Who is Lola Young? As TikTok hit Messy heads for UK Top 10

It's Christmas Number 1 week, which means seasoned festive favourites by WHAM! and Mariah Carey are competing with Tom Grennan's yuletide newbie It Can't Be Christmas for the top spot.

But there's also a rogue contender in the form of Lola Young's breakthrough hit Messy. Despite having precisely nothing to do with the holidays, it's on course to enter the Top 10 for the first time. But who is Lola Young, exactly, and why is she scaling the charts at such a competitive time of year?

Who is Lola Young?

Lola Young is a 23-year-old singer-songwriter from South London. As a teenager, she honed her musicianship at the BRIT School, the prestigious performing arts academy in Croydon that counts Adele, Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis and Kate Nash among its alumni.

Lola signed to Island Records when she was 18. Three years later, she was chosen to soundtrack the 2022 John Lewis Christmas advert with a beautiful stripped-down cover of Together in Electric Dreams.

 

Since then, Lola has released two albums – 2023's My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely and this year's This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway. She also collaborated with Tyler the Creator on Like Him, a track from Tyler's latest album Chromakopia. 

When did Lola Young release Messy?

Lola Young released Messy on May 31 2024 when she announced her second album This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway. The album, which she described as "my first born child", followed on June 21 with Messy as its fifth track.

How has Messy by Lola Young performed in the UK?

Messy entered the Official Singles Chart on November 21 2024, giving Lola her Official Charts debut. It has since climbed to Number 55, Number 41, Number 35 and then to its current peak of Number 11.

This week, Messy is on course to enter the Top 10 – no small achievement given that it's Christmas Number 1 week and Lola is competing against festive perennials from WHAM!, Mariah Carey, Brenda Lee, Kelly Clarkson and many more.

Why is Messy by Lola Young so popular?

Messy first took off on TikTok with significant boosts from a Kylie Jenner lip sync clip and a dance video from influencer and model Sofia Richie Grainge. However, Lola told British Vogue: "I would say the TikToks are the least exciting part about it, if I’m honest."

She added:  "I think what’s really exciting is that the song’s in the Top 40 UK charts and global charts. That feels like a milestone. I’ve had Kylie Jenner use my sound before. I’ve had a viral moment on TikTok before – although obviously this does feel slightly different.

"It is such a wonderful feeling, having something you’ve worked so hard for pay off. I never used to think people listened to my music, but they do."

What listeners are really responding to is the unfiltered vulnerability in Messy's lyrics. Lola has described Messy as an "ADHD anthem" – one addressed to a partner who seems impossible to please. "You hate it when I cry unless it's that time of the month," she sings on the chorus. "And I'm too perfect 'til I show you that I'm not."

Lola told Attwood magazine that Messy is "a great introduction" to her sound, adding: "It’s raw honest, and encapsulates a lot of the themes of the album. It’s about embracing imperfections and finding strength in who I am, scatty or not lol."

It seems a lot of other people are finding strengths in those imperfections, too. And long may it continue – Lola's Official Chart journey is only getting started.

Messy by Lola Young is out now via Universal-Island.