BRIT nominee Lola Young has seen her music go viral in recent months – but her success didn’t just come overnight.
Having grown up in South London, a place she still calls home, Lola was surrounded by music. While her father was a professional bass player, her mum often played music around the house and from the age of six the Messy singer was already attending piano, guitar and singing lessons.
With a clear natural talent for creating music, Lola, now 24, began writing songs when she was just 11 and by the age of 13 she’d won a national open mic competition. In pursuit of her passions, the songstress followed in the footsteps of musicians including Adele, Amy Winehouse and Jessie J by attending the famous BRIT school.
“I was very much sceptical because BRIT holds up to be a very prestigious school. It’s got a legacy, but I think for me, it was more in the sense of like, I didn’t know what was going to come out of it. But I was very excited,” she told Rolling Stone UK.
“What it did for me, it opened my eyes in terms of the social-political realm of the world, because there were guys walking around in dresses and doing their makeup, there was drag. It was massively eye-opening at the time.”
Following Amy Winehouse’s tragic death in 2011, Nick Shymansky, who managed her until 2006, vowed to never manage another artist. However, that all changed in 2017 when he met Lola.
“Sometimes, you meet someone and it changes everything,” he told The Telegraph. Having met her when she was 17, Nick introduced himself as a producer, to which Lola told him: “No you’re not, you’re Amy’s manager. Everyone outside wants to be my manager. But how about you manage me?”
By the age of 18, Lola, who has been dubbed a ‘mini Adele’ was signed to Island Records and, just two years later, she sang on one of John Lewis’ beloved Christmas ads in 2021. As part of the advert, Lola became the voice of the festive period with her cover of Together in Electric Dreams – something which signified a ‘proud mum’ moment for her mother.
“When I rang to tell her she said “no way you’re lying”, she recalled at the time. “I was like, I'm actually not lying for once I actually got this! She was over the moon, she was laughing her head off as she found it hilarious for some strange reason.”
In 2021, Lola was nominated for the 2022 BRITs Rising Star award, though lost out to Holly Humberstone. After being nominated, Lola opened up about what the recognition meant for her, saying: “It is such a big step for me and I feel very excited to have been nominated.”
Over the past year, Lola’s career has skyrocketed. Back in June, her second album This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway was released, with the single Messy subsequently going viral on TikTok, with celebrities including Sofia Richie Grainge and Kylie Jenner using it in their videos.
Speaking of its success, she told British Vogue : “It feels amazing. It doesn’t feel surreal, actually, because I’ve been waiting on this for a very long time, but I’m just taking it in with a lot of gratitude.”
Away from her career, Lola has opened up about being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder aged 17. “It’s difficult for me because sometimes it can make me feel very ostracised. There can be a lot of shame and guilt after I get unwell in front of people,” she explained to The Telegraph.
“But I want to be open about it. It makes me who I am. I am proud of it.”
Meanwhile, in an Instagram post from 2022, she added: “You are never unworthy of love and support. Mental health is f*****g real and it f*****g matters more than anything. You never know what happens in someones mind, dont label them, dont presume, be kind and try to understand.”
In recent months, Lola’s fans were left in shock after discovering her very famous aunt is Julia Donaldson. Known for books including The Gruffalo, Room On The Broom and Stick Man, Julia has published 184 works and has sold over 75 million copies.
In response to the revelation, social media users took to X to express their disbelief. “Learning that Lola Youngs aunt is the queen Julia Donaldson????,” wrote one. “lola young being the niece of JULIA F*****G DONALDSON is such a strange piece of lore that i didnt know i needed but it makes me so happy,” added another.
A third added: “i don’t really think lola young’s aunt being julia donaldson makes her that much more of a nepo baby than anyone else who grows up with access to the arts and then makes it their career. it distracts from the real issue: the gruffalo f*****g terrified me as a child.”
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