Following the release of her long-delayed second studio album in mid-2019, Azalea announced shortly after its release that she would not tour to promote it and would instead work on recording new music. After teasing collaborations with Brooke Candy and Pabllo Vittar, Azalea tweeted a photo of her and British singer and dancer Alice Chater in the studio working on a new song. Eventually she reveled the title alongside its cover art in late-October 2019, a week before the official release on 7 November.
Composition
The song was written by Chater, Azalea, A. Cygnaues, D. Gavin, Dhani Lennevald, and Kee Ingrosso and produced by Carl Falk and J. White Did It. The song samples Dean Martin's "Mambo Italiano" and references Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" as well. The lyrics reference Azalea's time in a mental institution during 2018.
Promotion and release
After teasing the song for several weeks on Twitter, the song was officially released on 8 November 2019. "Lola" was serviced to US pop and rhythmic radio stations the day of its release, with an accompanying music video being released the same day as well. The song was also featured on Spotify's Rhythmic and Viral 50 playlists. The duo performed the song live for the first time at the International Music Awards in Berlin, Germany on 22 November 2019.
Music video
Background
A music video for the song was released to YouTube on the same day as the single's release. On Twitter, Azalea stated "Lola" was her biggest production to date. Thom Kerr and Azalea directed the music video. Azalea said on Twitter that she co-directs and co-edits all her videos on Adobe Premiere Pro. A behind-the-scenes video was uploaded to YouTube documenting the creative process. The video features eight costume changes for the two singers.
Synopsis
The video takes place inside an insane asylum named Celestial HeightsInsane Asylum for Wicked Lips and Devilish Women. It begins as three older nurses roll a cart of pills down to the hospital room in which Azalea and Chater are sharing. Once they take their medications, they slip into a trance during which they dance and sing their way through multiple sets. The first setting shows the nurses in leopard print nurse outfits while Azalea and Chater dance in a gratified room, followed by the duo trying to escape the nurses while dancing down a hallway. After the nurses detain Azalea and Chater, the camera pans to a photo on the wall where it then shows Azalea and Chater dancing in a blood orange-colored padded safety room while wearing fashionable green straight-jackets. Azalea and Chater are then seen in a hyper colored room that has two bathtubs filled with pills. They then are in a pink floral printed bathroom as the duo shave. After, Azalea and Chater have a synchronized dance breakdown in a new room with the nurses while in matching outfits. Before Azalea and Chater come out of their hallucinations, they are shown in bathtubs filled with pills. The video is edited to feature psychedelic effects during this segment to emphasize their drug-induced trance. Once the scene ends, Azalea and Chater come to and embark on psychotic frenzies in front of the nurses. As Chater belts out her high note, the two girls fall onto their bed, ending their episode and arriving at the conclusion of the video.
Critical reception
Upon its release, "Lola" garnered acclaim from critics and fans alike. Mike Nied of Idolator praised the song and expressed his expectations of the song having potential to be a "'Fancy'-sized hit". Perez Hilton gave the song a positive review on his blog, commenting that it is "a major bop" and "really genuinely great", comparing it to the works of Carlos Santana. Drushti Sawant of Republic praised the pairing of the signers as "an iconic duo" and commented that the song was a "great, upbeat tune". Daniel Megarry of The Gay Times called the track "the best video of the year". Uproxx later listed the song as one of the bestpop songs of the week.
