British pop phenomenon Lola Young has dropped “One Thing,” her first slice of new material since the release of her This Wasn’t Meant For You Anyway LP in August.
Inspired by classic boom-bap production, lyrically, the track sees Young assert her agency in the bedroom with a new flame. “I wanna show you just what I like/ I wanna kiss you slow/ Wanna f–k you rough/ Wanna eat you up,” she sings.
“One Thing” arrives after a series of social media teaser clips from the 24-year-old, which were filmed in California after her appearance at Coachella in April. Its accompanying music video was directed by Dave Meyers (Little Simz, SZA, Sabrina Carpenter).
“I wanted to make a song and music video that is thought-provoking and highlights sex being both a fun and light thing, not always meaningful, as well as showing how gender roles can be reversed,” said Young in a press release.
Young has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past six months. Her anthemic single “Messy” enjoyed a slow-burn rise to the top of the Official U.K. Singles Chart in January, hitting the summit eight months after it was initially released. It has been streamed more than 600 million times on Spotify to date, with listeners drawn to Young’s frank assessment of her own failings.
By spending four weeks at No. 1, Young became the longest running British female artist to be at the top spot since Adele’s “Easy on Me” in 2021. “Messy” broke a tie with Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” (2022) and Kenya Grace’s “Strangers” (2023); both had three-week stints at the top.
Elsewhere, the south Londoner has collaborated with Tyler, the Creator (“Like Him”) and Lil Yachty (“Charlie”), and has recently scooped three Ivor Novello nominations, as well as landing in the best pop act category at the BRIT Awards back in March.
“What I’m realizing about myself as an artist is that I’m not about the glitz and the glam — I don’t scream ‘Hollywood’,” Young told Billboard U.K. of her global success in an interview published last November. “For a long time, I wanted to represent this ideal of Westernized beauty — but then I realized I’m not that. I now choose to give realness and truth. I’ve got a bit of a belly out, I f–king swear a bunch and I have fun. And that’s what people are resonating with.”
Looking ahead, Young is scheduled to perform at festivals across the U.K. and Europe throughout the summer, including Reading & Leeds in August. The following month, she is set to appear at All Things Go in New York City alongside the likes of Doechii and Noah Kahan.
Listen to “One Thing” below:
