Lola Young Works With James Blake on From Down Here
Lola Young says james blake helped shape her new single “From Down Here,” released Friday May 22, as she reopens a chapter that followed a 2025 break for her mental and physical health. She described the song as a move toward something steadier after a period that also saw her cancel a tour to recover from exhaustion.
James Blake and From Down Here
“This is a song that I worked on with James Blake, who is someone who’s heavily inspired me throughout my whole life,” Young said, adding, “Working with him and calling him a friend is just so beautiful to me.” For a singer who has spent much of the last year managing recovery in public, that pairing gives the release immediate weight: it is not just a new track, but a collaboration with an artist she has long treated as a reference point.
Young said, “The track is about knowing that you’re missing a high, but also knowing that being grounded is a much safer place to be and so much more rewarding.” That frame fits the song’s role in her return. She also said, “It totally is a bright new chapter.”
2025 Break and Recovery
In 2025, Young stepped away to focus on her health, later explaining that she sought treatment for addiction and attended AA meetings during the hiatus. She had already canceled her 2025 tour to recover from exhaustion, and she previously collapsed on stage in New York City. Those details make the new release less like a routine single drop and more like a public marker that she is choosing to move again on her own terms.
Young has also said, “I never intended it to start a movement, but I hope that it does in some way,” while speaking about artists setting stronger boundaries. She added at The 71st Ivor Novello Awards on Thursday May 21, “My fans inspire me in the same way I hope to inspire them. I feel like I’ve never tried to be especially honest… it just comes very naturally to me.” She followed that with, “I don’t really have any other choice but to be honest, so if people connect to that, and that’s amazing.”
Live Return and Next Shows
Young has already moved back toward the stage, returning to live performance at the 2026 Grammys, winning Breakthrough Artist at the BRITs, and playing the Palladium in London, which she called her first headline performance of the year. She has also announced four UK shows in June and a slot at Radio 1’s Big Weekend. For listeners, “From Down Here” is the clearest sign that the next phase is not just about recovery, but about work arriving alongside it.
