Chloé French reimagines Lola Young's modern classic with “Messy (but French)”
Chloé French already sounds like an artist who knows exactly what she wants to say and how to say it. The 24-year-old, raised in Geneva and now rooted in New York City, is positioning herself as a bridge between worlds as revives the glamour of 1960s French disco and today’s indie pop. Her new single, “Messy (but French),” is a bold reimagining of Lola Young’s viral TikTok hit that transforms confessional grit into something cinematic, shimmering, and endlessly danceable.
Where Young’s original thrived in its raw, diary-like feel, French recasts it as a sultry, metropolitan fever dream. Singing entirely in French, she leans into the romance of the language, her lush vocals wrapping around every phrase with an elegance that feels both timeless and playful. The production is immaculate with grooves inspired by disco and synth textures straight out of a Godard film soundtrack. Instead, French makes nostalgia feel like a runway, strutting down it with the self-assuredness of an artist who knows she’s breathing new life into a modern classic.
For us, It’s part homage, part reinvention, part artistic thesis statement. By filtering Young’s words through her own world of Parisian nightlife fantasy and New York cool, French offers a translation that’s more than linguistic, rather it’s emotional and aesthetic in her own way. The result is a track that feels both globally connected and fiercely individual. It sort of surpasses being a “cover” and becomes its own thing around the midway point.
French is clearly doing something fun and interesting here. This isn’t just a clever experiment in language or style but it’s proof that she’s carving a unique space in pop. Each detail, from the massive layers of production to the way her voice dips into smoky intimacy, suggests an artist who had a vision in her mind the whole time.
With her debut EP set to arrive this coming January, this release feels like a nod towards a really promising future. We urge you to check out her other songs, but in the meantime, this is serving as something that’s fully going to get the people talking. Go ahead and click those links below to give it a spin, follow along for more, and stay tuned for so much more in the works leading into the New Year!
Listen to “Messy (but French)”
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