Lola Young releases empowering new video for single 'Woman'
The new visual is a powerful statement from the young artist and stars Lola alongside a brave and diverse collection of womxn laid bare as they boldly reclaim the female form. ‘Woman’ is Lola’s ode to women everywhere, a song about female empowerment but also the struggles and hardships women face because of their gender and how society judges them based on entrenched stereotypical roles.
The video is a visual extension of the song and all the themes Lola touches on in the track:“I wanted to make this video because I believe women are all undeniably strong, sexy, free, brave, vulnerable, raw and powerful– Lola explains –And that we do not have to hide away. We do not have to remain unseen, our bodies should never be sexualised or a taboo conversation, or only seen through the male gaze. We have the ability to normalise our bodies being on show, and accept them for their differences, as It’s important to remember those differences are currently often shamed.
I pushed for the women in the video being fully nude and the energy on set because of that was insane. I have never felt more empowered in my life. Nipples, bums, rolls, stretch marks, cellulite, all of these things are beautiful along with the ‘perfect’ body. This is my personal experience of being a woman, hopefully other women will have their own take on what it means to them”.
Lola teamed up with award-winning London filmmaker and photographer Olivia Rose (Jorja Smith, Skepta, J Hus)who was extremely excited to be involved in the project -“When I saw Lola's artwork, full of renaissance paintings of nude women with their nipples censored, I knew we were an artist/director match made in heaven. What she was questioning, in her brave and pioneering way, was the audacity that we can see female bodies in some contexts and it is 'allowed'. In many others, we are censored, not allowed to 'free the nipple' even when we are literally feeding the next generation.
We wanted to do our part to change that narrative. 'Woman' is hands down the most empowering project I've worked on in film, our day on set was so electric with girl power - a testament to the brave and beautiful cast members, who were so engaged with the concept that we literally all stood by the monitor together, cheering each other on in our moment of self-love and vanity. Who said woman can't be nude AND feel sensual, sexy, and fun all at the same time? Why do we feel the need to censor this sort of visual? Those were the questions Lola and I were trying to ask with this video.”
The single follows on from the success of Lola’s debut body of work ‘Intro’ and her latest critically acclaimed EP ‘Renaissance’, released in April. Previous tracks such as ‘6 Feet Under’, ‘Blind Love’ and ‘Pick Me Up’ garnered huge radio support from the likes of Annie Mac, Clara Amfo, Benji B, Giles Peterson, Jo Wiley, Mistajam and DJ Target and Lola also performed live for Annie Mac’s Radio 1 show. With strong press support across the board, Lola has also appeared in the likes of British Vogue, Evening Standard, The i, Dork, The Sun, RedHanded and CLASH Magazine.
UK star on the rise LOLA YOUNG today releases her brand new single ‘WOMAN’, out on Island Records and available now via all DSPs - http://lolayoung.lnk.to/woman
Original Post:
‘Woman’ is Lola’s ode to women everywhere, a song about female empowerment but also the struggles and hardships women face because of their gender and how society judges them based on entrenched stereotypical roles. The track is another beautiful performance from Lola, with the nature of the song really bringing out a side to her that has yet to be seen. On the track, Lola explains;
“‘Woman’ is a song about female empowerment. It’s a song about how I feel towards the patriarchy but also an introspective piece that looks at the gender roles and how these can be broken down. This song means a lot to me because it’s something I had never previously written about and it has an honest vulnerability to it that I hope makes people feel an understanding towards us women.”
The single follows on from the success of Lola’s debut body of work ‘Intro’ and her latest critically acclaimed EP ‘Renaissance’, released in April. Previous tracks such as ‘6 Feet Under’, ‘Blind Love’ and ‘Pick Me Up’ garnered huge radio support from the likes of Annie Mac, Clara Amfo, Benji B, Giles Peterson, Jo Wiley, Mistajam and DJ Target and Lola also performed live for Annie Mac’s Radio 1 show. With strong press support across the board, Lola has also appeared in the likes of British Vogue, Evening Standard, The i, Dork, and CLASHMagazine.
We think Lola Young's new release will be a tremendous hit and Lola is certainly on our 'one to watch' list as one of the UK's most promising artists.
