As a star with infamous musical heritage, Lourdes Leon (also known as Lola) is all about the future, hoping to helm a new generation of artistic talent within the singing and modelling world. “I think it’s important to push things forward with confidence and gusto,” she tells GLAMOUR. This ethos has led her to future-facing work, including being the face of Coca-Cola’s new limited edition flavour Coca-Cola 3000. Both the packaging and the drink have been partially created by AI, another undeniable feature of our future (“I don’t really know if I trust AI right now,” she admits).
What Lola does trust, and values above all, though, is authenticity. She describes it as something that has always been important to her — “it probably sounds cliché but it’s true,” she says, pointing to her upbringing and celebrity status as the daughter of none other than the Queen of Pop Madonna as a catalyst for this quest for authenticity and trust.
“Especially growing up how I grew up, I was always wary of people approaching me, wanting to be near me and what the reasons for that were,” she explains. “I have a bullsh*t screen, to see through any type of fake, motivated motives anything like that.
“I feel like I’m surrounded by people who I feel are very authentic,” Lola adds. “It’s something that I value in my life — are people treating me authentically? I want, need real people around, without an agenda.”
Lourdes Leon’s latest single, Spelling, and its music video pays a very specific homage to Madonna and her hit single Frozen. There are several shot-for-shot references, and Lola recreates some of the iconic imagery from her mum’s music video, including levitating off the ground and evaporating into a flock of crows.
“That video, that era of music, I feel very, very connected to my Mum’s career,” she told GLAMOUR. “I was born around that time, and there’s definitely a mystical element to the video and to the song. Which is something that I really connect with.”
Lola describes this mystical element as an “intense and artistic link” between herself and her mum. “It has come up countless times in my relationship with her and in my life,” she says. “I feel very aesthetically connected to her during that time also, so it just made sense to me.”
When it came to paying the homage itself, she describes how important it was for her to do her mum and her legacy justice. “I wanted to do it with as much respect and admiration that I possibly could. So I hope that translates.”
Madonna’s golden age may have began in the ’80s, but Lola’s musical influences are much heavily grounded in the late ‘90s and Noughties, from PJ Harvey to Massive Attack. She tells GLAMOUR that she’s particularly inspired by what was going in London’s music scene at the time, and calls Amy Winehouse a great example of the authenticity she is always seeking.
“She really didn’t give a sh*t about optics of who she was and was just there to make music,” Lola says, citing an interview Amy did as something that resonated with her deeply. “In one of her interviews they asked her how she feels about being famous. She’s like ‘I don’t care about this, I just want people to leave me alone and let me make what I’m making.’ That’s the kind of ethos I really understand and feel the same way as her — it’s my whole mentality when I approach the music.”
Lola exudes a dubiousness and almost cynicism when it comes to the wider entertainment industry. When GLAMOUR asks how she hopes her work will move the industry along or inspire other performers, she answers that she wants to be an example of artistry, not fame.
“I would hope to show a reflection of what a true artist means,” she says. “A lot of people really want to be famous more than anything and it’s difficult to weed out the true artists from kind of evil people who are just pretending and copying.
“I don’t want to categorise too much but the influencer wave is difficult for real artists.”
Lola views her status as a singer and artist as serving a greater purpose. “That’s not really to do with popularity or fame,” she explains. “But it more is to do with creating beauty in a world that is so disgusting, frankly.”
In the wake of Britney Spears’ revelations of abuse and coercion by her family and management throughout decades in the industry from the pages of her memoir The Woman In Me, Lola reflects on the impact of the singer speaking out and how things have thankfully shifted so that performers her age experience the industry differently.
“I have been very lucky to have been protected by people, I don’t think she had that privilege,” Lola says. “I think it’s definitely important to speak out on these issues Luckily I have not been subjected to the level of torture that she has.” Lola describes the reports of what Britney went through as an example of the “atrocities” occurring in the music industry at that time.
“I really respect her and she really did serve as a reflection of the atrocities, especially in that time, that women in music were faced with and how strong they were,” adding that her generation have stars like Britney to thank for exacting change.
“They ran so we can walk, and do things in a safer environment.”