"Messy" is a song by English singer Lola Young, released on 30 May 2024 as the sixth single from her second studio album, This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway (2024). It went viral on the video sharing app TikTok and became her first charting song, peaking at the top of the UK Singles Chart.
Outside the United Kingdom, the song reached number one in Australia, Belgium, Croatia, Ireland, and Israel. It also peaked within the top ten in several other countries, including Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, while peaking at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Pop Airplay chart, becoming Young's first top 40 hit as an solo artist in the US to date.
It also earned Young nominations for Best Alternative at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards and a win for the category Best Pop Solo Performance at the 68th Grammy Awards.
Background Young stated in an interview with Metal Magazine:
"Messy" is an ADHD anthem, it really showcases everything I felt during my last relationship, but also it is deeper than that, as it talks about how I feel about myself in general—being too messy one day and too clean another, struggling to find that balance in myself.
In an interview with Atwood Magazine, Young said that "Messy" had her favourite lyrics in This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway and she considered them some of her best. She also described: "It's raw, honest, and encapsulates a lot of the themes of the album. It's about embracing imperfections and finding strength in who I am, scatty or not lol."
Composition "Messy" is a soul-pop and '80s inspired pop-rock song. It finds Young in an increasingly angry vocal tone, as she directs sharp criticism toward a lover for certain expectations imposed on her. In a Variety interview, Young stated she took the demo to 64Sound in Los Angeles where she described the analog studio "like a studio in the '70s". She described the influences in the song as “It feels a bit rocky, there’s a ’90s hip-hop influence, folk music inspired the lyricism and there’s some pop too.”
Music video In the video for the song directed by Sarah Dattani Tucker, Young dances around a mostly empty room. She is also seen with a large birthday cake and stands in the far right corner of the room near the end of the video.
Critical reception Brian Denney of Atwood Magazine wrote: "'Messy' is a beautiful display of Young's gritty vocals and world-class lyrical storytelling. As a listener, it plays out as if you are watching the singer leave an angry voicemail to her lover, simply fed up with the irrationality of trying to please a partner who will never be satisfied."
Promotion On 28 November 2024, social media personalities Jake Shane and Sofia Richie posted a clip on TikTok of them dancing to the song, with moves including finger guns and a "half-shimmy". It led to the song gaining significant popularity, achieving 3.9 million official on-demand streams in the United States, and being used in over 250,000 videos on TikTok, including one by Kylie Jenner of her lip syncing to the song.
Young has performed the song live on The Graham Norton Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Like a Version, and Elvis Duran and the Morning Show.
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for "Messy" Chart (2024–2025) Peakposition Australia (ARIA) 1 Austria Airplay (IFPI) 2 Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 118 Brazil Airplay (Top 100 Brasil) 53 Bulgaria Airplay (PROPHON) 4 Canada AC (Billboard) 10 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard) 3 Canada Hot AC (Billboard) 1 scope="row" Colombia Anglo Airplay (National-Report) 2 Croatia International Airplay (Top lista) 1 Ecuador Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) 3 Greece International (IFPI) 7 Iceland (Tónlistinn) 3 Israel (Mako Hitlist) 33 Italy Airplay (EarOne) 1 Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan) 18 Latin America Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) 2 Latvia Airplay (LaIPA) 1 Latvia Streaming (LaIPA) 5 Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20) 2 Lithuania (AGATA) 5 Luxembourg (Billboard) 3 Malta Airplay (Radiomonitor) 6 Mexico Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) 1 Nigeria (TurnTable Top 100) 28 North Macedonia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 1 Panama Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) 1 Paraguay Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) 2 Peru Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) 1 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 3 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 8 Portugal (AFP) 18 Romania Airplay (UPFR) 2 San Marino Airplay (SMRTV Top 50) 1 Serbia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 6 Slovenia Airplay (Radiomonitor) 2 Spain Airplay (Promusicae) 1 Switzerland Airplay (IFPI) 2 Thailand (IFPI) 15 Turkey International Airplay (Radiomonitor Türkiye) 6 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit) 109 Uruguay Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) 3 Venezuela Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) 7
Monthly charts + Monthly chart performance for "Messy" Chart (2025) Position CIS Airplay (TopHit) 13 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100) 54 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 4 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 4 Paraguay Airplay (SGP) 40 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 21 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 26
Year-end charts + Year-end chart performance for "Messy" Chart (2025) Position Argentina Anglo Airplay (Monitor Latino) 12 Australia (ARIA) 8 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 7 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) 3 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia) 4 Canada (Canadian Hot 100) 9 Canada AC (Billboard) 17 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard) 12 Canada Hot AC (Billboard) 15 Canada Modern Rock (Billboard) 8 Chile Airplay (Monitor Latino) 78 CIS Airplay (TopHit) 26 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 41 France (SNEP) 14 Germany (GfK) 10 Global 200 (Billboard) 17 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40) 59 Hungary (Single Top 40) 80 Iceland (Tónlistinn) 30 Italy (FIMI) 81 Lithuania Airplay (TopHit) 6 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 2 Netherlands (Single Top 100) 5 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 10 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100) 4 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 29 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 95 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 71 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 29 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 4 UK Singles (OCC) 2 US Billboard Hot 100 28 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard) 11 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard) 5 US Pop Airplay (Billboard) 16 US Rock & Alternative Airplay (Billboard) 1
Certifications
See also List of number-one singles of 2025 (Australia) List of number-one singles of 2025 (Ireland) List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 2020s
References