London, England · pop · britpop

Lily Allen

1 upcoming festival

Wrote the meanest, funniest pop of the late 2000s in a plain London accent, then came back with a divorce record that gives away more than most artists ever would.

Lily Allen was born in London in 1985 and first drew attention in the mid-2000s through songs posted on Myspace, a route that led to the singles "Smile" and "LDN" and the album Alright, Still. The music paired bright, ska- and pop-inflected arrangements with conversational lyrics delivered in an unaffected London accent, a combination that made her one of the more distinctive British pop voices of the period.

Her second album, It's Not Me, It's You, moved toward synth-pop and electronic production while keeping the same directness, and produced "The Fear" among other singles. Later records shifted register again, with writing that drew openly on her own life. Alongside music she has worked in acting, on stage and screen, and in podcasting, and has been a frequent and often blunt public commentator.