Lily Allen Shows No Fear in Addressing Rumors

Posted on Mar 10th 2009 4:00PM by Melinda Newman
Comments

Everywhere Lily Allen goes, gossip and innuendo seem to follow. For example, the rumor du jour is that the 23-year-old British singer plans to record with Lindsay Lohan. Oh, and she'd also love to be the next Bond girl.

It's a miracle she actually has time to make music. But, thankfully, she does. Her second CD, 'It's Not Me, It's You,' is a whip-smart collection of songs that tackles rampant consumerism and our obsession with fame ('The Fear'), a selfish lover ('Not Fair') and marriage ('22'). Her sweet vocals and the uplifting melodies allow her to deliver lacerating insults so smoothly that you never see them coming.

Given that her every thrust and parry with other celebrities makes news, Spinner expected her to be a little more defensive and press-weary during our phone interview, but, to our delight, she was relaxed and low-key. She gamely answered every question, even when Spinner brought up a certain evening she spent recently in the presence of a pair of luscious female twins.

Your album debuted at No. 1 in the UK. How did you celebrate?

I went shopping with my godmother. We went to Maxfield's on Robertson [in Los Angeles] and I bought myself a jacket.

The album's first single is called 'The Fear.' What's your biggest fear?

I guess dying alone, maybe? I don't think about it a lot, but if I think about what I'm most scared of, that would probably be it.

That leads perfectly into '22,' a song about someone who has just turned 30 and thought they'd be married by now. What was going through your head when you wrote it?

That song's more about how it's sad that a lot of women feel like that's the answer to their problems: a man coming and saving them from reality. That song is more about in a financial sense than in an emotional sense.

What encounter inspired 'Not Fair,' a song about a man who's a lousy lover?

Oh, I couldn't possibly tell you. It would be mean [giggles]. I can't tell you who it is. I just write whatever's on my mind, you know.

It ties in with the quote on your MySpace page, which is, "Most people don't know how to make love." What are they doing wrong?

Lack of foreplay.

I was reading a recent interview with you, and it sounded like you might have a little crush on Barack Obama.

[Giggles] Not really. I think he's quite attractive, but I wouldn't say he's my No. 1.

Who would you say is?

I don't know, actually; I haven't thought about it for a while.

What's the worst thing you've read about yourself that wasn't true?

There was a lot of stuff when I miscarried my child, you know, that people wrote really negative things about. Why they thought I miscarried, like I'd been drinking or smoking or that kind of stuff. It was really upsetting.

Have you ever thought about not reading the papers?

Yeah, I have. But sometimes it's difficult to avoid if you read the papers, which I do. I like to know what's going on in the world, and sometimes I can't help [seeing] things about myself.

You haven't toured much in the U.S. yet. What excites you the most about your upcoming tour?

You know what? I played in New York the other day and reaction was so brilliant. I guess I'm just excited to see people's reactions to the new record, actually.

There are some razor-sharp observations on the album. It seems like your bullshit meter is always on. How did you develop that?

My mum had my sister when she was 17 years old and had me when she was 22, so I think we had to deal with quite a lot of reality quite early on in our lives. It wasn't really a sheltered upbringing at all and, you know, she had to go through a lot of hardship to get us to the places we are now. I guess that all helped, really.

It seems that the press won't cut you a break. Now there's a whole kerfuffle about what you said in [the Dutch magazine] Revu about drugs.

What about them?

The quote was: "Parents should say, 'Drugs might seem fun but they do funny things to your brain. Some people react to it good, some don't. Try it, and see what you think.' If I hadn't been famous I'd have taken loads. Wouldn't be too wise right now."

What happened there was it was an interview with a Dutch magazine and I think the translation has got slightly muddled up and we're actually trying to get hold of the tapes right now and, you know, pursuing legal action ... for those particular quotes... because obviously I would never say anything like that [about] parenting.

You're playing San Diego on April 1. You recently made news about making out with a pair of female twins in San Diego. Are you looking forward to going back there?

Yes [laughs]. It was a great gig that night. I'm looking forward to going back everywhere that I've played before.

We read a lot about are the outlandish things that you do or say. What are the five most boring things about you that no one would expect?

That I very much enjoy baking cakes [laughs]. I play Scrabble a lot. I don't know -- I paint my nails. [She asks someone near her] What are the boring things about me? Organizing and tidying.

You and Katy Perry have had a war of words recently. What's going to happen if you run into her on this tour?

I don't think we will run into each other, but I actually don't really have anything against her. She made some comments about me and they were a bit hurtful and, quite rightfully, I responded. You know, that's the end of it. She said something, I responded.

Download Lily Allen Songs | Buy Lily Allen CDs