Songfacts®:

• The second single from Naughty Boy's debut album Hotel Cabana was helmed by the British producer/rapper with Komi. It was released on May 19, 2013.
• The song features vocals by UK singer Sam Smith, who also contributed to Disclosure's hit single, "Latch."
• The song's music video sees a boy running away from home with his dog. It was shot in Bolivia and was inspired by the classic story of The Wizard of Oz. All the music clips that Naughty Boy shot for Hotel Cabana were inspired by the album's hotel concept. "I would make you think this hotel could be anywhere in the world. It could be in your mind, it could be in your back garden, or it could be in Bolivia where 'La La La' was shot," he told The Source magazine.
  
  "And the sentiment with that video is about the boy and if you think of the boy as being me, and then he grows up to run this hotel which is everyone's role playing, so that's my role," Naughty Boy continued. "But it's almost like the boy – he's going to the source of the mao. In the video you see him going to this mountain and he blocks out everyone, his mom and dad. He makes these imaginary friends and I think when the world becomes a bit of a bad place sometimes you have to go to the source of what's making it bad, you know?"
• The song was Naughty Boy's first UK #1 single as an artist or songwriter. His previous best chart placing had been Emeli Sande's #2 hit "Heaven," a tune that he co-penned.
• This won both Best Song and Best Video at the 2013 MOBO Awards.
• Naughty Boy told Radio.com that the song was inspired by refusing to listen to somebody explaining why they were breaking his heart for fear of being hurt. The English producer and musician added that the tune is also a plea for all the grown-ups out there to stop acting their age. "You don't have to listen to everything you're told. Sometimes it's cool just to block it out and act like a kid," he explained. "I'm a kid, pretty much, in my mind."
• The song was influenced by the sentiments of No Doubt's hit tune "Don't Speak." Naughty Boy said: "It's affected a lot of people and that's ultimately what I want to do with my music."
• Eight different songwriters are credited on this track, including Naughty Boy and Sam Smith. One of the others is Jimmy Napes, who did a lot of work with Disclosure and co-wrote Smith's hit "Stay With Me." The other credited writers are Jonny Coffer, James Murray, Mustafa Omer, Frobisher Mbabazi and Al-Hakam El-Kaubaisy.
• "La La La" had a TikTok resurgence in early 2025, fueled by a trend where one creator lip-syncs in the foreground while others dance or act out scenes behind them. The surge in popularity generated by this TikTok trend propelled the song back onto the charts around the world.