Lily Allen
Un article de Vev.
Modèle:Infobox musical artist Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May, 1985) is an English singer-songwriter best known for songs such as "Smile" and "LDN," and for her collaboration with Common entitled "Drivin' Me Wild." She is the daughter of actor/musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen.
Her single "Smile" reached number one on the UK singles charts in July 2006. In December 2006, her debut album Alright, Still was voted the third best album of the year by Mixmag.<ref>Mixmag, December 2006</ref> In 2007, it was nominated for the award of Best British Album at the Brit Awards and for Best New Artist at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The album was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the category of "Best Alternative Music Album" <ref>The Envelope Please Los Angeles Times 6 December 2007</ref>.
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Early years
Allen was born in Hammersmith, west London, daughter of Welsh-born comedian Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen.<ref>Barratt, Nick. "Family detective". The Daily Telegraph. May 19, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2007.</ref> She and her family eventually settled in the North London borough of Islington. She has an older sister, Sarah; a younger brother, Alfie Owen-Allen (who was the subject of her song "Alfie"); and a younger sister Rebecca. She also has a number of half-siblings. Lily Allen lived for a while with comedian Harry Enfield while her mother dated him. She is the goddaughter of Wild Colonials vocalist Angela McCluskey and is also the goddaughter of late Clash singer and guitarist, Joe Strummer.
In 1988, Allen appeared on The Comic Strip Presents... episode "The Yob", which her father had co-written.<ref>"'The Comic Strip Presents...' The Yob (198Image:Cool.gif". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 25, 2007.</ref> When Allen was four years old, her father left the family.<ref name="bbc">Walker, Andrew. "Faces of the week". BBC News. July 21, 2006. Retrieved June 23, 2007.</ref> Allen claims to have grown up with her mother in a working class environment, living in a council house environment for most of her childhood.<ref>"Flowered up". The Guardian. June 23, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007.</ref> This certainly seems at odds with the fact that she attended some of England's costliest public schools; Allen attended 13 schools in all, including Prince Charles's junior alma mater, Hill House School and Bedales School,<ref name="bbc"/> and was expelled from several of them for drinking, smoking and performing fellatio.<ref>"Lily Allen Admits to Giving a Blowjob and Getting Expelled. We Love Her!". Rolling Stone. May 24, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007.</ref>
Allen told Loveline that at age 11 she was singing an Oasis tune in the schoolyard when a teacher overheard her and told her she had talent and suggested she do something with it. She took singing lessons with the teacher. She sang at a school play and claimed that the audience was brought to tears at the sight of a troubled young girl doing something good. At that point Allen said she knew that music was something she needed to do either as a lifelong vocation or to get it out of her system. She became a member of the Groucho Club at the age of 17 and in her free time, she listened to artists such as The Specials, T.Rex, and Happy Mondays and read.<ref>Phares, Heather. "Lily Allen > Biography". All Music Guide. 2007. Retrieved June 27, 2007</ref>.<ref>Lily Allen on Loveline]</ref>
Allen made an appearance as a lady-in-waiting in the 1998 film Elizabeth, produced by her mother.<ref>"Elizabeth (199Image:Cool.gif - Full cast and crew". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved June 25, 2007.</ref> She dropped out of school at age fifteen, not wanting to "spend a third of her life preparing to work for the next third of her life, to set herself up with a pension for the next third of her life."<ref name="observer"/> After her family went to Ibiza on vacation, Allen told her mother that she was staying with friends but remained in Sant Antoni de Portmany instead. She earned money by working at a Plastic Fantastic record store and dealing in ecstasy.<ref name="observer">Sawyer, Miranda. "Pictures of lily". The Observer. May 21, 2006. Retrieved from Guardian Unlimited June 23, 2007.</ref>
Allen's vocals appeared on the single "Who Invented Fish & Chips?" by Fat Les, in which her father was the lead singer of the band.
Record label interest
Allen met her first manager, George Lamb, when he saved her from several assailants and sent her home.<ref name="observer"/><ref name="sun">Swift, Jacqui. "Lily: I'm a gobby bitch". The Sun. Retrieved June 23, 2007.</ref> Allen was rejected by several labels, which she attributed to her drinking and being the daughter of Keith Allen.<ref name="sun"/> Lily eventually used her father's connections to get signed to Warner Music in 2002.<ref name="guardian">Salmon, Chris. "Me, my dad and Dumbo". The Guardian. September 22, 2006. Retrieved June 23, 2007.</ref> When the executive who had signed her left, the label lost interest and she left without releasing the folk songs they had presented her.<ref name="guardian"/><ref name="urb">Sisson, Patrick. "Lily Allen: Mighty Aphrodite". URB, issue 143. March 29, 2007. Retrieved June 23, 2007.</ref>
Allen studied horticulture with the intent of becoming a florist but changed her mind and returned to music. She began writing songs, and her manager introduced her to production duo Future Cut in 2004. They worked in a small studio in the basement of an office building.<ref name="urb"/> In 2005 Allen was signed to Regal Records; they gave her GB£25,000 to produce an album, though they were unable to provide much support for it due to their preoccupation with other releases such as Coldplay's X&Y and Gorillaz' Demon Days.<ref name="pitchfork">Plagenhoef, Scott. "Interview: Lily Allen". Pitchfork Media. November 6, 2006. Retrieved June 24, 2007.</ref>
Popularity on MySpace
Allen created an account on MySpace and began posting demos in November 2005.<ref name="pitchfork"/> The demos attracted thousands of listeners, and 500 limited edition 7" vinyl singles of "LDN" were rush-released, reselling for as much as £40.<ref name="observer"/><ref name="pitchfork"/> Allen also produced two mixtapes — My First Mixtape and My Second Mixtape — to promote her work: they included tracks by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Dizzee Rascal, and Ludacris. As she accumulated tens of thousands of MySpace friends, The Observer Music Monthly, a magazine published in The Observer, took interest.<ref name="observer"/> Few people outside of her label's A&R department knew who she was, so the label was slow in responding to publications wanting to report about her.<ref name="pitchfork"/>
In March 2006, OMM included an article about Allen's success through MySpace, and she received her first major mainstream coverage appearing in the magazine's cover story two months later. The success of her songs convinced her label to allow her more creative control over the album and to use some of the songs that she had written instead of attempts to work with mainstream producers. Allen decided to work with producers Greg Kurstin and Mark Ronson, finishing the rest of the album in two weeks.<ref name="pitchfork"/>
Debut album
Modèle:Sound sample box align right Modèle:Multi-listen start Modèle:Multi-listen item Modèle:Multi-listen end Modèle:Sample box end
Allen's debut album, Alright, Still, was released as a limited-edition 12" vinyl in the UK on July 3, 2006; the full CD release followed in the UK and the rest of Europe on July 17, 2006. The album features between 11 and 14 tracks (depending on the copy of the CD), most of which were previewed on her MySpace page,<ref>Lilymusic - Lily Allen MySpace page</ref> including the single "Smile" (the first song she ever wrote with Future Cut), "LDN", "Knock 'Em Out", and "Alfie". "Friday Night", co-written with Jonny Bull, is also included, alongside "Littlest Things", produced by Mark Ronson which among other works earned Ronson a 2008 Grammy Award nomination for "Producer of the Year"<ref>Los Angeles Times December 6, 2007</ref>. The album was released on January 30, 2007 in the United States, selling 34,000 copies to land #20 on the Billboard Album Charts.<ref>Norah Jones Breaks McPheever, Beats 'Idol' Runner-Up To #1 - Madonna, Lily Allen also generate impressive first-week sales.</ref>
In September 2006, "Smile" was made available on the United States version of Apple Inc.'s iTunes Music Store. As of December 2006, her music video for "Smile" has been played on various music channels as well as the song getting a little airplay. She has also done several promotional ads for MTV as their Discover and Download artist of the month for January.
On the week ending on January 28, 2007, British artists made chart history taking all Top 10 places in the Official UK Albums chart for the first time since the chart was established in 1956, according to British record labels trade association the BPI, the album "Alright, Still" was number nine that week.<ref>BPI Official Website, UK talent celebrates first all-British Top 10 in UK chart history</ref>
Entertainment Weekly named "Alright, Still" as one of the top 10 albums of 2006 despite the fact that it had not yet been released in the U.S. The album was released in the United States on 30 January 2007, with "Smile" serviced to radio in January as the first single. The U.S. version contains three additional tracks: "Nan, You're A Window Shopper," "Blank Expression" (on the iTunes version) and a new remix of "Smile" by Mark Ronson.
In concert, Allen performed a parody of 50 Cent's "Window Shopper", called "Nan, You're a Window Shopper", which was commercially released as a B-side to "LDN", because approval was not given in time for the Alright, Still release. Nonetheless, the song appears on the U.S. version of Alright, Still.
The Next Album
The singer is said to be hard at work on her next album but as of late December, 2007 the tracks are all in the very early stages. The original plan was to spend early 2008 in the studio and then promote her album. But her record company is said to feel that this is an schedule is overly optimistic in light of her pregnancy despite her spokespersons announcement that the pregnancy will have no effect on planned release of the album and the singers determination to release the album before she gives birth.<ref>Pregnant Lily Allen looks worn out as she does some last minute Christmas shopping Daily Mail 24 December, 2007</ref>
Recent activity
Allen provided backing vocals on the Basement Jaxx song "Lights Go Down" (from Crazy Itch Radio) and appears on tracks on Robbie Williams's latest album, Rudebox on the Manu Chao-cover "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus" (produced by Mark Ronson ) and also on "Keep On". She also provides vocals on "Rawhide" by Jamie T and "Wanna Be" by Dizzee Rascal.
On 5 March 2007 "Alfie" was released. It reached #15 in the UK Singles-Chart. Upon hearing this song, her brother Alfie threw her laptop out of a window in revenge. Her newest single "Oh My God", produced by Mark Ronson reached #12 in the UK (downloads only), in the second week it jumped up to #8.
Allen performed to positive reviews<ref>Tom Breihan Village Voice</ref><ref>New York Post April 13 2007</ref> when Irving Plaza was rechristened as The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza on April 11, 2007.<ref> Huhn , Mary
(2007-03-30) . GET ON THE BANDWAGONER . New York Post
. Retrieved on 2007-04-08. </ref> Her style of cocktail dresses and athletic shoes gained popularity, resulting in the May 2007 premiere of Lily Loves, a line of dresses, shoes, and accessories sold through New Look.<ref>Croft, Claudia. "Lily's new look". The Sunday Times. April 22, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2007.</ref> Fashion gurus Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine were quick to praise her New Look range for being designed more for the "curvy" women, rather than the clothing lines of Kate Moss and Madonna which they argue are only limited to the women with the slimmest figures.<ref>Editors at Daily Express. "Lilly’s All Smiles". Daily Express. August 14, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.</ref>
Allen is currently working with Future Cut on a second album but has avoided mentioning details about it, stating that "that's a mistake a lot of people make these days, when they have a successful first album, and then the record company pushes them into rushing a second one."<ref>Montgomery, James. "Lily Allen Says Alcoholism Rumor Is 'Just Another One Of Those Lies'". MTV News. June 20, 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2007.</ref>
In June 2007, she hosted The Friday Night Project, in which she showed her co-hosts and the audience her third nipple.<ref name="cummins">Cummins, Fiona. "LILY NIPPLE TUBE HIT", The Daily Mirror, published July 19, 2007, accessed August 7, 2007.</ref>
On August 5 2007 Allen was detained at Los Angeles international airport for five hours and questioned over an alleged assault on a photographer in London in March. The U.S. authorities revoked her working visa <ref> Times Online and agencies
(2007-08-07) . US revoke Lily Allen's visa over London arrest . Times Online
. Retrieved on 2007-08-07. </ref> though her manager denies this.<ref> Lily Allen 'has got US visa'
. NME (2007-08-07)
. Retrieved on 2007-08-08. </ref>
She cancelled her appearance in MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas and later sacked her music management company blaming them for her ban on entering America.
In 2008, Allen's music will be featured in the film movie adaptation of Irvine Welsh's best-selling novel Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance.
The singer has been appointed to be a judge on the panel of the Orange Broadband Prize for fiction a prestigious literary award for female authors <ref>Lily Allen becomes voice of pop on literary panel The Independent 12 December, 2007</ref>,<ref>'Passionate reader' Lily Allen joins Orange prize judges The Guardian Unlimited 12 December, 2007</ref>.
Current and Possible Future Film / TV Roles
The singer has been cast as Lydia Bennett in a spoof film version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The singer said "I really want to explore the acting route more, but nothing which involves me taking my clothes off. I don't want to go down that route like a lot of aspiring young actresses do. I just want to do proper cool stuff. I definitely feel the time is right to explore acting."<ref>Lily Allen's strip vow monstersandcritics. Retrieved October 26 2007.</ref>
On 13 November 2007, it was reported by The Sun in the UK that Allen may star as the new assistant in a future series of Doctor Who.
The singer has landed a deal to present her own BBC Three TV show, based on the social networking phenomenon that helped to launch her music career.<ref>Lily Allen discovers heart murmur. BBC News. Retrieved November 27 2007.</ref>
Public persona
Allen has been the subject of many controversies, mainly because of her expressed opinions of other musicians. She went to private school with Luke Pritchard of The Kooks, made some disparaging comments about them, and then covered their song "Naïve" on Jo Whiley's Live Lounge to show there were "no hard feelings". She has also called Bob Geldof a "cunt"<ref> Allen , Lily
. Lily Allen MySpace Profile
. Retrieved on 2006-07-24. </ref> and a "sanctimonious prat",<ref>Modèle:Cite visual</ref> and has claimed that Kylie Minogue performing at the Glastonbury Festival would be the ultimate insult to the event, although in context it was not an insult to Minogue.<ref> Allen Slams Kylie Glastonbury Appearance
(2006-07-12)
.</ref> Her 2007 performance on the pyramid stage included negative lyrics directed towards Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole.<ref> Lily Allen lashes out at Cheryl Cole
(2007-06-24)
.</ref>
She also said that everyone who bought Paris Hilton's debut album should be killed off.<ref> Taylor , Chris
(2006-12-30) . Lily Allen: Paris Hilton Fans Should Be Killed . Entertainmentwise
. Retrieved on 2007-04-29. </ref>
When asked by the NME how she would celebrate if her debut single, "Smile", got to Number 1 in the UK charts, she responded "gak" (a slang term for cocaine). She immediately said that she was joking, but the remark was widely quoted in the tabloid press. Allen has since apologized for the remark.<ref>"
Lily Allen: 'Cocaine Celebration Comment Was A Joke'. " , FemaleFirst.co.uk , 2006-07-19 . Retrieved on 2006-08-03 . </ref><ref> Allen , Lily
. Hey Everyone
. Retrieved on 2006-08-03. </ref> She admitted in an NME interview that she worked as an ecstasy drug dealer at the age of 15 whilst living in Sant Antoni de Portmany, though she wasn't very good at it.<ref>"
Lily Allen admits to drug dealing. " , NME.com , 2006-12-06 . Retrieved on 2007-03-08 . </ref>
During her August 2007 V Festival appearances she called President Bush "A fucking cunt" and made fun of the well publicized troubles of fellow British singer Amy Winehouse saying "It's the end of the weekend, you have got to have a drink. Here's to Amy Winehouse... ha!". She also took digs at Winehouse's heroin addiction and eating disorders.<ref>Lily Allen takes pop at Amy Winehouse, President Bush New Zealand Herald August 21, 2007</ref>
Allen criticized Radiohead's decision to market their new album In Rainbows for free claiming that it will make it more difficult for bands to break into the industry. "It's arrogant for them to give their music away for free—they've got millions of pounds. It sends a weird message to younger bands who haven't done as well”<ref>[http://www.gigwise.com/news.asp?contentid=38626 Lily Allen: 'Radiohead Are Arrogant' Gigwise 14 November, 2007 ]</ref>
The singer accused the British Tabloids of being sexist and having a double standard in the way they treat male and female musicians. She was quoted as saying "I don't think like young women doing well, or having fun. I mean, James Blunt goes out and gets on it and no one cares. We do that and it's all over the papers. It's sad. Those people who write for those gossip magazines, they're not even writers. They can't even punctuate."<ref>Allen: Tabloids Hate Women PR Insider 12 December, 2007</ref>
Also in that month the singer has said that her earlier comments making fun of other pop stars were a result of lack of confidence saying "I felt like Oh God, I'm short, fat, ugly and I hate all these people who flaunt their beauty" She also proclaimed "I feel great at the moment. I actually don't have one bad thing to say about anything."<ref>Lily Allen calls herself 'short, fat and ugly' New Musical Express December 4, 2007</ref>
Reception
Allen has been the subject of both strong positive and negative reactions. She was included on the NME Cool List for 2006, but she complained in her blog that the treatment was "fucking patronising". She was voted the third coolest person of the year in NME Magazine.<ref> Mike Diver
(2006-11-23) . Lily Allen: angry at "f*cking patronising" magazine
.</ref> She ranked "Number One Reason to Love '07"<ref>"
25 Reasons to Love '07 " , Blender Magazine Online , Jan/Feb 2007 . Retrieved on 2007-02-03 . </ref> and "Hottest Woman of Pop/R&B."<ref>" Hottest Women of...Pop/R&B! " , Blender Magazine Online , Jan/Feb 2007 . Retrieved on 2007-02-09 . </ref> in Blender magazine. On the other hand, she was also rated number 10 in BBC Three's Most Annoying Person of 2006.
Rapper Example has recorded a new version of "Smile" called "Vile", which is an answer song written from the perspective of the ex-boyfriend (although he was never actually Allen's boyfriend<ref> Allen , Lily
. Untitled Forum Post
. Retrieved on 2006-07-28. </ref>). Both songs were then parodied by Chris Moyles on his Radio 1 breakfast show in a song called "Piles". "LDN" has spawned an answer song by rapper Sway DaSafo and a remix by UK grime artist JME.
Award history
- BRIT Awards
- 2007, Best British Single: "Smile" (Nominated)
- 2007, Best British Album: Alright, Still (Nominated)
- 2007, Best British Female (Nominated)
- 2007, Best British Breakthrough Act: "Smile" (Nominated)
- NME Awards
- 2007, Worst Dressed (Won)
- 2007, Best Solo Artist (Nominated)
- 2007, Sexiest Woman (Nominated)
- 2007, Worst Album: Alright, Still (Nominated)
- MTV Awards
- 2007 Best New Artist (Nominated)
- Grammy Awards
- 2008, Best Alternative Music Album: Alright, Still (Nominated)
Personal life
At age 15, Allen spent four weeks at The Priory clinic under 24 hour watch after the singer, distraught over a breakup with a boyfriend, took an overdose and tried to cut her wrists. Allen recently told Sunday Times Magazine that "In my teens I did experiment with drugs” and “I don’t know anyone now who isn’t a drug-taker in recovery from drugs or on prescription drugs"<ref>Lily Allen took an overdose at 15, says mum Showbizspy 11 December, 2007</ref>.
In November 2007, the singer revealed that she has been diagnosed with a heart murmur. The singer sparked concern when she shed 19lbs (8.6kg) and dropped from a UK size 12 to a size eight in just six weeks. Allen explained the weight loss on cutting back on the "crap" she eats and going to the gym three times a week to do a "hardcore routine" as a reaction to the diagnosis.<ref>Lily Allen discovers heart murmur BBC 27 November, 2007</ref>
In December 2007, it was confirmed that Allen is pregnant. The father is her boyfriend Ed Simons of the Chemical Brothers, whom she has been dating since September. According to a friend "Lily is thrilled to be pregnant and can’t wait to become a mum. She’s a real family person."<ref>Singer will be having a lil' Allen The Sun 19 December, 2007</ref>,<ref>Lily Allen to be a mother The Guardian Unlimited 19 December, 2007</ref>
Discography
Albums
Singles
| Year | Song | UK | IE | NZ | ITA | AU | ES | FR | RU | PL | US | BR | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "Smile" | 1 | 6 | 6 | 23 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 49 | 69 | Alright, Still |
| "LDN" | 6 | 21 | 23 | — | 39 | — | — | 43 | 41 | — | 51 | ||
| "Littlest Things" | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 98 | 23 | — | — | ||
| 2007 | "Shame for You"/"Alfie" | 15 | 31 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Oh My God" (Mark Ronson featuring Lily Allen) | 8 | 21 | — | — | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Version | |
| "Drivin' Me Wild" (Common featuring Lily Allen) | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 68 | — | — | Finding Forever |
Non-album songs
- "Truth" (from "My Second Mixtape")
- "Sunday Morning"/"U Killed It" ("Sunday Morning" produced prior to her record contract with Regal, and uploaded to her MySpace as it was being considered for the album. Released commercially as "U Killed It" on the B Side to Littlest Things.)
- "Friday Night (Remix)"/"You're Gonna Get Burned"
- "Blank Expression" (exclusive iTunes track 12 of Alright, Still album, a Specials cover)
- "Nan You're A Window Shopper"
- "Naïve" (cover of The Kooks track, played in Live Lounge)
- "Cheryl Tweedy" (Smile B Side)
- "Absolutely Nothing" (Smile B Side)
- "Heart of Glass" (Unreleased Blondie Cover)
- "Everybody's Changing" (Littlest Things B-side; Keane Cover)
- "Up the Junction" (Squeeze Cover)
Features/Collaborations
- "Rawhide" with Jamie T
- "Wanna Be" with Dizzee Rascal
- "Oh My God" (Cover of Kaiser Chiefs track, from "My Second Mixtape". Commercially released, both as a Mark Ronson single, EP and on Mark Ronson's second album, Version.
- "Drivin' Me Wild" with Common (Produced By Kanye West) on Finding Forever.
- "Bongo Bong and Je Ne T'Aime Plus" with Robbie Williams, from the album Rudebox. Produced by Mark Ronson.
- "Keep On" with Robbie Williams, from the album Rudebox.
References
External links
- Official website
- Modèle:MySpace
- {{subst:PAGENAME}}
- Modèle:Amg
- Modèle:Virb
- Lily Allen on MTV.com
- Lily Allen Wiki
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