Since releasing his debut EP in 2018, YUNGBLUD, AKA Dominic Harrison, has captured the hearts of millions of music fans around the world. And when you take a listen to his music and hear him speak it’s no wonder why. Everything he says and does is real. He is unapologetically himself. But YUNGBLUD is more than just Dom Harrison, it’s a whole community, where young people can belong, and where, just like Dom, you can be yourself, you can wear what you want, love who you want, and identify however you want.
After support slots by Daisy Brain and renforshort, a recorded intro is played of Dom speaking to the crowd. His red lips appear on a black backdrop hanging from the stage in a Rocky Horror Picture Show manner. “Welcome back,” he begins. “Have you missed me? Because I’ve certainly missed you.” He asks four questions, the final one being the most important, “Are you ready to celebrate love and unity with every single ounce of your being?” There’s a huge cheer as the black curtain drops and Dom and his band appear on stage. Kicking into the tantalising ‘Strawberry Lipstick’, the singer, who now wears black lipstick and a red boiler suit, jumps around the stage from left to right, with a glam punk attitude and vivaciousness. He is a star performer and has the crowd in the palm of his hands from the get-go. The flamboyant frontman soon kisses his guitarist Adam, who, incidentally, is very talented in his own right and the owner of some very cool riffs, and puts on a huge bra that has been thrown onto the stage. He unzips his boiler suit top, showing a black mesh top underneath. ‘Parents’, ‘I Love You, Will You Marry Me’ (a song inspired by a declaration of love graffitied on a bridge in Sheffield) and ska-toned ‘Anarchist’ see the singer continue to mesmerise the crowd, with Dom asking everyone to crouch down in ‘Anarchist’ before jumping back up.
There’s a recording before ‘Mars’, where you’re asked ‘Ever felt like you’re an alien?’ before being told to look around as everyone in the room is your family and they will love you for being exactly who you are. The lavish song takes you on a thrilling journey, a journey where you can feel the unity in the room, as everyone sings in unison along to lyrics like ‘Do you feel like you’re irrelevant?’. By this point, Dom is now wearing a skirt. He takes control of the Nirvana-esque ‘Fleabag’, which is very guitar-driven, turning around at the end and lifting up his skirt.
He grabs a tambourine and a pair of red horns before the Oasis-inspired ‘Ice Cream Man’ and asks if anyone has felt lonely in these past few years before the rock and rolling ‘Loner’. A sea of hands soon clap in time with the song.
Dom’s speech before ‘Love Song’ about how he couldn’t love anyone else when he didn’t love himself is heartfelt and so on point, relatable to many. It nearly brings a tear to your eye. He says he spent so long trying to find true love. “Do you know where I found true love? I found it in each and every one of you, man.” He points to people in the crowd, “I love you, and you, and you, and you…”
By the end of the set, which sees Dom play the piano for ‘Teresa’ and an encore of ‘God Save Me, But Don’t Drown Me Out’ and ‘Machine Gun (F**k The NRA)’, we all most definitely love Dom back even more. He has well and truly earned all of the adoration he has received thus far, providing a safe place for many in his live shows and music, and something and someone to believe in for everyone, no matter what their age, race or sexual orientation, and it’s exciting knowing that this is still just the beginning for YUNGBLUD. What is to come will be beyond his and our wildest expectations, we’re sure – and, just like the patch on the back of his boiler suit says, ‘The future is bright coz we’re in it’.
