It’s five hours until showtime when Lola Young sits down to chat with me in our Chicago studio. She’s about to perform at Lollapalooza—her first ever American music festival following the success of her most recent album, This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway, that debuted in June.
Her pre-performance energy is palpable.
“I’m so fucking nervous because I don’t know what the turnout is going to be,” she admits. “The first American festival is a big moment, but I’m in a good place right now. I feel excited and prepared. That actually makes me more nervous—but in a good way.”
At 23 London-based singer-songwriter Lola Young is already shaking up the music scene. From signing with Island Records to making her Lollapalooza debut, she’s quickly becoming a standout voice. “The first American festival is a big moment, but I’m in a good place right now,” she says. “I feel excited and prepared.”
Lollapalooza is stop number one on Lola’s slew of music festival dates, followed by a list of shows around North America. All in all her career has only continued to rise since being signed to Island Records at age 18. Though now just 23, Lola’s formative years growing up in South London exposed her to a wide variety of artists like Prince, Joni Mitchell, and Erykah Badu. Her parents are also musicians.
Lola fondly describes her South London roots as “multicultural and vibrant.” She shares that the area’s youthful energy has played a crucial role in her music-making process, shaping her identity and artistic vision.
“I remember Erykah Badu saying the best artists often come from pain—from going through something,” she says. “I believe that, too. The best artists today have been through shit. It’s not that you have to go through hardships to be an artist but being in a city where there’s a lot happening makes you feel something deeper.”
Lola calls her latest album, This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway, “punky and raw”—a reflection of her growth and self-expression as an artist. “It’s edgy with some soul in there. I’m proud of this album. I’m very critical of my work, but I put a lot of effort into this.”
Lola attended the BRIT School in South London, a creative arts institution known for producing successful musicians like Amy Winehouse and Adele. Lola says the BRIT School was crucial in shaping her identity both personally and artistically. She discourages the idea, though, that students are automatically destined to “be something” by simply showing up.
“You don’t go there and magically become an artist,” she says. “The best part of it for me was being at a school that allowed me to be whoever I wanted to be. That freedom is what’s important to me. London in general is like that. You can walk down the street in nipple tassels and no one bats an eye.
“I’m very pro-being who you are. That’s something I feel strongly about whether it’s through sexuality, identity, or anything else.”
Lola released her debut project, Intro, in 2019. Her music received viral attention after she began teasing songs from her second album, My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely, on TikTok. She describes her most recent release, This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway, as the most “her” she’s ever felt.
“I’m very pro-being who you are. That’s something I feel strongly about whether it’s through sexuality, identity, or anything else.”
“I think it’s punky and raw,” she says. “It’s edgy with some soul in there. I’m proud of this album. I’m very critical of my work, but I put a lot of effort into this.
“I made it at a time where I was in a dark place, but not too dark. I was just sort of up in the clouds. I felt drained after making it, but I’m really happy that it’s out there living and breathing.”
The song “Messy” is a particularly personal track. It captures a familiar dynamic most people have likely experienced—a deliberate choice in her songwriting. “Messy” reflects both perspectives in a relationship: the frustration of wanting more from another person, while acknowledging one’s own shortcomings and inability to fully meet those demands.
“I’m so happy that message came across,” she says. “I think that’s why the song resonates. It’s about seeing things from both sides. I say in that song, ‘I got high again and forgot to fold my clothes.’ That’s me admitting, ‘Yo, I did this. I am fucking messy,’ but also trying to convey how challenging it is to be me and have my personal struggles.”
The song “You Noticed” is also deeply personal to Lola. It’s a ballad, and she admits she has a soft spot for a good, sad love song. Despite its gentle melody the track holds significant emotional weight, reflecting on her past relationship.
Another favorite is “Good Books,” the album’s opener.
“It holds a lot of pain for me,” she says. “It’s literally about trying hard to stay in someone’s good books, like, ‘Can you not see that I’m trying? Can you just chill?’
“I want to make it clear that this album is a love album, but the love is universal,” she says. “You can relate these songs to any person in your life. Love isn’t just about a romantic relationship with another person. It could be about your mom, a friend, anyone.”
Her spirit of inclusivity is part of what fuels the Lola Young phenomenon. She has a remarkable ability to connect with her audience through humor, both in her online presence and in her music. “Sometimes I feel I need to get really deep. Other times I just want to be fun and cute, and people will get that.”
Perhaps this spirit of inclusivity is what fuels the strength of the Lola Young phenomenon. She also has a remarkable ability to connect with her audience through humor, both in her online presence and in her music.
I mention the playful interactions I’ve noticed between her and her followers, pointing to a recent post featuring Lola in front of London’s Tower Bridge—a regal looking structure that resembles Westminster Abbey. She humorously captioned the post, “Someone asked me if this was Disneyland lol.” A reply from one of her fans reads: “Cinderella’s castle, right?”
“I’m using these platforms in a way that’s fun for me,” she says. “Sometimes I feel I need to get really deep. Other times I just want to be fun and cute, and people will get that.
“It’s still hard to be online, though. I saw something a while ago that said, ‘Thom Yorke wouldn’t be doing TikToks,’ but it’s part of what I have to do. I’m finding fun in it.”
“I made the album at a time where I was in a dark place, but not too dark. I was just sort of up in the clouds.”
Though Gen Z-centric social platforms are a primary point of contact, Lola has managed to attract a generationally spanning fanbase. Her profiles are often filled with messages from fans of all ages. One reads: “Kid. This catchy and captivating jam of yours made it to this 50-year-old man’s Greatest Songs playlist. Happy for you and the success you’re having with it.”
“I remember that one,” Lola says, laughing. “I responded to him!
“When I was younger I’d always look at artists with diverse crowds—like Adele, for example,” she says. “It’s something I’ve always wanted. It means you can touch both the old and the young. It shows that something you’re saying is universal and resonates with a wide audience. Even if my music resonated with strictly 15- to 20-year-olds that would be sick as well—I’m happy with whatever. It’s important to me that what I’m creating is building something slowly.”
Weaving humorous subtleties into her lyrics, though, is something Lola has only begun exploring.
“I’m playing with lines like, ‘You can eat shit,’ on my song ‘Big Brown Eyes,’” she says. “It’s about making sure people know what I’m saying without directly saying it. There’s a darkness underneath it, where it’s like, ‘I love you, but you can eat shit.’ Love is so close to hate. I would only say that because I’m obsessed with you.
Lola fondly describes her South London roots as “multicultural and vibrant.” She shares that the area’s youthful energy has played a crucial role in her music-making process, shaping her identity and artistic vision.
“This isn’t in any current song, but ‘Don’t do drugs, kids,’ is a little hint at something that’s going to be coming out. It’s in the works at the moment, but there should be something out next year. I can’t say much about it now, but it’s exciting. It feels fresh, and there are some amazing songs I’ve already written for it.”
While Lola breaks into the US music scene, she tells me she’s also trying to break bad habits, like vaping. At 23 she’s starting to think about where she hopes to be in another 20 years’ time. She also labels her “addiction” to shoe shopping as another of her vices—though to the rest of the world, it presents as a striking fashion sense that is ingrained in her image.
“I spent a ridiculous amount on a pair of shoes when I first got signed, and they squeaked,” she says. “They were stupid Versace Chain Reactions. My mom was taking the piss because I’d walk around and go, “Squeak squeak, these were £500, squeak squeak!”
Ultimately when it comes to fashion, Lola simply wears what inspires her each day. She arrived at our studio in thick-rimmed glasses, a backless halter top, a calf-length jean skirt, and Air Jordans, adorned with two gold watches on her wrist. She brought knee-high platform combat boots, too—but she’s saving those for tonight’s set.
“I don’t really try too hard; I just wear what I like,” she says. “The glasses I’m wearing right now I got for free, but I do like my shoes to be tip-top. My shoes are always going to be the most planned part, but the rest of the outfit, I’m like, ‘I can throw this together.’”
As Lola’s Lollapalooza set draws closer, she tells me which artists she has her eye on from this year’s lineup. She mentions Chappell Roan, who rose into next-level stardom within a short timeframe and made her Lollapalooza debut this year. Lola says that Chappell’s journey—having worked in the industry for years before finally breaking through—serves as a reminder that such success is attainable.
“It takes a while, but you’re going to get there,” she says. “Chappell Roan is one of the artists I’m loving right now—her and Remi Wolf. My view of music is that when you’re making something you believe in, that’s all that matters.
“Obviously I’m shitting myself thinking I’m going to do a bad job, but also know maybe I won’t—and that’s really fun.”
A version of this article originally appeared in Sixtysix Issue 13.
