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Coachella 2025 may have delivered countless unforgettable performances, but none quite as raw and real as Lola Young’s debut, literally. The breakout star behind the viral hit Messy powered through her first set at the iconic California festival last Friday, despite suffering visibly from heat exhaustion and nausea on stage.
The 24-year-old singer-songwriter stunned fans with her grit and humour when she was forced to momentarily run off stage to be sick mid-performance, after gagging and pleading, "Can I get a bucket?" Still, she returned, danced, sang, and conquered, proving that not even a sudden wave of illness could dim her rising star.
A week later, Lola took to Instagram to post a montage of clips from her chaotic but impressive set, giving her 1.4 million followers a candid behind-the-scenes look at what really went down. “Not me doing my first Coachella & gagging & throwing up all the way through the set,” she wrote, with a touch of self-deprecating humour.
In the videos, Lola is seen confidently working the stage in a green bikini top and matching loose trousers, before faltering and visibly gagging. In one particularly telling moment, she dances while holding a hand to her mouth, later telling the crowd, “It was getting real bad here, guys.” Eventually, she’s seen sprinting to the side of the stage asking for a bucket.
But the gritty determination of the South Londoner shone through as she returned moments later to finish the set, twerking, smiling, and joking, “That wouldn’t have been cute if I threw up.”
The star later admitted nerves and the soaring 40-degree heat may have played a part in the episode. Still, she teased fans with a promise of more to come: “I’m back today, same time, same tent, love ya x.”
Lola’s Coachella debut comes on the heels of her meteoric rise in the music industry, recently signing a £10 million publishing deal with Universal after a bidding war with Sony. Her track Messy spent four weeks at No. 1, making her the most successful British solo artist since Sam Smith and the longest-running female chart-topper since Adele.
Her talent has turned heads, but so has her family tree. Lola is the niece of beloved children’s author Julia Donaldson, best known for The Gruffalo, prompting some online critics to label her a “nepo baby” and even a “music industry plant.”
But Lola’s having none of it. “I’m not a nepo baby, I’m not an industry plant, there we go I said it,” she told fans last month. “People are saying I’m a nepo baby because my great aunt wrote The Gruffalo… what kind of rubbish is that?”
Since her haunting rendition of Together in Electric Dreams in the 2021 John Lewis Christmas ad, Lola has become a force in her own right, especially after Messy went viral on TikTok, thanks to a boost from Sophia Richie.
If Lola Young’s Coachella set proved anything, it’s that talent, perseverance, and a sense of humour can make even the messiest moments iconic.
