Lola Young — O2 Academy

Lola Emily Mary Young (born 4 January 2001) is an English singer and songwriter. Born and raised in South London, she attracted attention in 2016 when she won the under-16 category of Open Mic UK and reached the finals of Got What It Takes?. She released her debut single in October 2019 and then the EPs Intro, Renaissance, and After Midnight. In 2021, she recorded a version of Giorgio Moroder and Philip Oakey's "Together in Electric Dreams" for that year's John Lewis Christmas advert. Around this time, she was nominated for the Brit Award for Rising Star and came fourth on the BBC's Sound of.... Young released the albums My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely and This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway in 2023 and 2024. The latter reached the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart after its single "Messy" went viral on TikTok and topped several singles charts; earning her a Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance; the album track "Conceited" later peaked at number 63. Young was subsequently listed on Forbes 30 Under 30 and won the Ivor Novello Award for Rising Star and the ASCAP Vanguard Award. Her third album I'm Only F**king Myself [sic] and its tracks "One Thing", "D£aler", and "Post Sex Clarity" peaked at numbers 3, 18, 27, and 60 in the UK. Young's health declined around the time of I'm Only F**king Myself's release and she paused her public appearances for three months after collapsing mid-performance. She has cited influence from Arctic Monkeys's AM, SZA's Ctrl, and from the artists Joni Mitchell, Prince, Frank Ocean, and Anderson .Paak. Her works have addressed substandard partners, sex, and her schizoaffective disorder, drug use, bisexuality, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.