What bolshy Lola Young and getting a tooth gem taught me about Gen Z
Her new album is already making waves.
If Gen Z had a patron saint, she’d have a striped mullet, a vape in one hand, a mic in the other, and her name would be Lola Young.
The night her new album dropped, I went to worship at her glittery, scowling altar – tragically afflicted as I am with the condition of being a millennial.
To be clear, I did not go into the night expecting a changed perspective. At most, I expected a few very good pop songs, some tepid influencer selfies, and perhaps a brand booth or two.
What I got instead was a crash course in Gen Z emotional logic – and a tiny crystal glued to my molar.
Let me explain.
24-year-old Lola Young’s chaotic, confessional single Messy became the most-streamed song by a British artist in the world earlier this year. Now she’s followed it up with I’m Only F**ing Myself*, an album so raw it practically oozes.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Up Next
Previous Page Next PageThere’s no polish here, and no Y2K-style glam spin on the emotional chaos, as Young talks about therapy, medication, and spiraling, not like she’s bragging, but like she simply doesn’t know how not to. It’s an authenticity that’s sometimes ugly, sometimes uncomfortable, but never fake, and its clear that it offers real salvation to many of the young people in the room.
Which brings me, finally, to the tooth gem.
Reader, I got one. I sat in that chair – fully sober, I might add – and let a stranger glue a tiny fake diamond to my nearly-30-year-old front tooth, knowing full well I’d have to show up to the office with it for the next month.
Why did I do it? I think, in some small, sparkly way, it was an act of love – not just for Gen Z, but for the younger version of myself who grew up in a time when flaws were something to conceal, not flaunt.
Young rocked her signature hair at the event (Picture: @?spotifyUK + Lauren Harris)We didn’t wear star-shaped pimple patches in public like teenagers do today – in fact, we sometimes skipped school over a bad breakout. Our makeup – shaped by the gospel of Teen Vogue and older sisters who taught us the sacred art of ‘no-makeup makeup’ – was designed to be invisible. The highest compliment was, ‘You don’t even look like you’re wearing any.’
To stand out was to ‘try,’ and to try was to risk ridicule. I remember when a girl at my school showed up with a nose ring at 15, triggering immediate sniggers: God, she’s trying so hard. By the next day, it was gone.
Gen Z, by contrast, doesn’t just ‘try,’ they declare. Their style isn’t about achieving natural perfection; it’s about broadcasting intention. They glue rhinestones to their teeth and wear neon eyeliner like battle paint. They slap on pimple patches like merit badges and wear them out of the house as accessories to their burgeoning puberty.
They don’t aim to look effortless: they aim to look like themselves. Flawed, stylised, expressive, effortful, and self-aware of the fact that all fashion is performance, so why not make it interesting?
I came to the event unsure of Young’s whole brand. I left with a mild dental liability and a much deeper understanding of my younger peers.
No, I still don’t fully ‘get’ Gen Z. But I get this: they aren’t detached, or dead-eyed, or apathetic. They’re just done faking it.
And if Lola Young is their high priestess, then their gospel is simple: vulnerability over performance, truth over poise, feeling over form.
So no, I don’t know if this is altogether a better world — one where trauma is social currency, and smiles are replaced by stares.
But I know that when I looked in the mirror later that night and saw a tiny crystal winking from my smile, I saw something else reflected back: A glimmering little reminder that showing up visibly, intentionally, vulnerably – is actually pretty radical.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Comment now Comments
