

A South London singer-songwriter whose soulful, jazz-inflected voice and raw lyrical honesty capture the complexities of young adulthood.
Lola Young emerged from the vibrant South London music scene not as a manufactured pop product, but as a fiercely authentic storyteller. Winning the under-16 Open Mic UK competition was an early signal, but it was the release of her early EPs like 'Intro' and 'Renaissance' that defined her sound—a blend of soul, jazz, and minimalist R&B anchored by her strikingly mature, emotive voice. Her breakthrough moment came when her cover of 'Together in Electric Dreams' scored the 2021 John Lewis Christmas advert, introducing her warmth to millions. Nominations for the BRIT Rising Star award and a spot on the BBC Sound of... list followed, validating her as a significant new voice. Her debut album, 'My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely,' is a confessional and sonically adventurous work that firmly establishes her artistic vision.
1997–2012
Born into smartphones, social media, and school shootings. The most diverse generation in history. Pragmatic about money, fluid about identity, anxious about the climate. They do not remember a world before the internet.
Lola was born in 2001, placing them squarely in the Generation Z. The events that shaped this generation — social media, climate anxiety, and a pandemic — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
The biggest hits of 2001
#1 Movie
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Best Picture
A Beautiful Mind
#1 TV Show
Survivor
The world at every milestone
September 11 attacks transform the world
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
She attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon.
Young has cited artists like Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill as major influences on her musical style.
She performed at the Glastonbury Festival's BBC Introducing stage early in her career.
“I write songs about the things I see in my ends, the good and the ugly.”