Lola Young: The art of being imperfect

An intimate relationship with your TikTok account, the irresistible urge to flaunt your flaws, and the good fortune of having your songs about it go viral: that, in a nutshell, is why Lola Young is the gen Z pop artist of the moment.

She described her previous album, This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway, as “a ‘fuck you’ to all my exes, and [it is] basically me just trying to figure out some shit openly and honestly on record, and if you don’t like it, then this wasn’t meant for you anyway.” Her impertinence, often served with dry wit, struck a chord with many of her generation. “Messy” was perhaps the most direct message to one such ex: “’Cause I’m too messy and then I’m too fucking clean / You told me get a job then you ask where the hell I’ve been / And I’m too perfect till I open my big mouth / I want to be me, is that not allowed?”

“Messy” had to wait for global success until influencer and reality star, and daughter of Lionel, Sofia Richie, seemingly against her will, performed a little dance to the hit with its lazy but infectious rhythm, and shared the video on TikTok. In her wake, her followers began posting videos showcasing their own moves, performed with even more reluctance. Young herself just carries on regardless. In an interview with Billboard, she talked about the crying fits she was left with after her recent US tour: “After being so active by performing my heart out every night and receiving so much love, it’s quite hard to adjust to reality again.”

And that was before the next TikTok video dropped. Here’s a quick rundown: “Maybe it is a bit disgusting, but really, you think I wrote this song just to write this song, just to talk out my bummer?

No I didn’t. No rap cap here, baby, but real life shit. I’m a bit messy and a bit gross. Aren’t we all? You have stinky diarrhea on a bad day and you’d be smelling your fingers. (We all do.)” The AI machine we ran the audio recording through summarises that the artist “emphasizes her willingness to be vulnerable and honest about her personal struggles, and shares a humorous, yet relatable example of imperfection. She concludes by asserting that her life, though imperfect, is the foundation of her artistry.” Not much to add to that, except that between her set at Pukkelpop last summer and her upcoming one at Werchter this summer, she’s playing her first Belgian indoor show in Brussels. Keep those fingers in the air.