Lily Allen

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• Genre: Indie Pop
• Lily Allen Website

About

Lily Allen is the precocious daughter of actor/comedian Keith Allen and film producer mom, Alison Owen. Despite a privileged background, Allen was somewhat of a handful growing up, often running away and getting expelled from various schools. By 15, Allen knew school wasn't for her, so she dropped out and eventually started working on music. Lily's sound draws on her parent's music collection, which included such groundbreaking, female-fronted acts as Rip, Rig and Panic, the Slits and Blondie. But her fondness for hip-hop and urban storytellers also shines through both in her style of delivery and in her rock steady beats. Allen's reputation as a formidable voice from the street grew via her myspace page, and that led to her deal with Parlaphone. In late 2006, Allen's single "Smile" hit No. 1 on the UK charts. In 2007, Allen's debut album Alright, Still was released in America. The songstress supported her release with select dates in the U.S., including an appearance at SXSW.

- Linda Ryan