society, [Believer]? When we were getting the song set up, he said to me, “The world ain’t ready for you yet. I want to fucking help you. Let’s do a record together.” I was like, “Fuck man, you’re Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons. This is crazy.” We get in the studio, and we’re both fucking mental. We’re both crazy energetic, and we just let loose, and it feels like a pretty fuckin’ magic song.’”
Check out the full interview here.
the underrated youth EP is available now here. Check out the “original me” video and EP tracklist below.
the underrated youth tracklist:
- “braindead!”
- “parents”
- “original me” (feat. Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons)
- “casual sabotage”
- “hope for the underrated youth”
- “waiting on the weekend”
YUNGBLUD just wrapped up his Twisted Tales of The Ritalin Club tour—a name inspired by his graphic novel—with Missio as support. Check out other upcoming dates—including the Intimate As Fuck tour—here.
