British singer-songwriter Lola Young has achieved a UK number-one hit with Messy and made her US TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. But what fueled her rise? What can emerging artists learn from her journey? And how can short-term virality translate into lasting fan engagement?
The Beginning
Messy first appeared on Lola Young’s TikTok on May 16, 2024, ahead of its official release on May 30, 2024. Her initial posts gained 141,000 and 96,000 views, strong numbers but consistent with her usual engagement levels.
The Influencer Effect
The real momentum came in November, six months after the single’s release. Influencer Jake Shane posted a 14-second clip of himself and Sofia Richie Grainge lip-syncing and dancing to Messy.
Whether planned or organic, this moment sparked a trend, demonstrating the lasting power of influencer-driven virality, even long after a song’s initial release.
Side Note: Sofia Richie Grainge is married to Elliott Grainge, son of Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group (Lola Young is signed to Island Records, a Universal subsidiary). Was this a strategic second push to revive the single and album? We may never know, but either way, it felt authentic.
Key Takeaway: Keep Promoting Your Music
All music is new if you haven’t heard it before. Attaching your song to a cultural moment or trend allows you to reshare it repeatedly, reaching new fans each time. Just ask Mariah Carey. Don’t stop promoting a song six weeks after release, its biggest moment could still be ahead.
The Viral Explosion
Sofia Richie Grainge’s backward shuffle quickly became a TikTok trend, inspiring thousands to recreate it. Today, there are over 250,000 TikTok videos featuring Messy, with high-profile contributions from Kylie Jenner and Reese Witherspoon.
Why Messy Resonates
Lola Young describes what makes an anthem:
“Anthems aren’t just pop songs; they start with something else, and then become a pop song.”
For Messy, that “something else” is the universal feeling of never being enough in a relationship an emotion that deeply connects with listeners.
The Shift in Fan Engagement
Today, fans aren’t just passive listeners they are content creators in their own right. Most people will discover Lola Young through fan-generated content rather than content on her feed. For artists, success isn’t just about how well your content performs, it’s about how much your music inspires others to create.
The Impact of Social Virality
According to Google, there were 2 million global searches for Lola Young in the last month an increase of 752% from the previous quarter.
Understanding the Intent Behind 2 Million Google Searches
We categorized the top search terms into three groups:
Informational – e.g., “Lola Young age” (41%)
Navigational – e.g., “Lola Young Wiki” (41%)
Transactional – e.g., “Lola Young Tickets” (19%)
Since most people are discovering her for the first time, the low transactional intent isn’t surprising, fandom, like any relationship, begins with curiosity before growing into deeper engagement.
Challenge for Emerging Artists
For Young and any new artist, the key is to nurture early interest and convert curiosity into lasting fandom.
Making Search Work for You
Lola Young’s search presence is strong, fans can easily find:
Images & personal details (via Wikipedia)
Audio & video links
Live tour dates
Social media updates
Key Takeaway: Control Your Digital Presence
If you want people to search for you, make sure they can find you easily. Your online presence should serve all three search intents:
Informational (Who you are)
Navigational (Where to find you)
Transactional (How to engage—tickets, music, merch)
Building a Compelling Story
Give searchers something to talk about, people love fun facts as social currency:
Did you know Lola Young’s aunt wrote The Gruffalo?
She’s managed by Amy Winehouse’s former manager.
She sang the 2021 John Lewis Christmas advert song.
The more engaging stories you provide, the more likely people will spread the word.
Traffic to Lola Young’s Website: The Disconnect
With 2 million searches last month, only 8,000 people visited her website (4,400 unique visitors).
42% of traffic came from the US (likely due to the Fallon appearance).
52% of traffic came from organic search, 34% was direct, and only 6.7% came from social media.
Visitors spent just 49 seconds on the site and viewed an average of 2.58 pages.
Optimizing for Engagement
Using Ubersuggest, we found that live shows and ticket searches are driving traffic to Lola Young’s website. Her UK shows have already sold out. Knowing this, her website should be designed to meet visitor intent, with a clear focus on tour dates and ticketing rather than email sign-ups.
Fixing Website Gaps for Better Performance
Issues to Address
Outdated website description which references Conceited (2023). Needs an evergreen bio focused on her artist profile & tour dates.
Missing H1 Tag – The main heading that helps SEO & search rankings is absent.
Missing Image Alt Tags – Without these, Google can’t properly index images, hurting search visibility.
Strength: Retargeting Potential
Meta & TikTok Pixels are in place, allowing retargeting ads on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. This helps convert casual visitors into engaged fans.
Where Did All the Searchers Go?
Despite 2 million searches for Lola Young, most of those searchers didn’t land on her website, so where did they go?
Google’s Evolving Search Model
Google is increasingly providing answers directly in search results, reducing the need for users to click through to external websites. Many informational searchers (e.g., “Lola Young age”) likely found their answers on Google without ever leaving the platform.
Navigational & Transactional Search Behavior
For those looking for biographical details or official content, platforms like Spotify, YouTube, Wikipedia, and Ticketmaster were the biggest beneficiaries.
Spotify vs. YouTube: A Surprising Contrast
On Spotify, Messy has 7x more streams than any other Lola Young track:
40 million monthly listeners
200 million+ Spotify streams (~£470,640 in revenue)
Spotify Popularity Index: 72%
However, the real challenge for any artist is turning one-time listeners into repeat listeners and, ultimately, dedicated followers all without access to listener data. Right now, only 1.6% of Lola Young’s monthly listeners follow her on Spotify.
YouTube:
239,000 subscribers
82 million all-time views
21 million views on the Messy video
Final Thoughts: Lessons for Emerging Artists
Virality doesn’t always mean longevity: Artists must capitalize on viral moments by engaging fans and optimising their digital presence.
Website strategy matters: Artists need to align website content with audience intent to improve fan engagement.
Search behaviour is evolving: With Google providing more answers in search results, artists must ensure their content is accessible across multiple platforms.
Followers matter more than streams: Building loyal fans is more valuable than one-time listeners.
Lola Young’s journey highlights the power of viral moments, but sustained success requires strategic engagement, strong storytelling, and an optimised digital presence.
Words Mark Knight
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