Lily Allen

Lily Allen (born May 2, 1985) is an English singer-songwriter known for songs such as "Smile" and "LDN". She is the daughter of actor/musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen.
Her single "Smile" reached *1 on the UK singles charts in July 2006.
Debut album
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,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. The album was released on January 30, 2007 in the United States, selling 34,000 copies to land *20 on the Billboard Album Charts.
In September 2006, "Smile" was made available on the United States version of the 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.
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.

Recent activity
Allen performing in June 2007.
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 as example on the Manu Chao-cover "Bongo Bong And Je ne t’aime plus" and on "Keep On". She also provides vocals on "Rawhide" by Jamie T and "Wanna Be" by Dizzee Rascal.
Confirmed for release, the fourth single from the album "Alright, Still" will be a Double A-side of "Shame For You"/"Alfie".
Allen performed to positive reviews when Irving Plaza was rechristened as The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza on April 11, 2007. 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.
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."

Controversies
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" and a "sanctimonious prat", and has claimed that Kylie Minogue performing at the Glastonbury Festival would be the ultimate insult to the event. Her 2007 performance on the pyramid stage included negative lyrics directed towards Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole.
She had previously said on Radio 1 that she loved Chris Moyles, but then remarked, after being invited on his show, that he was too self-obsessed in the presence of his guests. She also had a biff in Australia at Big Day Out in February 2007 with the band Jet claiming in her Myspace blog that she threw a beer bottle at drummer Chris Cester’s head when he flicked a cigarette at her after she "wound" him the wrong way.
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). 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.
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 "gak" remark was widely quoted in the tabloid press. Allen has since apologised for the remark. She has also stated that she was a drug dealer when she was 15 years old and living in Ibiza.
She also said that everyone that bought Paris Hilton’s debut album should be killed off.
She has also been called a Mockney.
In June 2007 Allen was questioned by police over an alleged assault on a photographer outside a nightclub

Reaction
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. She ranked "Number One Reason to Love ‘07″ and "Hottest Woman of Pop/R&B." in Blender magazine. On the other hand, she was also rated number 10 in BBC Three’s Most Annoying Person of 2006.

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
o 2007, Worst Dressed (Won)
o 2007, Best Solo Artist (Nominated)
o 2007, Sexiest Woman (Nominated)
o 2007, Worst Album: Alright, Still (Nominated)