Yungblud on how he and Halsey wrote ’11 Minutes’: “She’s from the Doncaster of the US”

Watch above as Yungblud opens up about how they made their hit with Travis Barker

Yungblud has spoken of the meaning and inspiration behind the song ’11 Minutes’ – as well as how he formed a creative partnership with Halsey and Blink-182‘s Travis Barker.

Watch our ‘Song Stories’ video with Yungblud above

The trio dropped the hit single last month, and now Yungblud has told NME of the serendipity of it all coming together in just three days.

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“Me and Halsey met for a drink just to talk about music, and to be honest man, that never happens,” Yungblud told NME. “Everyone’s always wanting to see what they can get out of you. I was a massive fan of hers, she said she was a big fan of me so I was like, ‘Woah, that’s cool’. We just met up and we realised we had so much in common.

“We’re from the same town but different parts of the Earth. It’s a small town mentality. She’s from the Doncaster of the US.”

Yungblud and Halsey in the video for ’11 Minutes’

From there, Halsey was taken with the dramatic storyline that Yungblud had in mind.

“More and more beers went down and I was telling her about this song that I was writing called ’11 Minutes’,” he continued. “It told the story of two young people; you know the couple, man. They’re so in love in high school and you’re like, ‘They’re going to get together’. I can see the couple in my mind right now (it’s May Smith and Matty Spencer from my school).

“They’re together and they love each other but they split up. Nowadays we believe that being successful or obtaining power in life is more important than being in love with someone. They split up because of that pressure, and then realise that they can’t be without each other. They call each other to meet up a couple of years later and rekindle everything. She says, ‘I’m 11 minutes away’ and then she gets into a car accident and dies.”

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Yungblud, Halsey and Travis Barker
Yungblud, Halsey and Travis Barker

After Halsey mentioned a likening to the plot of Brand New‘s song ‘Limousine’, they decided that it not only had to be a duet but that they wanted to make it “upbeat like a Blink-182 record”. There was only one man in mind to complete the puzzle.

“Halsey was just like ‘Oh, I can just call Travis Barker’. I’m like ‘Nah man, that’s just too cool’,” said Yungblud. “Ten minutes later he’s in the studio and I’m pissing myself. I’m pissing myself thinking about pissing myself. Travis just nailed it in one take.”

He added: “I feel like what’s so special about that record is that it’s got the energy of us in a room. You can tell that it’s not been flown across or dialled in by an A&R man. It came together because it’s three people who have a mutual adoration for rock music. We wanted to do it in a 2019 way and it came out really special.”

Watch our full ‘Song Stories video interview at the top of the page

Yungblud’s upcoming UK and European tour dates are below.

OCTOBER

27 – Amsterdam, Paradiso
28 – Brussels, AB Main Hall
31  – Munich, Backstage Werk

NOVEMBER

2 – Milan, Fabrique
4 – Prague, Roxy
5 – Warsaw, Proxima
7  – Berlin, Kesselhaus
10 – Copenhagen, Amager Bio
11th – Oslo, Parkteateret
13 – Hamburg, Docks
14 – Cologne, Essigfabrik
16 – Paris, Trabendo
19 – Bristol, O2 Academy
20 – Manchester, O2 Ritz
21 – London, O2 Academy Brixton
22 – Birmingham, O2 Institute
24 – Norwich, UEA
25 – Glasgow, SWG3 Galvanisers
29 – Sheffield, O2 Academy

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