Messy (song)
{{Short description|2024 single by Lola Young}}
{{About|the Lola Young song|other songs|Messy (disambiguation){{!}}Messy}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Messy
| cover = Lola Young - Messy.png
| type = single
| artist = Lola Young
| album = This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway
| released = {{start date|2024|5|30|df=y}}
| recorded =
| genre = Soul-pop
| length = 4:44
3:20 (radio edit)
| label = Island
| writer =
- Lola Young
- Conor Dickinson
| producer =
- Solomonophonic
- Manuka
- Monsune
- Carter Lang
| prev_title = Fuck
| prev_year = 2024
| next_title = Flicker of Light
| next_year = 2024
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|k-k2_Liofy8|"Messy"}}}}
}}
"Messy" is a song by British 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. Outside the United Kingdom, the song reached number one in Australia, Belgium (Flanders), 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. It peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
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.{{cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Eythana |title=Lola Young – A Londoner and Her Lyrics |url=https://metalmagazine.eu/en/post/lola-young |website=Metal Magazine |access-date=20 December 2024}}
In an interview with Atwood Magazine, Young said that "Messy" had her favorite 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."{{cite web |last1=Mosk |first1=Mitch |title="Finding my voice has been a journey of resilience": Lola Young Is Raw, Honest, Unapologetic, & Messy – and We Wouldn't Have Her Any Other Way |url=https://atwoodmagazine.com/lymw-lola-young-this-wasnt-meant-for-you-anyway-album-interview-music-feature/ |website=Atwood Magazine |access-date=20 December 2024 |date=24 October 2024}}
Composition
"Messy" is a soul-pop song.{{cite magazine |last1=Denis |first1=Kyle |last2=Lipshutz |first2=Jason |last3=Unterberger |first3=Andrew |title=Lola Young Scores the Year's Last (?) Big Viral Hit |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/lola-young-messy-trending-up-tiktok-viral-hit-1235861154/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=20 December 2024 |date=18 December 2024}} It finds Young in an increasingly angry vocal tone, as she directs sharp criticism toward a lover for certain expectations imposed on her.{{cite web |last1=Denney |first1=Brian |title=Today's Song: Lola Young's Fresh New Single "Messy" Isn't for You. Perhaps That's What Makes It So Irresistible |url=https://atwoodmagazine.com/messy-lola-young-song-review/ |website=Atwood Magazine |access-date=20 December 2024 |date=21 June 2024}} 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.”https://variety.com/2025/music/news/lola-young-messy-went-breakup-demo-unexpected-hit-1236279582/
Music video
In the video for the song, Young dances around a mostly empty room. She is also seen with a large birthday cake, and stands in the far away right corner of the room near the end of the video.https://www.promonews.tv/videos/2025/01/10/lola-young-messy-sarah-dattani-tucker/89586
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."
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, and being used in over 250,000 videos on TikTok, including one by Kylie Jenner of her lip syncing to the song.{{cite web |last1=Phillip |first1=Riann |title="It's A Big 'Messy' Moment, Innit?": Lola Young Spills On Her Viral Gen-Z Anthem, Staying Grounded & That Sofia Richie Grainge Dance |url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/lola-young-messy-interview |website=Vogue |access-date=20 December 2024 |date=13 December 2024}}
Young has performed the song live on The Graham Norton Show,{{cite web |title=Lola Young - Messy (Live On The Graham Norton Show) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_g6Rm7TOxY |website=YouTube |access-date=1 February 2025}} The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,{{cite web |title=Lola Young: Messy {{!}} The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogBmPeZ73CQ |website=YouTube |access-date=1 February 2025}} Like a Version,{{cite web |title=Lola Young – 'Messy' (live for Like A Version) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6nVOfThks4 |website=YouTube |access-date=1 February 2025}} and Elvis Duran and the Morning Show.{{cite web |title=Lola Young: "Messy" {{!}} Elvis Duran Live |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nKaOUnZnhk |website=YouTube |access-date=1 February 2025}}
Charts
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=Weekly charts=
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=Monthly charts=
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Certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Messy"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|certyear=2025|type=single|award=Platinum|number=2|id=2025-04-14|access-date=16 April 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Belgium|title=|certyear=2025|artist=|type=single|award=Gold|access-date=1 March 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Lola Young|title=Messy|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|access-date=8 March 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|artist=Lola Young|title=Messy|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|id=15168|access-date=19 March 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|artist=Lola Young|title=Messy|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|access-date=20 March 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Lola Young|title=Messy|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|source=radioscope|access-date=1 March 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Norway|artist=Lola Young|title=Messy|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|access-date=28 January 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Poland|artist=Lola Young|title=Messy|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|access-date=27 March 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Portugal|artist=Lola Young|title=Messy|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|id=file_2025-03-27-11-26-28.pdf|access-date=28 March 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|artist=Lola Young|title=Messy|id=lola-young-messy|access-date=3 March 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Switzerland|artist=Lola Young|title=Messy|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|access-date=1 March 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Lola Young|title=Messy|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|id=20673-7047-1|access-date=28 February 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Lola Young|title=Messy|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|access-date=15 March 2025}}
{{Certification Table Separator|title=Streaming}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Greece|title=|artist=|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=2024|certyear=2025|certweek=07|id=20250219093051|access-date=19 February 2025}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true|streamsonly=true}}
References
{{reflist}}
Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Category:Island Records singles
Category:Number-one singles in Australia
Category:Number-one singles in Latvia
Category:Number-one singles in Romania
Category:Songs written by Lola Young
Category:UK singles chart number-one singles