Yungblud Releases Live ‘Zombie’ Cut With Billy Corgan From Chicago Show, Preserving the Only Onstage Performance of Their Reimagined Smashing Pumpkins Collaboration

CHICAGO, IL — Yungblud has put out a new live version of “Zombie” featuring Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, drawn from the pair’s July 30 performance at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre. The release comes with an official performance video and captures the only time the two artists have played their reworked version together onstage.

The performance adds a new layer to a collaboration that had already taken shape earlier in 2026 in the studio. That earlier recording paired Yungblud with Corgan and drew in more of the Smashing Pumpkins orbit, turning “Zombie” into a crossover moment for two generations of alternative rock.

The Riviera Theatre show landed in a packed week for both artists

The Chicago date sat in the middle of a busy stretch for both musicians, and the city became the backdrop for two closely linked appearances. Yungblud played the Riviera Theatre on July 30, then returned the next day for Lollapalooza, where his set came before The Smashing Pumpkins’ Friday-night headlining slot.

That sequencing made Corgan’s appearance feel especially tied to the moment. Rather than being a one-off guest spot dropped into a distant tour stop, the performance happened in the same city where both acts were already spending the weekend, giving the live “Zombie” cut a distinctly Chicago connection.

Why 'Zombie' became one of Yungblud's biggest songs

The song first appeared on Yungblud’s album Idols and quickly became the fastest-streaming solo single of his career. It has now passed 200 million streams, a scale that shows how strongly it connected with listeners well beyond the initial album cycle.

The track also brought awards attention. Yungblud and co-writer Matt Schwartz were nominated for Best Rock Song at the 2026 Grammy Awards, adding industry recognition to the song’s commercial momentum. Around the same time, Yungblud won Best Rock Performance for his rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Changes” at the Back to the Beginning concert in Birmingham.

Billy Corgan helped reshape the studio version before the live debut

The Smashing Pumpkins connection was built into the reimagined studio version from the start. Produced by Matt Schwartz and Billy Corgan, the recording featured Corgan alongside fellow Pumpkins members Jimmy Chamberlin and James Iha, giving the song a heavier guitar sound while keeping its emotional center intact.

That version was released in January and later added to Idols II, extending the life of the project beyond the original album. The Chicago live recording now gives fans a different way to hear the same collaboration, this time with the artists sharing a stage instead of only a studio booth.

A meeting of influence between two generations of alternative rock

The collaboration works because the musical relationship runs deeper than a simple guest spot. Yungblud has long cited The Smashing Pumpkins, especially the sound of Siamese Dream, as a major influence on his own work. Bringing Corgan into “Zombie” made that influence explicit rather than implied.

Corgan’s role also went beyond performing a vocal or guitar part. He co-produced the reworked track and helped shape it into something that reflected the style his band helped define in the 1990s. The result is a song that links Yungblud’s current era to one of alternative rock’s most recognizable legacies.

The new video turns a one-time collaboration into a documented moment

Because the Chicago performance is the only time Yungblud and Corgan have played this version of “Zombie” together live, the release has added historical weight for fans following the project. The video preserves a specific stage moment rather than a broad tour document, which makes it stand out inside both artists’ catalogs.

With Jimmy Chamberlin and James Iha already part of the studio recording, the song has moved from album track to cross-generational showcase. The Riviera Theatre clip now serves as the clearest live record of that idea, showing how a modern rock artist and a founding voice of 1990s alternative can meet in one performance.

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