Entertainment
Lola Young says she’s ready to “put a stamp on music” following breakout success
British singer-songwriter Lola Young says she’s the “happiest [she’s] ever been ever” after years of mental health struggles that nearly derailed her promising career.
At 24 years old, Young may appear to be an overnight sensation after her breakout hit “Messy” went viral online and topped charts around the world, but she has been writing songs since age 11. Her recent debut at Coachella left her stunned by the massive audience response.
“I felt a bit confused to be honest,” Young told “CBS Mornings” about her April performance. “It was absolutely bonkers. Just the amount of people that were standing there screaming. It was like, ‘For me, like, what?’ Do you know what I mean?”
Building a path to success
Young’s path to success began with a difficult childhood that pushed her musical dreams forward.
“I went through a lot. I had a difficult, in some ways, a difficult upbringing,” she said. “I had this kind of urge, this like burning desire to escape in any way, shape or form I could.”
Music became her outlet and source of achievement. Her career took a pivotal turn at 16 when she performed at the Bedford Pub in 2017, where manager Nick Shymansky, who had previously managed Amy Winehouse, was in attendance. The encounter changed both their lives.
“I walked into the room just when you went on stage, and I was like, ‘Who is this?'” Shymansky said. “I was completely seduced by Lola’s talent and character.”
For Young, the connection with Shymansky was immediate and profound. “I just didn’t want anyone else. I met with so many managers and I was like, ‘Nah,'” she said. “He understood me in a way I’ve never been understood by any person.”
Young draws inspiration from legendary artists like Joni Mitchell, whose album “Blue” made a lasting impact when she first heard it when she was a teenager.
“I remember hearing ‘A Case of You’ and I just don’t know why, but I just cried. And I thought, if I can do that to somebody then I’ve done, then I think I’ve done something,” she said.
Her dedication to music runs deep. “I’m very serious about it. Yeah. I sometimes wish that it was just a bit less deep for me. But it is not,” she admitted.
Leaving her mark on music
Despite her artistic success, Young faced severe personal struggles in recent years. “I was in a really bad place. I didn’t want to be here. Didn’t care about myself. Didn’t care about anything,” she shared about a period of mental health challenges that lasted several years.
The turning point came just over a year ago. She says she’s now the happiest she’s ever been.
Young admits finishing songs can be stressful and when they’re finally complete it’s “like a weight being lifted.” Personally, she finds being on stage performing the most thrilling part of her job.
Even as she enjoys newfound fame, Young remains vulnerable to criticism, admitting she sometimes cried over negative comments but is learning to manage the toll of public scrutiny.
“Today, I’m like absolutely not,” said Young, referring to letting social media remarks get under her skin.
When it comes to her future, Young says she plans to leave a mark.
“I want to put a stamp on music because all the best, all the people that I love or the best artists that I love have done that,” she said.
Entertainment
Nicola blamed in viral clip liked by Romeo amid Beckham feud
Romeo Beckham appeared to hint at how firmly he stands by his parents amid his estranged brother Brooklyn’s feud with the family.
The eldest son of Sir David 51, and Lady Victoria Beckham 50, released a bombshell statement earlier this month in which he criticised his parents, and accused them of mistreating his wife.
He claimed his mum danced ‘inappropriately on’ him at his wedding in 2022.
While much of the Beckham family has maintained a silence since the statement, Romeo appeared to take a dig at his estranged brother, when he appeared in a video with the caption: ‘Imagine hating we are just here like.’
It seemed the model has shared his honest feelings about the feud after reacting to a video from a pop culture influencer on Instagram.
Social media star Ash Cantley shared a video claiming that ‘Victoria and David are trying to rescue their son.’ Romeo has since ‘liked’ the clip, offering a hint at his true reaction to Brooklyn’s feud with his family.
In the video, Ash says: ‘I take it all back. Nicola is the problem. Victoria and David are trying to rescue their son, I think Nicola forced him to make that statement.
‘I saw an interview with Victoria, and she was like ”I’m a girls’ girl, I love girls, that’s why I have the business I have, and you have to be a real a-hole for me not to like you.
‘And I was like ”oh yeah Nicola’s an a**hole.”
Later in the clip, she continued: ‘And then when you look at Nicola’s friends, the amount of people who have dropped her. Selena Gomez? Like your reputation matters, and her reputation is really bad.
‘I saw an interview with David, this was like right after Brooklyn released his statement, and he’s like ”you know, kids make mistakes, and you have to let them make mistakes”, and it was like a very grounded answer.
Detailing Nicola’s relationship with Anwar Hadid, Ash continued: ‘Nicola dated Anwar when he was a teenager, Anwar cut off his family for three years too, so there’s a pattern here that I think we need to look as a whole.
‘I feel bad for Brooklyn, because I do feel like, I do believe he feels these things. I think his wife is pushing him to come out and defend her publicly.’
‘I do think it was a mistake for him to release that public statement because when he and Nicola divorce, if that happens, he’s gonna want his family.
She captioned the post: ‘I go back and forth. Trying this pov out. Also I think David and Victoria should put up with Nicola even if they don’t like her for their son’s sake.’
This week, Brooklyn also unfollowed celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay – a close family friend and Harper’s godfather – after he advised the chef not to ‘forget where he came from’ and suggested his ‘infatuation’ with his actress wife Nicola is behind the ongoing rift.
Entertainment
‘Manhunter’, ‘RoboCop 2′, ‘Heat’ star was 74
Tom Noonan, the actor and director best known for playing some of cinema’s most unsettling villains, has died aged 74.
The death of Tom Noonan was confirmed on social media by longtime friend and collaborator Karen Sillas, as well as filmmaker Fred Dekker, who directed him in The Monster Squad.
No cause of death has been announced. Noonan died on February 14.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Noonan built a distinctive career defined by his towering presence and ability to bring depth to outsiders and antagonists.
After early theatre work off Broadway, including appearing in the original production of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child, he began landing film roles in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
One of his earliest screen appearances was in Heaven’s Gate.
His breakout role came in Manhunter, directed by Michael Mann, where he portrayed serial killer Francis Dollarhyde in the first screen adaptation of Thomas Harris’ Red Dragon.
The performance earned him lasting recognition and established him as a go-to character actor for complex and disturbing roles.
Noonan went on to embrace cult status with memorable turns as Frankenstein’s Monster in The Monster Squad and as Cain, the drug-fuelled cult leader who becomes the mechanised villain RoboCain in RoboCop 2.
He also made a strong impression on younger audiences as The Ripper in Last Action Hero.
His long list of film credits included Heat, 12 Monkeys, The House of the Devil, The Pledge and Eight Legged Freaks.
He later reunited with Mann for Heat and described the director’s work as deeply influential.
“Terribly sad about Tom Noonan passing,” Mann wrote in a tribute following the news.
Beyond acting, Noonan was a respected playwright and filmmaker. He wrote, directed and starred in What Happened Was…, adapted from his off-Broadway play.
The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1994 and starred Karen Sillas, who called working with Noonan “a turning point in my life as an actor,” adding, “What a privilege, and crazy fun, it was to call him my friend to the end.”
On television, Noonan appeared in series including The X-Files, The Leftovers, Damages and The Blacklist.
He also collaborated twice with Charlie Kaufman, appearing in Synecdoche, New York and voicing multiple characters in Anomalisa.
His final big-screen role was in Wonderstruck.
Reflecting on his career, Noonan once said, “I’ve always been a very quiet person, and ironic, and subtle, and a lot of the parts that I get to play are these loudmouth maniacs who have something really wrong with them.”
Fred Dekker remembered him as “the proverbial gentleman and scholar,” adding that his performance in The Monster Squad remained one of the highlights of his career.
Noonan leaves behind a legacy as a singular screen presence, an actor who made villains human, frightening and unforgettable.
Entertainment
James Van Der Beek’s final movie after death
The final on-screen role of James Van Der Beek has been revealed, with the late actor set to make his last film appearance in the upcoming thriller The Gates, due in cinemas on March 13.
A newly released trailer confirms Van Der Beek stars as a chilling and corrupt pastor named Jacob, marking a dark and striking farewell performance.
The film centres on three friends who accidentally witness a murder while driving through a gated community.
What begins as a chance encounter quickly turns into a fight for survival, as the trio become targets of Jacob and the neighbourhood’s unsettling residents.
In the trailer, Van Der Beek’s character delivers a haunting warning to the community.
“I have been called upon to lead this community, and those boys seek to destroy us. Find them, and let God’s will be done.”
Later, as he holds the young men at gunpoint, he adds, “You’ve seen what happens when people get in my way.”
The film is directed by John Burr, who also developed the story from his own script. The cast includes Mason Gooding, Algee Smith, Keith Powers and Brad Leland.
Van Der Beek was widely known for playing Dawson Leery in Dawson’s Creek, a role that made him a household name.
Before his death on February 11, Van Der Beek had also completed work on a recurring role in Elle, an upcoming Legally Blonde prequel series for Amazon Prime Video.
Produced by Gary Glushon, Ross Kohn and Nancy Leopardi, The Gates now stands as Van Der Beek’s final cinematic chapter, offering audiences one last look at an actor unafraid to take on bold and unexpected roles right to the end.
Watch The Gates starring James Van Der Beek below:
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