Despite the fact that the concert had been postponed three months, with very little forewarning or explanation from Lola Young herself, I still had high hopes for the performance. With her recent Brits performance of ‘Messy’, I was as optimistic as I was three months ago that she would bring all her energy to the stage. Admittedly, when I booked the tickets, the 24 year old from Beckenham was beginning to gain traction, going from about a million or so monthly listeners on Spotify to now 44 million. I would like to point out that I found her the old fashioned way: the Spotify Discover Weekly playlists, not TikTok, though that is perhaps how she has garnered most of her fans. She is keen to fight against the reputation of gaining her fame through Tiktok though, at her gig, in her raspy London accent, she yelled: “Thank f*ck you lot haven’t made me a Tiktok artist!”
It can definitely be said that Young has a unique way of performing. Her powerful, R&B and pop infused songs are belted out by the singer, through which you can witness the power she is exerting. Her album, This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyways is easily characterised by power ballads, that harbour an exceptional sound, thanks to her powerful vocals. Songs like ‘Messy’ or ‘Don’t Hate Me’ have brought with their release a lot of internet popularity. In all honesty, it is easy to see why. With cinematic instrumentals and energetic lyrics, they are the perfect soundtrack for the generational angst of many internet users. When I first heard ‘Messy’ back when it was released in May, it was an immediate playlist add, and I just knew I had to watch her perform it. This may be just me, but it wasn’t until late Autumn when I heard people humming the soundtrack under their breath and I would use this as an opportunity to eagerly point out that I was going to see her live. But one listen to her album and it was clear to see that ‘Messy’ was not a stand-alone song. My original favourites, ‘Big Brown Eyes’ and ‘Wish You Were Dead’, are Lola Young classics, and have that deep sentimental flavour which Lola Young brings to her songs, flavour that was equally as present in her performance.
As she opened with the first song on her album, ‘Good Books’, it was clear to see that the crowd had done their research, and it wasn’t just filled with people who were here to see her most popular songs. Although my boyfriend (who I had forced to come along), had no idea who he was actually about to see, he admitted that she opened with a bang and was quickly enthralled by the performance. He was definitely an anomaly, as most of the audience was eagerly welcoming of Young, and all of her songs were belted out by everyone around me. The only issue I had was the fact that we had managed to get a space behind the corporate tables, where the man in front of me was clearly more occupied with sorting out his meetings for the next day, whilst persuading his colleague to go to the cinema with him(I had a pretty good view of his phone…). But aside from this avid fan, everyone else at the O2 was singing along and the show was definitely one to be enjoyed. In between songs she would give a quick introduction, as well as an abrupt story or two, but I have to admit I couldn’t really understand what she was saying. I’m not sure if this has anything to do with us standing right at the back. Although her singing vocals could carry, she could maybe try speaking a bit clearer. I think this is part of the Lola Young charm however. Although she is a confident performer, and with a voice to match, we are still able to see her as a vulnerable artist who is just trying to grow accustomed to her quickly acclaimed fame.
