Yungblud on tackling eating disorder and body dysmorphia: “I’m claiming a freedom and a sexiness and a liberation”

25 April, 2025

Yungblud in April 2025

Yungblud has discussed his battle with eating disorders and body dysmorphia, saying that he is “claiming a freedom” going forward.

The singer first opened up about his struggle with food last year, when he spoke to Jamie Laing and admitted that he had an unhealthy fixation on food that he was trying to overcome.

In the discussion, he said he had “really not liked my body for a long time” and would previously “go on weird food binges, which I’ve never talked about before”. The struggle, he shared, went as far as him scrapping entire photoshoots due to his thoughts about his appearance.

Now, having made a recent comeback and gearing up to release a new album, the singer (real name Dominic Harrison) has revealed that the upcoming record will see him overcome his personal battles and enter a new, more accepting chapter of his life.

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“I always was insecure about my body, and that got highlighted as I got famous,” he told the BBC. “But I realised, the biggest power you can give someone over you is in how you react. So I decided, I’m going to get sober, I’m going to get fit, and I discovered boxing.”

He also shared that his new album will contain a song called ‘Zombie’, which is a ballad about “feeling you’re ugly, and learning to battle that”. He debuted the track live during an intimate gig at London’s Scala last month.

The shift towards focusing on mental health and physical health he mentioned also links to the new photos shared on social media, after wiping all of his online platforms clean. In the comeback post, Harrison announced the single ‘Hello Heaven, Hello’, and posed topless, showing a new physique.

As for how he discovered a love of boxing, Harrison said he ended up working with South African boxer Chris Heerden, and found him “extremely inspirational”.

“Boxing’s become like therapy for me. If someone says something bad about me, I go to the gym, hit the punch bag for an hour and talk it out,” he told the outlet.

Discussing the latest photoshoot he had, announcing the ‘Hello Heaven, Hello’ track, Yungblud added: “Maybe the shirt-off era is a comeback to all the comments I’ve had…I’m claiming a freedom and a sexiness and a liberation.”

While exact details about the upcoming album remain under wraps, Yungblud did speak to NME last year and exclusively revealed that it was going to be a “double album”.

“The new album centres around the idea of self-love and self-reclamation that allows people to feel seen, and emit this light,” he said at the time. “You can be seen for who you truly are, no matter where you’re from or what you believe… That’s what I needed to write an album about.”

In March last year, he talked to NME about his next LP, which will follow his 2022 self-titled album, and cited the likes of Oasis, The Verve, Primal Scream, My Chemical Romance, David Bowie and Madonna as inspirations.

Since dropping comeback track ‘Hello Heaven, Hello’, Yungblud has gone on to share another single called ‘Lovesick Lullaby’.

Over the summer, Yungblud will host the second instalment of Bludfest at Milton Keynes Bowl. He’ll headline the event following slots from Chase Atlantic, Denzel Curry, Blackbear and former NME Cover stars Rachel Chinouriri and Peach PRC. Find any remaining tickets here.

You can reach out for help and advice around eating disorders on the Beat website.

For help and advice on mental health:

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