Lola Young reveals she's in 'drugs recovery' after onstage collapse

Lola Young is ready to get back out there, one step at a time.

The rising pop star, who took a hiatus after collapsing onstage in September, opened up about her recovery in a new interview with The Sunday Times published Saturday, March 28.

While performing at the All Things Go Music Festival in New York, Young appeared to suffer a medical emergency. In videos captured by fans and shared on social media, the "Messy" songstress was seen falling backward on the stage during a performance of her song "Conceited." Her team rushed to help as the song abruptly cut off.

Shortly after the Sept. 27 incident, Young shared with fans on social media that she was "doing okay," but the singer did cancel her performance at the All Things Go festival in Columbia, Maryland, that was scheduled for the following day.

While Young declined to go into detail about the health ordeal, she told The Sunday Times that she's made progress in her recovery efforts.

"I would rather, for the sake of my privacy, not say too much," Young, 25, said. "But what I would say is that recovery is an ongoing process. I'm not the finished article, but I'm doing a hell of a lot better."

When asked to clarify her rehabilitation, Young said she has been undergoing "drugs recovery."

"When you're in recovery… that doesn't necessarily need to mean drugs," Young added. "But me specifically, yes."

Lola Young was 'battling with addiction' ahead of new album

Prior to her collapse at the All Things Go Music Festival, Young had been struggling with her health.

The singer, who released her latest album "I'm Only F**king Myself" in September, was reportedly admitted to a treatment center for five weeks in November 2024, right before the album's recording, to "address her dependence on cocaine," according to a New York Times profile of the singer.

Young speaks candidly about her substance abuse on the album, namely on the track "Not Like That Anymore": "I'm a dumb little addict, so I've been [trying to] quit the snowflake."

"There were a lot of things going on for me personally," Young told The Sunday Times. "I was going through a lot of mental health issues, a lot of battling with addiction."

The Grammy-winning singer has previously opened up about being diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a mental health condition that, per the Mayo Clinic, is "marked by a mix of schizophrenia symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, and mood disorder symptoms, such as depression, mania and a milder form of mania called hypomania."

Young returned to the stage in January with a pre-Grammys performance at Spotify's Best New Artist Party. Days later, the singer performed at the Grammy Awards, where she snagged the award for best pop solo performance ("Messy").

She followed up the musical comeback earlier this month with a 30-minute set at Elton John's annual AIDS Foundation event and Oscars after-party.

But Young is still a work-in-progress, she told The Sunday Times, encouraging others navigating recovery to remember that "this is an ongoing journey."

"You have to be kind to yourself," Young said. "You have to always remember that you are not alone. You are not ever, ever alone."

If you or someone you know needs help battling a substance abuse addiction, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).  

Contributing: Brendan Morrow, KiMi Robinson and Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY