Lola Young worried fans this week when she collapsed and was ‘carried off stage’ by medical staff at the All Things Go Music Festival in New York.
The incident came just moments before Lola, 24, admitted she had a ‘tricky couple of days’ and wasn’t sure she could have attended the festival.
It isn’t the first time Lola has taken ill on stage, as during her Coachella debut at this year’s festival, she suffered from the heat and became unwell on stage, and was forced to run off to vomit.
The BRIT-nominee also had to have surgery to remove a cyst from her vocal cord in 2020, a process she described as ‘horrible’ and permanently altered her voice to be ‘much deeper and a bit breathier’.
It was the latest in a long line of struggles for the rising star, who has been open about her health issues over the years.
The Hitmaker, who has had to previously had to cancel shows or stop singing mid-performance, notably revealed that she was diagnosed with Schizoaffective disorder at the age of 17, while she also suffers from ADHD and mental health struggles.
Over the years, singer Lola Young has been open about her health issues, including her ADHD diagnosis and mental health struggles
Lola worried fans this week when she collapsed and was ‘carried off stage’ by medical staff at the All Things Go Music Festival in New York
Speaking this week shortly before she collapsed, she said on stage: ‘I had a tricky couple of days, sometimes life makes you feel that you can’t continue but you know what, I woke up and made the decision to come here.’
The singer, best known for her 2024 hit Messy, was singing Conceited at Forest Hills Stadium when she suffered the worrying ordeal.
Lola took to Instagram hours after to address the incident and wrote: ‘Hi, for anyone who saw my set at all things go today, I am doing okay now. Thank you for all of your support xxx’
The mystery medical crisis occurred after she cancelled a concert on Friday ‘due to a sensitive matter’.
Lola’s manager Nick Shymansky wrote on social media: ‘There are [occasionally] days where myself and my team have to take protective measures to keep her safe.
‘She is an incredible person and always takes her fans, career and performances seriously. I can only send huge apologies for the inconvenience caused.’
It isn’t the first time Lola has taken ill on stage, as during her Coachella debut at this year’s festival, she suffered from the heat and became unwell on stage, and was forced to run off to vomit.
Yet despite the wave of nausea and sickness she still pushed through and completed her performance.
Posting the series of clips from the set to her 1.4 million Instagram followers, she comically captioning the video: ‘Not me doing my first Coachella & gagging & throwing up all the way through the set.’
As the camera zooms in, she suddenly appears flustered and gags before walking off to the side of the stage.
In a statement posted on Instagram, she wrote: ‘I’m sorry to confirm that I won’t be playing All Things Go in DC today’
Lola took to Instagram hours after to address the incident and wrote: ‘Hi, for anyone who saw my set at all things go today, I am doing okay now. Thank you for all of your support xxx’
In another clip, while dancing with one hand covering her mouth, she tells fans: ‘It was getting real bad here guys’.
She’s then seen running off stage to ask a crew member for a bucket.
However, Lola didn’t let the illness defeat her, as another clip shows her returning to the stage and twerking, captioned: ‘And I’m back n twerking my way through the sickness.’
In the final clip, she jokes to the crowd: ‘That wouldn’t have been cute if I threw up.’
She humorously captioned it: ‘If ur coming today maybe it’ll be messier. Trying to hang in there with all my power.’
Sharing the montage, Lola admitted nerves may have gotten the best of her: ‘I was nervous guys and it was 40 bloody degrees.’
Lola revealed in 2022 that she had been diagnosed at the age of 17 with schizoaffective disorder.
She said in an Instagram post: ‘I cant find the words to describe how much this diagnosis has affected my entire life, and my outlook on the world around me.
‘I have struggled immensely learning to accept this part of myself, and I am still learning.
The Messy hitmaker was making her debut at this year’s festival, however the singer suffered with the heat as she took unwell on stage and was forced to run off to vomit
‘I have to remind myself that I am a regular f****** person, I am human and I am, like everyone, capable of incredible things, my mental health condition does not define me. It is my superpower.’
Schizoaffective disorder is a mental health condition that is marked by a mix of schizophrenia symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, and mood disorder symptoms, such as depression, mania and a milder form of mania called hypomania, as per the NHS.
She made the discovery aged 17 after having suffered with what she thought was clinical depression and bipolar disorder.
She explained that she had an uncle on either side of her family who also had schizophrenia and who had both tragically died.
Lola believed that the condition may in part have been triggered by smoking cannabis as a way to manage childhood trauma, which she chose not to disclose the details of.
She said she can usually sense an oncoming manic episode when she starts getting strange thoughts, but is usually able to medicate to keep things under wraps, though she has previously been taken by surprise and ended up being sectioned.
Lola admitted the unpredictability of her illness makes touring difficult, and she sometimes has manic episodes that last a month and doesn’t sleep for several days on the trot.
Lola said that her illness can present her with a lot of guilt and shame, and that she often feels ostracised after incidents in which she has been unwell in front of people.
Elsewhere, she has taken to social media to promote her ADHD medicine, Concerta, because it makes her ‘see mess now and clean things up’.
Lola highlighted that there was an ‘over glamorisation’ of the hyperactivity disorder which has broken out among Gen Z with many ‘jumping on the bandwagon’.
But, she argued, the glorification of ADHD in recent years has also helped break down the stigma and made sure ‘people are aware of what it’s doing to your brain’.
The Croydon-born pop singer said: ‘Six months ago I started taking Concerta and it has genuinely changed my life, my thought processing and it’s changed how I see mess and I can clear up, I feel genuinely a lot happier.
‘My experience on Concerta has been incredible, and I would highly recommend it. I think it’s super important to break down the stigma of taking medication for mental health because, right now, if you had a heart condition, you may take some.
‘So we should make sure physical health and mental health are viewed on par.’
Lola also emphasised the importance of getting a diagnosis of ADHD can ‘change your life’.
She said: ‘Getting a diagnosis can help you understand, but I would also recommend getting the medication I am on, which is Concerta.’
Concerta is a drug that increases attention and decreases impulsiveness and hyperactivity in patients with ADHD.
People taking the drug will feel a sense of euphoria, a higher energy level and better focus and concentration.
It is estimated 230,000 people in the UK are taking the medication for ADHD.
Despite Lola’s pottered health history, she dominated the UK’s music charts thanks to her popular track Messy (pictured with her Official Number 1 Single Award)
Despite Lola’s pottered health history, she dominated the UK’s music charts thanks to her popular track Messy, impressing viewers on both sides of the pond with performances on American late-night talk show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and the BBC’s The Graham Norton Show.
The South-London born songstress also made history after becoming the youngest British female artist to score a solo number-one single since Dua Lipa in 2017.
She described Messy as an ‘ADHD anthem’ and an ode to ‘narcissistic men’, with lyrics such as ‘I’m too perfect ’til I open my big mouth’ and ‘I want to be me, is that not allowed?’.
The song went viral on TikTok after enchanting millions with it’s relatable verses – and even A-listers such as Kylie Jenner and Sofia Richie Grainge posted clips of themselves singing and dancing along to the catchy number.
Despite her triumph, some fans branded the singer a ‘nepo baby’ after discovering her aunt is none other than Julia Donaldson, the renowned author behind the beloved children’s book The Gruffalo and many other best-selling titles.
However, the BRIT school alumni, who is easily recognised by her facial jewellery, voluptuous eyelashes and curl-kinked mullet, insisted the relatability of her listener’s ‘not feeling [like they’re] enough’, is the reason for the song’s success.
Her musical instincts kicked in from an early age, with the hitmaker saying she has been ‘singing since I could talk’.
She begun writing songs at just 11 years old before going on to win a national open mic competition aged just 13.
But she previously said her achievements were all down to ‘hard work’ and that being ‘born with the voice’ was ‘not the case at all’.
She eventually went on to hone her craft at the prestigious Brit School in Croydon, which is known for producing stars like Adele and Amy Winehouse.
For mental health support contact Mind on 0300 123 3393 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (except for bank holidays) or email info@mind.org.uk
