The 10 Best Lily Allen Songs of All-Time
Lily Rose Beatrice Allen, whose stage name is Lily Allen, is a UK-born singer, songwriter, and actress, born on May 2, 1985. The famous artist started acting at three when she appeared in The Comic Strip Presents. At 20, she began her music career, even going as far as recording on Myspace. Her debut record was Alright, Still, which sold over 2.6 million copies globally. Her powerful vocals made her earn various nominations, including the MTV Video Music Awards and Grammy Awards. Here is a list of the ten best Lily Allen songs of all time.
10. “Smile” (2006)
According to Birmingham Mail, Lily Allen’s first debut album was Alright, Still, and she released it in 2006. One of the most fantastic tracks she recorded and performed on that album was “Smile.” Don’t mistake the title of the song for a happy ending. Ironically, it was about her boyfriend who cheated on her with a girl next door. She goes on to lament how her boyfriend drowned in misery as he thought Allen would never find out. This song peaked at 27 on the US Adult Alternative Songs and first on the UK singles (OCC).
9. “F*** You” (2009)
“F*** You” is another fantastic song by Allen, released in 2009 for her It’s Not Me, It’s You album. The song earned her an NRG Music Award for International Song of the Year nomination. While it was released in 2009, it originally appeared on the singer’s Myspace page a year before. NME and Rolling Stone magazines considered it a dis-track for the then US president, George W. Bush, and even Allen confirmed this rumor. On chart performance, “F*** You” ranked 37th on the Canadian Top 100 the same year it was released. On the other hand, US Billboard Hot 100 rated it 68 the same week.
8. “Not Fair” (2009)
“Not Fair” is the third single on Lily Allen’s second studio album, It’s Not Me, It’s You album. Greg Kurstin and Allen herself wrote this fantastic track. Upon close observation of the music video, you can see Allen dancing while backup singers dressed in cowboy attire next to a microphone. It mainly incorporates country music as the lyrics portray sexual frustration. According to Official Charts, this country-infused music peaked at five and solved more than 450,000 copies globally.
7. “Alfie” (2006)
Lily Allen’s Alright, Still debut album also features “Alfie” as one of her best-performed songs released in 2006. Produced by George Kurstin, the fantastic track never received full recognition because Allen says no one knew who she was. At first, Alfie was furious as he thought Allen was out to get back at him. Ironically, Allen thought Alfie would be thrilled that she professed her love for him. The singer assumed Alfie’s judgment might have been impaired due to too much weed.
6. “22” (2009)
It’s Not Me, It’s You was one of the most successful studio albums that Lily Allen released since she began pursuing her music career. “22” was one of the songs featured on the album, and she released it in 2009. Various music critics had biased opinions about the song, with some terming it rousing. Others argued that she was attempting to hide her maturity. The song peaked at 14 on the UK Singles Chart, while Ireland ranked it 12 and charted in the same position for ten weeks.
5. “Air Balloon” (2014)
In 2014, Allen released an album titled Sheezus, and “Air Balloon” was her second single. Previously, Allen primarily focused on releasing ska and reggae music, but she changed her mind about it. You can tell that this song is synthpop-infused. Ironically, Allen said in an interview that this was her least favorite song because it sounds like a loopy lullaby. Whatever the case, we still find this song interesting regardless of what her other fans think.
4. “Who’d Have Known” (2009)
“Who’d Have Known” is the fifth and final single that Lily Allen released for her second studio album, It’s Not Me, It’s You. She sang it in 2009 after partnering with her songwriting partner, George Kurstin. You’ll notice Allen’s presence before her five-year hiatus if you’ve heard T-Pain’s “5 O’Clock” 2011 song. The song peaked at 39 on the UK Singles (OCC) and 54 on Australia’s (ARIA). The Israeli Media Forest also ranked it at eight, while the Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade) rated it as four.
3. “Lost My Mind” (2018)
“Now I’m stuck in a rut, kicking stones/ looking at my phone all night/ Maybe I’ve lost my mind.” These are Allen’s “Lost My Mind” chorus lyrics from her 2018 No Shame album. The story revolves around a naïve girl madly in love with a man who seems engrossed in other women, so he doesn’t have her time. The singer knows this but claims she doesn’t care because it appears she’s trauma bonding. It’s an excellent song if you’re dealing with a selfish lover.
2. “Wind Your Neck In” (2014)
Another fantastic track on Lily Allen’s 2014 Sheezus album is “Wind Your Neck.” Released in 2014. Many music critics argue that it was Allen’s stunt on people she sees as “rubberneckers.” The term portrays people who take pleasure in chaos, so they won’t lift a finger to help, also termed “mind your business.” It’s unclear who Allen referred to in the song, but it could be Lily’s figure of speech portraying how journalists and readers behave whenever there is chaos.
1. “Trigger Bang” feat. Giggs (2018)
The best song that Lily Allen ever recorded and performed is “Trigger Bang,” the lead single from her fourth studio album, No Shame. In 2015, Allen rented a house in Los Angeles to write songs for this album. At this period, she bumped into rapper Giggs, an encounter that birthed “Trigger Bang.” We ranked this song first because Allen thought out of the box to include hip-hop to beat the monotony of synthpop.
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