Lola Young: “Women rule the world – young uprising talent is important”

Speaking to NME at the BRIT Awards 2022, Lola Young told us about the inspirational amount of female talent in today’s music, what to expect from her “indie” sounding debut album, and trying to run into Adele. Watch our full video interview with Young above.

The South Londoner was at the ceremony where she was nominated for the Rising Star Award following the success of her 2021 EP, ‘After Midnight’ and the release of singles, ‘Fake’, ‘Ruin My Make Up’ and ‘Woman’. The singer-songwriter also dropped her newest track ‘So Sorry’ last week.

“That is the weirdest bit because I can’t really believe that, but it is incredible obviously,” Young told NME about her Rising Star nomination. “I’m so happy to be nominated, I’m so happy for Holly [Humberstone] who won – she is insane! I am just gassed to be here.

“Bree Runway and Holly Humberstone are both incredible and so talented. I’m just happy to be next to them in a little trio,” she said when asked what she thought of her fellow Rising Star nominees.”

She continued: “It says that women rule the world, and that young, uprising talent is still equally important. It leaves room for so much. We’re still at the first steps. It’s massively part of the bigger picture.”

She also told NME how she felt about the success of her latest single, ‘Sorry’, sharing that she thinks its release “went really well.”

“I played it on [The ‘Graham Norton Show] and it seemed to go down well there so I can’t be any happier with how the response has been. I love the song and hope people love it as much as I do. It’s proper honest, pure, and real.”

Young also dropped hints about the sound of her debut album, sharing that won’t be as “pop-y” as her previous releases.

“It’s still got that raw edge and quality, but the album is going to be slightly different in terms of influences and sonics. I’m really happy with how the album’s sounding so far. It’s more like ‘Fake’ than it is ‘So Sorry’. It’s a little bit more retro. The songs are still pop music, but what even is pop music? It’s got that raw edge but is almost alternative rock-inspired and indie. We’ll see what happens.”

Before heading into the ceremony, she told us who she was excited to meet and her plans for staging a run-in with Adele.

“I’m looking forward to seeing Holly obviously. Excited to potentially meet Little Simz I’m a big fan, and hopefully, my manager will schmooze his way into me saying hi to Adele which would be incredible but that probably won’t happen. My manager signed her so let’s see if he can push a few buttons.”

Watch our full interview with the singer and check back at NME for more interviews from the BRIT Awards 2022. Check out all the winners from the night here.