It’s Monday night in London Town, and Lola Young is well and truly home. We may be on the other side of the river to the singer’s southeast stomping ground here at the O2 Forum Kentish Town, but that doesn’t stop the 24-year-old from expressing her elation about being in her “favourite place in the whole fucking world”.
It’s a warm welcome back to the capital from fans after she’s admittedly lived something of a rockstar lifestyle these past few months. Along with shows all over Europe, the US and Australia, she recently appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and just this past weekend performed at the BRIT Awards, where she was nominated for Best Pop Act. And that’s all while her Number One hit ‘Messy’ continues to reach new heights, receiving yet another burst of viral life at the tail end of last year thanks to Sofia Richie’s subtle dance grooves.
It’s no surprise her summer 2024 album ‘This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway’ has been swept up in the ‘Messy’ momentum, with fresh fans latching onto her gloriously honest and poignant pop songs that never shy away from the ugly truth. It turns out that a Lola Young show is also, unsurprisingly, a permission slip to face up to those feelings in decidedly on-brand fashion. “It’s a fucking shambles, the talking bits are shambles, the whole shebang’s a shambles,” she jokes at the start of the show.
She’s being too modest; Young is a seasoned pro in disguise. Her success might feel overnight, but she’s been sharpening those tools for six years now. During opener ‘Good Books’, her splicing lyrics force their way to the surface like it’s the very first time, punchy verses prompting her to march to the beat like a battle cry. Those belting pipes and raspy vocal breaks are a marvel to hear live, as she rips through belters like ‘Big Brown Eyes’, ‘Conceited’ and ‘Don’t Hate Me’ while leaving plenty of room to play. Live is also where we hear the record spill into rockier territory, as Young’s band go full send with crashing drum beats, rattling bass lines and ear-piercing electric guitar solos.
Don’t be mistaken, though; she can bring the house back down on the acoustic ‘You Noticed’, while ‘Charlie (feat. Lil Yachty)’ proves that Young – motor-mouthed and breathless though she is at times – isn’t averse to a diva moment. But it’s the near five-minute slow-burn ascent to the liberating crescendo of ‘Messy’ that reminds us why we’re all here, and how much each person in this room needs to scream: “I want to be me, is that not allowed?”
At the start of the night, Young stays on script to read a note from her phone: “I will learn from these moments that, although life is so complex and so horribly painful, these small moments are where I really feel alive; they will be the ones I look back on and smile, and maybe that’s exactly what this is all about.” Young may be reaching new heights, but as long as she always comes home, the fans will be here waiting, ready to create more beautiful moments.
Lola Young played:
‘Good Books’
‘Wish You Were Dead’
‘Fuck’
‘You Noticed’
‘Revolve Around You’
‘Big Brown Eyes’
‘Crush’
‘Walk On By’
‘Charlie’
‘Don’t Hate Me’
‘Conceited’
‘What Is It About Me’
‘Messy’