IT'S been a tough few days for LOLA YOUNG, who last week announced she was stepping back from the spotlight for the foreseeable.
And now I have been told about a very ugly legal row which has been brewing in the background for a number of months.
I have seen court filings that the South London-born singer's lawyers have been brought in to tackle American producer Carter Lang – who is claiming she owes him money from her breakout track Messy.
The song, which came out in May last year, helped to make Lola a household name and is close to hitting a billion streams on Spotify – which isn't half bad when you're reminded it's a song she wrote in her bedroom.
When it went to No1, Lola became the youngest British artist to land a song at the top spot since Dua Lipa in 2017, and it's now one of the biggest tunes of this year.
A source said: "Lola and her team were stunned when they found out Carter wanted a cut from the success of Messy.
"Now Messy is only getting more traction, he has come out of the woodwork and is demanding money. It has blindsided everyone.
"Lola's legal team have got involved now and are hoping to put this to bed quickly because it is incredibly stressful – and unnecessary – for a young artist who has only ever supported the people she's worked with.
"Lola wrote Messy in her bedroom and then went into 64 Sound in LA with producers, Jared Solomon, William Brown and Conor Dickinson, to work on the track.
"Carter was involved in producing her album, This Wasn't Meant For You Anyway, but when this song was conceived there wasn't much of an input from him.
"He's also claiming he is owed money for three other songs but Lola's legal team are standing firm."
I contacted Lola's representatives and they sent me this statement from Lola's lawyers.
It reads: "It is with immense disappointment, especially given recent events, that we have had no choice but to respond to recent writing credit claims from Carter Lang on four Lola Young songs by issuing legal proceedings on her behalf.
"Carter's claims are strongly refuted and we will not allow Lola's reputation and integrity to be called into question – particularly so long after the sessions took place and agreements were put in place.
"Lola has always been authentic in her songwriting process and acknowledges songwriting contributions where appropriate.
"This dispute has been ongoing for several months and we look forward to the truth being established."
Seeing Lola's recent announcement that she was cancelling all her shows to take a break, having collapsed on stage last month made me feel incredibly sad.
The pressure on young artists in the music industry is something none of us will ever be able to truly understand unless we walk a day in their shoes.
Lola has worked insanely hard to get to the position she is in now and to hear that Carter, the brains behind Justin Bieber's last two albums, has come in to try and cream off his share of the profits is grim.
You weren't bothered when Messy first came out, Carter, so why now?
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