Island EMI president Louis Bloom has told Music Week that Lola Young is the “next global superstar”.
Young has already made an impact with her anthem Messy, which has amassed more than a billion streams. The prolific UK breakthrough artist is now about to drop her third album, I’m Only F***ing Myself (out September 19).
“We think she’s the next global superstar,” said Bloom. “She’s unique. These artists come along once every 10 years.”
The album arrives less than 18 months after her previous LP. Top 20 single One Thing has been a summer chart fixture.
“We follow the momentum of creativity,” said Bloom. “She wants to get in the studio, that’s her happy place, and then she wants to release it to the world.”
“The A&R process is about nurturing, it’s about space,” he added. Island EMI won Music Week Awards for Record Company and A&R – their second successive win – this year.
For this album, Young went back in the studio with UK production duo Manuka (William Brown and Conor Dickinson) and US producer and songwriter Solomonophonic (Jared Solomon), who won a Grammy for his work with SZA.
As well as crediting the co-writers and producers, Bloom said: “She’s the engine. She is the writer. She brings things into the studio that are pretty much there, and they’re fleshed out like a band that jam the songs out. It’s very musical and quite traditional.
“I’ve never known a writer as complete as her for a long time,” he added. “I think it’s a superpower for her. And she’s so prolific, she does not stop. She made this album in a few weeks. I think when people hear it, they will be absolutely blown away by the depth, not just musically, but lyrically, thematically.”
Bloom underlined the long-term belief in Lola Young at the label. She was the first artist he signed when he was promoted to president just over six years ago.
“It was a big deal for me, for the team, and it was a really competitive deal,” he said. “Not that that is the reason I want to sign anyone, I sign them because I’m enthralled by their talent – and I was with Lola, no hesitation.”
Witnessing her perform acoustically at the Hospital Club in Covent Garden, Bloom was “literally floored – I knew then we had to do everything in our power to work with her”.
“I made a promise, a commitment to her,” he said. “I’ve never wavered from that, and neither have the team. We knew she had everything we look for: exceptional talent, but also high intelligence, incredible taste… It takes time, you know.”
Bloom suggested streaming means labels “have to bet on talent more than ever – you can’t fake it”.
“If you look at the greats, they all went on journeys,” he added, citing the early trajectory of David Bowie. “He’s one of the icons of all time, and I think that’s what we’re dealing with with Lola. All the team knew she would get there.”
While Young “hadn’t found herself completely, she wasn’t speaking her truth” earlier in her career, Bloom said the creative breakthrough came with 2023 single Don’t Hate Me.
With the release of LP This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway last summer, Messy began to build as it went viral on TikTok.
Messy ultimately spent four weeks at No.1 in the UK, and is the second biggest song of the year (1,405,736 units – Official Charts Company) behind Alex Warren’s Ordinary.
The track has also topped international charts and made No.1 on genre/airplay charts in the US as well as the Top 20 of the Hot 100. Peaking at No.7 in the Spotify Global chart, it was the highest-charting track by a UK artist this year.
I think everyone’s willing Lola to win, because they see the work she’s put in and they see the greatness
Louis Bloom
“A huge amount of careful strategy, coordination and creativity has gone into the international marketing campaign – together with our colleagues around the world, and our central team led by Nickie Owen,” said Olivia Poust, campaign manager, international marketing at Universal Music UK.
“There’s such a raw vulnerability and emotion in her lyrics, they’re always delivered in a way that’s uniquely Lola; they’re incredibly real and relatable,” she added. “I think that’s why it’s connected with so many people all over the world.”
Messy has now transformed Young’s career.
“It’s 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,” she said. “We want to grow and develop that emerging superfan base as much as possible with this album.”
The flow of new music this year includes One Thing, follow-up Top 30 hit Dealer and new single Spiders.
“It’s always been about the long term with Lola,” said Poust. “We have sky-high ambitions for her internationally, across all of her key markets.”
The touring schedule has been intense this year, including multiple European festivals and UK dates next month.
“We’ve got two Brixtons coming up, but that feels like an underplay,” said Bloom. “But I think you’ve got to go through the gears. You’ve got to keep it a hot ticket and then there’s room to grow. The offers coming in for next year are amazing.”
Poust said the North American dates in October and November will be a “huge moment”. They work closely with Island US, including Jay Schumer leading marketing.
“She’s had an absolutely incredible year in terms of live, internationally,” said Poust. “She’s done Coachella, two Billie Eilish support shows in Paris. She’s just done an incredible run of European festivals, which it felt like she was headlining.”
Universal targeted out-of-home campaigns around key festival sets globally this summer, including bespoke creative in Amsterdam during Lowlands and Paris for Lollapalooza.
Poust highlighted the impact in Latin American territories – a rarity for a UK act – helped by local TikTok creator trends. Messy charted in the Spotify Top 200 across nine Latin American markets, and Young was the only UK act in the Mexican chart at the time.
Some of her early backing was in Australia.
“The support from Triple J [radio] has been instrumental,” said Poust. “Lola toured there in January and the response was phenomenal. There’s total commitment and drive from our Australian team to break her there.”
Messy’s a “game-changer, not just for Lola, but for British talent”, she added.
“I think everyone’s willing Lola to win, because they see the work she’s put in and they see the greatness,” said Bloom. “There’s something very uniquely British about her – big voices seem to come out of this country, and then there’s the extra element of humour and self-deprecation.”
Amid a wave of US talent, Bloom said UK acts have to be “seriously great”.
“We’re just at the start of something but I do believe that she’s going to be the UK breakout superstar,” he said.
In the UK, Bloom credited the long-term support from BBC Radio 1 and Capital, identifying the Summertime Ball performance as another “pivotal moment in her rise”.
“At Island we have always believed in Lola and to be honest, the DSPs, radio, TV have also always shared that belief and offered their support,” he said. “I think it’s also important to note that there is a growing understanding, and a great deal of empathy, within the industry as a whole, for how long it takes for artists to find their voice and come through.”
Despite the ambition, Bloom does not believe in placing any pressure on the artist.
“We want huge success and she wants huge success,” he said. “But it’s not fame for fame’s sake. It’s based on great music that will stand the test of time.”
As well as Island US co-CEOs Imran Majid and Justin Eshak, Bloom credited Universal Music UK CEO & chairman Dickon Stainer, label execs Jack Greengrass, Sam Flynn, Holly Williams and manager Nick Shymansky.
“We’re all intrigued about what she’s going to do next,” he told Music Week. “She’ll keep us on our toes throughout her career. We do everything we can to support her, but it’s unpredictable in the most brilliant way, like all the best artists are – it’s the opposite of formulaic.”
PHOTO: Lola Young performing at Øya Festival in Oslo (credit: Per Ole Hagen/Redferns/Getty)
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