British singer-songwriter Lola Young is opening up about one of the most difficult moments of her career after collapsing on stage at a music festival last year, revealing that the incident marked what she now considers her personal “breaking point.”
In a new cover story with Rolling Stone published March 11, Young reflected on the turbulent period leading up to her collapse during her performance at All Things Go Music Festival in 2025. At the time, the singer’s career was rapidly gaining momentum thanks to her breakout hit “Messy,” which landed on the Billboard Hot 100.
But behind the scenes, Young said the pressure of a rising career combined with ongoing struggles with addiction and mental health made the situation increasingly difficult to manage. The artist has previously spoken publicly about living with schizoaffective disorder and battling cocaine dependency.
“You want to say yes to everything because everything’s on the table, but then you also have to balance that with your mental health,” Young said in the interview. “When somebody is going through addiction, or struggling in any capacity, it’s hard to know how much a person can do. I chose to hurt myself and self sabotage, and I also chose to get onstage and perform.”
According to a previous report from The New York Times, Young first entered treatment for substance issues in November 2024. She later returned to a treatment facility in the summer of 2025 following a relapse. Her onstage collapse at All Things Go happened shortly after that report was published.
Following the incident, Young told fans she would be stepping away from the spotlight for a period of time in order to focus on recovery. She later spent two months in a treatment facility under strict conditions that included staying off her phone while participating in therapy as part of her addiction program. The singer now attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and works with a sponsor.
Looking back on that chapter of her life, Young says she is ultimately grateful for how events unfolded, even though it forced her to temporarily pause her career.
“There was a bunch of hate, but you know what? F it,” she said. “It was a decision that I had to make, and it was sad that I had to do that. What else was I going to do, die? That was the reality of where my addiction was heading.”
The singer also revealed that several fellow artists reached out to support her during the difficult period, including Elton John, Katy Perry, Charli XCX, Kesha and Lady Gaga.
“That was pretty mad,” Young said of hearing from the artists. “And that made me feel safer.”
