Lola Young Crowns Global Chart Success of ‘Messy’ at Long-Awaited London Homecoming Show: Top 5 Moments

At once soft and hard, fiery and vulnerable, Lola Young’s precise, revelatory songs thrive in their multi-facetedness. The introspective but musically adventurous This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway – the south Londoner’s first full-length album, which dropped last June – served as an uncompromising portrait of inner turmoil, detailed with 808s and scratchy guitars that bore out Young’s tales of pain and frustration. Lyrically, here, she came to the conclusion that she bottles up all of her most fretful emotions and can only exorcise them through her music. 

On record, we don’t often get to witness Young working outside of statement-piece urgency. It’s this clear commitment to her craft, however, that has pushed her to vie for main pop girl status in recent months. Initially released last summer, her single “Messy” has proved to be a watershed, enjoying a slow-burn rise to the top of the Official U.K. Singles Chart and peaking within the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. A grab bag of star-making television appearances have also stationed her on the cusp of household-name status in the U.K.

So where does Young see herself right now? After landing a BRIT nomination and touring the states to the point of exhaustion, she’s standing in her accomplishments. On stage at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town on Monday night (March 3), Young discussed how she’s elated to be at such a successful point in her career, but also admitted to facing the pressure of calculating her next move. 

The gig had already been upgraded from a smaller venue due to demand; Young has only ever performed a handful of headline shows in her hometown, having initially struggled to build a fanbase via the more palatable or commercial-facing projects of her early days (2019 EP Intro or follow-up, Renaissance – neither of which feature in her current setlist). “This isn’t about blaming anybody, but nothing was really clicking at the time. Now, I have creative control alongside an understanding of who I am,” she told Billboard U.K. in November, making her struggle to get here clear. 

This perseverance translates into her stage presence: Young is a focused performer, with a bold delivery that underpins her growing confidence. This monumental show proved that she’s spontaneous and self-reliant, a firecracker beneath her signature lashes and heavy fringe.

Check out the top 5 moments from the gig.