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NME
  • 24/05/2025
Speaking to NME at The Ivors 2025 before she won the Rising Star award, she told us about the lyrics of 'Messy' and its runaway success, advice for young songwriters, supporting Billie Eilish, and plans for Glastonbury
Transcript
00:00Good afternoon, Loli Young. How are you doing today?
00:02I'm good, thank you. How are you?
00:03I am not bad at all. Lovely day-ish.
00:06Ish, yeah.
00:08Welcome to the Ivers. You're up for a few tonight, right?
00:11I am. Three in total, but it's insane.
00:14What does the Ivers mean to you above all loves?
00:16That's the Songwriter Award, really, isn't it?
00:18That's what it means. It's very prestigious and it's important, kind of...
00:24It holds important prestige.
00:27I think that it's just incredible that I'm here and got to be surrounded by incredible people and talent.
00:34Not talent, I sound like something from X Factor.
00:37Not talent, but incredible people.
00:39Yeah.
00:40What do you think it was about Messi that really captured people's hearts in the way that it did?
00:43I think, I don't know, it's weird for me talking about my own song that I wrote from my past experience
00:49in a way that sounds like it's not me that's talking about it,
00:52but I would say that I just wrote it about...
00:57Yeah, I wrote it from a really personal place.
00:59It sometimes can be re-triggering, re-triggering, hearing that song,
01:04because it was so intense for me. I'm out of that place now and out of a difficult time in my life,
01:10but I think it's just a relatable song. I think a lot of people don't feel like they are enough for somebody
01:16and they don't feel like they will ever win.
01:19And how does it feel when people come up to you and tell you that they've related to it,
01:23that it's meant something to you and it's changed something for them?
01:25It feels incredible. It feels like a feeling that I am blessed to be feeling, you know,
01:34because it's rare that you experience... There are so many incredible artists across the world
01:42and artists that don't even know they're artists yet, just pure singer-songwriters who just write songs,
01:47and I'm lucky and fortunate enough to have incredible people and move people.
01:53Sorry, not incredible people. I'm lucky to have to move people with my work in a public way,
01:59facing public, because there are so many other incredible artists that deserve that.
02:05But I'm standing tonight for singer-songwriters or songwriters in general,
02:09and especially women songwriters.
02:13What would your advice be to any singer-songwriters out there who are struggling to make it,
02:17considering whether they should continue or not?
02:20I would say it's all going to be okay and everything has timing and everything has its own timing.
02:30And I really believe that as long as you speak from your truth and in a way that you feel is important
02:37and relevant to you, then people are going to relate.
02:41And don't be scared. Another piece of advice I would give is do not be scared of releasing, of writing,
02:48of putting things down honestly on paper, because that is the most healing and can be the most celebrated.
02:57And finally, what's next for you?
02:59I've got some really exciting things coming up.
03:02I've got, I'm doing Glastonbury, I've got an album, a new album coming out this year,
03:08which I talk a lot about, some very intense things I've gone through.
03:12I'm supporting Billie Eilish in Paris and that's something I'm super excited about.
03:17Festivals and vibes and good laughs.
03:21Special plans for Glastonbury or just going to smash it?
03:23I don't know if there's any special plans, but hopefully I do a good show.
03:28Amazing. Lola, thank you so much and good luck.
03:30Thank you. Thank you.

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