The new year kicks off with a collaboration that, not long ago, would have been hard to predict. Yungblud invited The Smashing Pumpkins to reinterpret his track Zombie – a single from the album IDOLS, nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rock Song category. And importantly: this is not a cover of The Cranberries classic, but Yungblud’s own 2025 song, which in its new form carries more weight, more edge, and a distinctly Smashing Pumpkins-style guitar shadow.
Not a cover – a reinterpretation of his own single
Yungblud released the original Zombie on May 30, 2025 as another entry in the rollout for IDOLS. It came with a music video featuring Florence Pugh, and the single was described in press materials as the third release tied to that album cycle.
The new version is a different kind of energy. In the official statement, it was emphasized that the recording was produced by Matt Schwartz and Billy Corgan, and that this marks the first time in history that The Smashing Pumpkins appear on another artist’s recording as fully credited co-creators.
Where the duo comes from: Birmingham, a tribute, and an email that worked
According to the press statement, Yungblud and Billy Corgan’s paths crossed in Birmingham during Black Sabbath’s farewell concert Back To The Beginning, where both were said to have taken part in tributes to Ozzy Osbourne. That meeting was presented as the spark, although the connection – at least publicly – started earlier.
As far back as 2023, Corgan had publicly complimented the direction Yungblud was headed. In a cited excerpt from a conversation with Allison Hagendorf, he said: I can tell where he’s going, and if I’m right, we’ll be talking about him for the next 50 years.
Yungblud is equally direct about how central Zombie is to him on IDOLS – and that this is exactly why he wanted to run the song through the sensibility of the band that shaped him growing up. He puts it plainly: Zombie is the most important song of IDOLS to me.
What changed in the sound – and why it makes sense
The new take on Zombie is described as heavier and more emotionally urgent. The statement specifies that the track now carries Billy Corgan’s iconic guitar sound. Yungblud sums it up like this: I love that this new version of Zombie is heavier (…) and it rips my heart out.
Corgan, in turn, frames the band’s involvement as a creative exchange and a nod to the inspirations Yungblud has spoken about. In a shorter passage, he underlines that they wanted to give this version as personal a character as possible.
There’s also another element in the background that gives this release weight beyond symbolism. The statement notes that Zombie has surpassed 100 million streams, and the new version is accompanied by an official music video directed by Charlie Sarsfield, featuring both Yungblud and The Smashing Pumpkins.
Grammy nomination
Most importantly: the nomination is in the Best Rock Song category. On the nominees list published by the Recording Academy, Zombie appears with the listed writers Dominic Harrison and Matt Schwartz.
This is also reflected on the artist profile on GRAMMY.com, where Yungblud is shown with a nomination for Zombie in Best Rock Song as part of the 68th ceremony.
For context: The Smashing Pumpkins are described as two-time Grammy winners – which matches the GRAMMY.com data for the band (2 wins, 11 nominations).
What’s next: the tour, and why the timing is perfect for a move like this
The official statement announces a sold-out North American tour starting May 1, which helps explain why this new version of Zombie is arriving right now – at the start of a new live chapter and just ahead of the peak of awards season.
But if there’s one thing about this story that feels the most rock, it’s that it didn’t begin with a massive campaign. It started with real contact: a meeting, a conversation, and an email proposing to rework the song together. Everything else – the sound, the names, and the nomination – simply built a narrative on top of a simple core that’s easy to believe: inspiration returning to its author in the form of a shared recording.
