Messy (Lola Young song)
2024 single by Lola Young
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"Messy" is a song by English singer Lola Young, released on 30 May 2024 as the sixth single from her second studio album, This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway (2024). It went viral on the video sharing app TikTok and became her first charting song, peaking at the top of the UK Singles Chart.
| "Messy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Lola Young | ||||
| from the album This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway | ||||
| Released | 30 May 2024 | |||
| Recorded | 2023 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:44 3:20 (radio edit) | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Songwriters |
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| Producers |
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| Lola Young singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Messy" on YouTube | ||||
Outside the United Kingdom, the song reached number one in Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Ireland, and Israel. It also peaked within the top ten in several other countries, including Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, while peaking at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Pop Airplay chart, becoming Young's first top 40 hit as an solo artist in the US to date.
It also earned Young nominations for Best Alternative at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards and a win for the category Best Pop Solo Performance at the 68th Grammy Awards.
Background
Young stated in an interview with Metal Magazine:
"Messy" is an ADHD anthem, it really showcases everything I felt during my last relationship, but also it is deeper than that, as it talks about how I feel about myself in general—being too messy one day and too clean another, struggling to find that balance in myself.[1]
In an interview with Atwood Magazine, Young said that "Messy" had her favourite lyrics in This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway and she considered them some of her best. She also described: "It's raw, honest, and encapsulates a lot of the themes of the album. It's about embracing imperfections and finding strength in who I am, scatty or not lol."[2]
Composition
"Messy" is a soul-pop and '80s inspired pop-rock song.[3][4] It finds Young in an increasingly angry vocal tone, as she directs sharp criticism toward a lover for certain expectations imposed on her.[5] In a Variety interview, Young stated she took the demo to 64Sound in Los Angeles where she described the analog studio "like a studio in the '70s". She described the influences in the song as “It feels a bit rocky, there’s a ’90s hip-hop influence, folk music inspired the lyricism and there’s some pop too.”[6]
Music video
In the video for the song directed by Sarah Dattani Tucker, Young dances around a mostly empty room. She is also seen with a large birthday cake and stands in the far right corner of the room near the end of the video.[7]
Critical reception
Brian Denney of Atwood Magazine wrote: "'Messy' is a beautiful display of Young's gritty vocals and world-class lyrical storytelling. As a listener, it plays out as if you are watching the singer leave an angry voicemail to her lover, simply fed up with the irrationality of trying to please a partner who will never be satisfied."[5]
Promotion
On 28 November 2024, social media personalities Jake Shane and Sofia Richie posted a clip on TikTok of them dancing to the song, with moves including finger guns and a "half-shimmy". It led to the song gaining significant popularity, achieving 3.9 million official on-demand streams in the United States,[3] and being used in over 250,000 videos on TikTok, including one by Kylie Jenner of her lip syncing to the song.[8]
Young has performed the song live on The Graham Norton Show,[9] The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,[10] Like a Version,[11] and Elvis Duran and the Morning Show.[12]
Charts
Weekly charts
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Monthly charts
Year-end charts
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Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[142] | 5× Platinum | 350,000‡ |
| Belgium (BRMA)[143] | Platinum | 40,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[144] | 2× Platinum | 80,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[145] | 4× Platinum | 320,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[146] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| France (SNEP)[147] | Diamond | 333,333‡ |
| Germany (BVMI)[148] | Gold | 300,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[149] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[150] | 3× Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[151] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Poland (ZPAV)[152] | Platinum | 125,000‡ |
| Portugal (AFP)[153] | 3× Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| Spain (Promusicae)[154] | Platinum | 100,000‡ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[155] | Platinum | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[156] | 3× Platinum | 1,800,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[157] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
| Streaming | ||
| Central America (CFC)[158] | Gold | 3,500,000† |
| Greece (IFPI Greece)[159] | Platinum | 2,000,000† |
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‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||