"Messy" is a song by British singer Lola Young, released on 30 May 2024 as the sixth single from her second studio album This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway (2024). It went viral on the video sharing app TikTok and became her first charting song, peaking at the top of the UK Singles Chart.
Outside the United Kingdom, the song reached number one in Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Ireland, and Israel. It also peaked within the top ten in several other countries, including Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, while peaking at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Pop Airplay chart, becoming Young's only top 40 hit as an solo artist in the US to date.
Background
Young stated in an interview with Metal Magazine:
"Messy" is an ADHD anthem, it really showcases everything I felt during my last relationship, but also it is deeper than that, as it talks about how I feel about myself in general—being too messy one day and too clean another, struggling to find that balance in myself.[1]
In an interview with Atwood Magazine, Young said that "Messy" had her favorite lyrics in This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway and she considered them some of her best. She also described, "It's raw, honest, and encapsulates a lot of the themes of the album. It's about embracing imperfections and finding strength in who I am, scatty or not lol."[2]
Composition
"Messy" is a soul-pop and 80's inspired pop-rock song.[3][4] It finds Young in an increasingly angry vocal tone, as she directs sharp criticism toward a lover for certain expectations imposed on her.[5] In a Variety interview, Young stated she took the demo to 64Sound in Los Angeles where she described the analog studio "like a studio in the '70s". She described the influences in the song as “It feels a bit rocky, there’s a ’90s hip-hop influence, folk music inspired the lyricism and there’s some pop too.”[6]
Music video
In the video for the song, Young dances around a mostly empty room. She is also seen with a large birthday cake and stands in the far right corner of the room near the end of the video.[7]
Critical reception
Brian Denney of Atwood Magazine wrote, "'Messy' is a beautiful display of Young's gritty vocals and world-class lyrical storytelling. As a listener, it plays out as if you are watching the singer leave an angry voicemail to her lover, simply fed up with the irrationality of trying to please a partner who will never be satisfied."[5]
Promotion
On 28 November 2024, social media personalities Jake Shane and Sofia Richie posted a clip on TikTok of them dancing to the song, with moves including finger guns and a "half-shimmy". It led to the song gaining significant popularity, achieving 3.9 million official on-demand streams in the United States,[3] and being used in over 250,000 videos on TikTok, including one by Kylie Jenner of her lip syncing to the song.[8]
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 19. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 9. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
↑ "מדיה פורסט – המצעד הבינלאומי השבועי – Week 5 – 26/01 – 01/02/2025"[Media Forest – International Weekly Chart – Week 5 – 26/01 – 01/02/2025] (Select the year 2025 and the option "05 26-01-25 01-02-25" from the stretched lists, then click "שירים מובילים - רדיו - בינלאומי" to see the chart.) (in Hebrew). Media Forest. 2 February 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
↑ "Media Forest – Weekly Charts". Media Forest. Retrieved 1 April 2025. Note: Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
↑ "Media Forest – Weekly Charts". Media Forest. Retrieved 7 April 2025. Note: Select 'Songs – TV'. Romanian and international positions are rendered together by the number of plays before resulting an overall chart.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 18. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 9. týden 2025 in the date selector. Retrieved 4 March 2025.
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