Lola Young has innate “magic” that allows her to shine on any stage.
Those are the words of Universal Music head of radio Phil Witts, who has opened up about the major’s campaign for Lola Young alongside team members Suzy Walby, senior director of media, radio plugger Rosie Crocombe and Rebel Rebel Music’s Tony Fletcher.
The team came out on top in a competitive field in the Promotions Campaign category at this year’s Music Week Awards for their work on Young, who is signed to Island EMI.
Her No.1 hit Messy (1,881,131 sales, OCC) was BBC Radio 2’s most played song of 2025 and was one of the top 10 most played tracks on BBC Radio 1. It topped the UK Airplay Chart for five weeks and ended the year as the third most played song on UK radio, and the highest by a female act.
I think there were just lots of moments throughout the campaign where Lola's magic shone through
Phil Witts, Universal Music UK
Young’s slot on Radio 1’s Live Lounge was the most viewed of 2025, with 22.5 million views, while her Capital’s Summertime Ball performance racked up millions of views across the station’s platforms.
“We’re over the moon to win, credit goes to Lola, her brilliant management and her wider team,” said Witts. “She's an amazing career artist and we're just privileged to work with her.”
Read on for our Q&A, which was capped off by the jubilant entrance of Nickie Owen and her Universal Music UK international team, following their win in the International Marketing category.
(L-R) Rosie Crocombe, Tony Fletcher, Phil Witts and Suzy Walby
To kick off, why do you think you've won for this campaign?
Phil Witts: “I think there were just lots of moments throughout the campaign where Lola's magic shone through. There was a very awkward moment at the Summertime Ball [where technical difficulties caused issues] but Lola being Lola, she completely turned that round and made what could have been an absolute disaster of her losing all of her music in her in-ears, into a massive, massive win. That's just one thing. She had an amazing Live Lounge, which Hannah, from our team, engineered into being the most viewed Live Lounge of the whole year. So there are lots of things along the way that Lola, being the star that she is, and the team that she's got around her, amplified.”
Tony Fletcher: “The journey we've been on, Phil and I and loads of great new team members, has been a long one. It's been a long time coming, seven, nearly eight years, and for it all to accumulate post-Messy, in the last year, has been really wonderful to see.”
Suzy Walby: “I think our job is to put Lola in a position where she can share her music and her story. She is such an incredibly spirited artist that, no matter what platform we put her on, we don't have to worry about it, because she always shines, and that's the best kind of artist to work with.”
PW: “This not been an overnight thing at all. Certain radio stations and TV shows have been really supportive and have been with us throughout the whole journey, and now it feels like she's this superstar that is about to have another huge moment. So thanks to those that have stuck with her and seen the talent that we've seen throughout that whole time.”
No matter what platform we put Lola on, we don't have to worry about it, because she always shines, and that's the best kind of artist to work with
Suzy Walby, Universal Music UK
Why are radio and TV such a key part of her success?
Rosie Crocombe: “I mean, Lola's such a gift in and of herself. She has all the personality, she has amazing songs and she's such an incredible songwriter, so the role that we play at radio and TV is just showcasing that. People can't help but be so attracted to Lola, who she is and the bright light that she is, and it makes our job very easy when you have an artist like that. We can simply take her to places or put her in front of a microphone or whatever it is, and you know who she's going to just captivate the audience or just be her amazing self in an interview.”
It's been a long time coming, seven, nearly eight years, and for it all to accumulate post-Messy has been really wonderful to see
Tony Fletcher, Rebel Rebel Music
Is there one 2025 moment that encapsulates the campaign?
PW: “So many. As we’ve had more opportunities to bring Lola to a bigger audience, every time she’s stepped up, there's been an endearing moment where her personality or her talent always shines through, and that then gets her to the next level of exposure. So I think that's why people have been on the journey from day one to where she is now.”
SW: “She’s the voice of a generation and has the voice of an angel!”
TF: “Yeah, and we’ve all been able to amplify that.”
There's been a lot of hard work behind the scenes that perhaps, if you're not in the media, you don't realise goes into it
Rosie Crocombe, Universal Music UK
What’s it like to be part of the team at Universal working a campaign like this?
RC: “As someone who's new to the Lola Young team, [I can say that] there's been a lot of hard work behind the scenes that perhaps, if you're not in the media landscape, you don't realise goes into it. It's the relationships and the chipping away, looking for the next step, and it really does take an army to do this. It goes even wider than what we do, even though we're the media front of it, it's so much bigger than that. It's an incredibly exciting campaign to be a part of.”
PW: “I just have to say, Lola has incredible management who have navigated that journey with her the whole way and see her vision and ours and, between us, we've been lucky enough to take that to a wider audience.”
Relive the best of the Music Week Awards 2026 right here.
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