Work in Progress
Following up a smash isn’t easy for anyone. For Young and Shymansky, the stakes are even higher.
In November, ahead of recording her new LP at Electric Lady Studios in New York, Young entered a treatment center for five weeks to address her dependence on cocaine. By the New Year, she was back to the industry rat race, delivering a surprise star turn on “The Tonight Show” couch with Jimmy Fallon and making a much-hyped appearance at Coachella in April, as “Messy” was peaking.
Prepping at Lollapalooza in Paris for her album’s release, Young, Shymansky and West weighed options for teasing her new single, “Dealer,” a lo-fi bedroom-soul number, after Elton John called it “the biggest smash I have heard in years” and an initial taste on social media went well.
“I spent all day tryna be sober,” Young sings on the track, about wanting to get away. “Pack my bags and tell my dealer I’ll miss him.”
On the surface, Young seemed sturdy enough to face the onslaught of responsibility approaching. But when asked directly about her sobriety, she could turn wary, taking a deep pull on her tobacco vape and whispering, nearly inaudibly, that things were simply “good.”
The album, she said, was the best document of her recovery journey. “It was dark and I’m very happy I’m growing out of it,” she said. “I want to be an advocate for people who’ve suffered, but I’m not quite in a position to go, ‘Sobriety is the way,’” she said. Not yet.
With some downtime between scheduled appearances, Young had been hoping to take about two weeks to herself before the final promo push for “Myself.” But when Fallon’s team offered a last-minute slot to perform “Dealer” on “The Tonight Show” in late July, an impromptu New York trip was added to the calendar.
It never happened. A few days after her return to London, Young relapsed, Shymansky said, and returned to treatment.
“We’ve got to be really careful,” he said in an interview in August. “No one really knows the depths of what she is dealing with.”
“Her work ethic’s amazing and her commitment to herself is amazing,” Young’s manager added, “but there’s inevitably going to be moments where she can’t keep up with both.”
With the album’s release date nearing, Shymansky gave Young the option to pause everything, including delaying a fall headlining tour of the U.K. and North America, and focus on her health. Young, he said, chose to forge ahead.
“What’s worse for Lola: huge success or no success?” Shymansky said. “I think I’ve come to the conclusion that within success, there’s some form of structure and revenue and support system.”
As she returned to the stage this month, the singer was joined behind the scenes by a sober coach, and surrounded by a team dedicated to protecting her. “The reality is, we’ve got an amazing inner circle that love and adore her,” Shymansky said. “But everyone’s on the [expletive] payroll.” The parallel to his work with Winehouse was obvious. “You can’t separate it,” he said. “It’s uncanny.”
But he encouraged Young to not only put on a good face for fans. “If you’re struggling, share it,” he told her. “Explain it to people. Give them a chance to show that we’re in a different moment in time.”
Young is working on it. Earlier this month, she moved into a new apartment — the first real spoils of her pop success so far — and celebrated on social media with her old friend Violet, popping a bottle of sparkling tea in lieu of champagne.
“I’m so excited to start a new chapter of my life,” she said, teary-eyed, in a video for her fans captioned “new beginnings.” It was one more step forward.