Lola Young is putting the work in for her new album, I’m Only F***ing Myself (Island).
As she chases a Top 3 debut (and new chart peak) at home, the international team at Universal Music UK are building on the strong foundations of the global smash Messy, which has more than a billion streams.
Summer hit One Thing, the lead single from the new album, is approaching 100 million streams on Spotify, where Young has 32.8m monthly listeners.
In a Music Week exclusive with Island EMI president Louis Bloom, we explored the story behind the new album and the global ambitions.
In the US, in particular, Young has been securing prime media spots including a performance of UK Top 100 single Spiders on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. It was a return visit for Young, who played Messy on the show as the track was gaining global momentum earlier this year.
Young also appeared on Late Night With Seth Meyers, as well as performing at the MTV VMAs earlier this month. She is continuing with US dates this weekend and returns to North America in November.
The central Universal UK international team led by Nickie Owen has overseen a coordinated and creative strategic campaign, together with affiliates around the world.
Here, Olivia Poust, campaign manager, international marketing, Universal Music UK, reveals the scale of the global campaign and reflects on the impact of Messy…
Messy has over a billion streams, how did it connect so strongly internationally?
“In the five years that I’ve worked with Lola, I’ve watched her go from performing in pubs in Berlin to 30 people to thousands of screaming fans at Coachella singing their hearts out to every single word of her songs. So having had a front row seat for that journey has just been so special. Messy has obviously opened the door for huge audience growth all over the world, particularly in the US, Australia, Germany, France and the Netherlands, but it’s also helped to supercharge awareness in places like Southeast Asia and Latin America.
“We want to grow and develop that emerging superfan base as much as possible with this album. Messy has been the catalyst, but what’s more important is the depth of engagement. People aren’t just listening to Messy, they’re diving into Lola’s entire catalogue, they’re following her on socials. They’re really delving into her world. They’re selling out her shows – people are really showing up for her, and it’s so wonderful to see.”
How important was it to have new material so soon after the last album in 2024?
“We want to be taking her into markets as much as possible. An important part of that is having a consistent cadence of releases to hang activity on to. So it’s brilliant for us that there’s been such a quick succession of absolutely phenomenal music.”
Can you say more about the impact in Latin America?
“The local TikTok creator trends around Messy really helped to supercharge awareness around Lola in that market. It is absolutely incredible, because it’s a very heavily domestic market, particularly in terms of the charts. We saw Messy charting in nine different Latin American regions, which is phenomenal. She was one of only three international artists in the Mexican charts at the time, which is phenomenal. So it’s definitely a very big opportunity market for us in terms of where we’re focusing for this album. There’s definitely an emerging superfan base there, and we really want to nurture that and grow it as much as possible.”
How significant is this current US tour?
“It’s a huge moment. I watched Lola play a 200-capacity venue in Paris last year, and then 12 months later she was playing an arena supporting Billie Eilish. To be able to watch that elevation and development has just been the most special moment and such a career highlight.”
Following the TikTok impact with creator campaigns and organic use of the Messy sound bed, how is the wider catalogue now building on that platform for this campaign?
“The impact of Messy on TikTok was a brilliant catalyst – it aided Lola’s discovery globally and that momentum, combined with label support, has evolved into real fan connection and depth of engagement. On all platforms, we’re seeing streaming growth across her wider catalogue, across socials, and in the size and energy of the crowds she’s drawing at shows.”
We want to grow and develop that emerging superfan base as much as possible with this album
Olivia Poust
How are you helping Lola build on foundations in key territories like Australia, Germany, Latin America and the US? What kind of ad campaigns, fan activity and marketing will you be running with label affiliates?
“Lola’s live content is such a powerful tool for storytelling. Whether smashing her Billie Eilish arena support shows in Paris or on stage at Coachella in soaring temperatures whilst simultaneously delivering a belter of a performance, Lola is both a superstar and relatable. That energy translates online and is a brilliant gateway to build awareness of her around the world.
“We’ve run targeted out-of-home campaigns around her key festival sets globally this summer – including bespoke creatives around European cities like Amsterdam during Lowlands and Paris around Lollapalooza – merging Lola’s album visuals with local festival branding, alongside fan events with Lola, key promotion and using all these efforts to tell the story of Lola and the album.
“In Australia, the support from triple J has been instrumental – they’ve championed every track from the new record and that’s driven huge discovery. Lola toured there in January and the response was phenomenal. There’s total commitment and drive from our Australian team to break her there.
“The local team in Germany have worked relentlessly to build her profile – from early TV performances on shows like Ina’s Nacht, to which Lola returned last year to perform Messy, to fan parties in Berlin pubs, to SWR3 New Pop Festival. The German label was unlocking these opportunities long before Lola had an established fanbase there.
“In the US, we work very closely with Lola’s incredible team at Island led by Imran Majid and Justin Eshak and Jay Schumer leading marketing. They’ve had unwavering belief in Lola from day one and have been instrumental in delivering key cultural moments – from her recent New York Times Arts & Leisure cover feature to a Jimmy Fallon performance and sofa chat earlier this year, which all built towards her biggest US tour yet.”
How are the DSPs supporting her for the album?
“The DSPs have been backing Lola from the very beginning – since her first ever single 6 Feet Under in 2019 – and that support has only grown. She’s been championed through key breaking artist programmes, bespoke events, global out-of-home and extensive on platform coverage. Lola has been a cover star of some of the biggest playlists in the world including Today’s Top Hits on Spotify. Global support from DSP partners has been instrumental in helping build this next chapter for Lola.”
Both One Thing and Dealer have been UK airplay hits, how broad has the radio support been for this campaign globally?
“Global radio support for this campaign has been incredibly strong and wide reaching. Messy achieved 15 airplay No.1s worldwide including the rare achievement of topping three different US formats – Pop, Adult Pop, and Alternative. That momentum has helped Lola build a broad network of champions across key tastemaker stations and major commercial networks around the world.
“In Australia, triple J have been long-time supporters, playlisting every single from this new record with the highest rotation. There’s strong backing from commercial radio there as well. In France, the country’s two biggest stations, NRJ and France Inter, have been key partners. Messy spent 12 weeks at No.1 on the French airplay chart and both stations continue to support the new music.
“In Spain and Latin America, the No.1 commercial network Los 40 has been heavily supporting Lola – especially impactful in these markets where radio is still a major driver for discovery and audience growth. We’ve seen fantastic radio support across much of Europe, with key stations in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Scandinavia – to name a few – all getting behind Lola in a big way.”
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