British singer-songwriter Lola Young just might be the breakout star of Coachella 2025

At Coachella, we've come to expect the unexpected.

Still, it's not every day that you see an artist suddenly run off stage calling for a bucket to presumably you-know-what in, only to come back moments later and nail a flawless performance of their biggest hit to date.

Then again, most artists aren't British star-in-the-making Lola Young. I can't say for sure if she actually puked before launching into "Messy," at her Friday afternoon set on Coachella's Mojave tent stage, although given how short of a time she was back there I'm guessing it was probably just a close call fueled both by her self-proclaimed nerves and the afternoon heat blaring into the Mojave tent.

But what I do know is whatever Young was dealing with didn't stop her from turning in one heck of a Coachella debut. While hearing "Messy" will definitely be a festival highlight for many, I'll best remember the ferocious pipes she showed off during her ballad "You Noticed" (my wife even turned to me and said "I have goosebumps" during that one), the haunting vibes she brought to her new single "Spiders" and the appealingly good-natured affect she brought to a show she said she was struggling to get through.

That raw, vulnerable stage presence coupled with an impressive voice have me honing in on Young as one of the artists most likely to experience a post-Coachella blow up. While it will be hard to match the skyrocketing fame Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter experienced post-Coachella 2024, I think Young has the range, material and star quality to follow in their footsteps.

And by the way, if Young did throw up on stage during those brief 20 seconds she ran off, no one can say they weren't warned things would get "Messy."

Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and email him at  paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com .

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella 2025: Lola Young nearly pukes, still crushes festival debut