Lily Allen releases her third full-length album next month, more than five years after her sophomore effort, It’s Not Me, It’s You.
During that period she announced she was quitting the music business, had a couple of kids, changed her professional name to Lily Rose Cooper, sang backup on a Pink song, changed her name back to Lily Allen and went back to the studio to record the new album, Sheezus.
Top Ten Female Vocalists – #10 – Lily Allen
Following two weeks of my favorite male vocalists, I’m now turning my attention to the women. Same rules apply… these are artists whose voices are one of the main reasons I listen to them.
You won’t see somebody like Lucinda Williams here, even though she’s one of my favorite artists and I love the way she sings her songs… her voice isn’t a big enough part of what makes her special to me.
I found this list far easier than the male list to compile. I rattled the ten women featured here off the top of my head in seconds, while I had to struggle to come up with ten men. And I’m leaving women off of this list who I thought would have made it, but the competition was too stiff.
Best Songs of 2009 – #5
I recently named Lily Allen’s Alright, Still on my list of the last decade’s best album so that gives you an idea of the act her sophomore release, It’s Not Me, It’s You, had to follow. This album wasn’t the equal of that one but it was great nonetheless, mining some new territory for Allen while legitimizing the acclaim she received for her debut.
As smart and sarcastic as Allen can be, and as withering with a put-down, I’ve always been most intrigued by her more romantic material. I suppose a sweet song from a bitter person feels more earned somehow.
Lily Allen makes my list of sexy performers for two reasons: attitude and accent. Yes, she’s a pretty woman, but in the way that somebody you work or go to school with is pretty… which is actually another part of her charm. There’s something very real about her brash no-bullshit style, a contrast to the pop princesses to whom she’d otherwise be compared.
And then there’s her voice, and particularly her accent. I’ve never considered myself a sucker for accents the way some people are. But in recent years I’ve noticed that some accents work a bit of magic on me. A slight southern accent can have that effect. Definitely a Scottish accent (as you’ll see later this week). And a working-class British accent… big winner. I could listen to Lily Allen sing all day just to hear her pronunciations.
It’s funny how you become a fan.
Often you just know… you know 30 seconds into the first song you hear by a new artist that they own you. I felt that way about Ben Folds, Elvis Costello, Tift Merritt, Josh Rouse, Belle and Sebastian and many others.
Other times you miss the boat completely and then circle back to catch up later. My favorite example is Lucinda Williams, whom I heard and shrugged off before revisiting her months later and falling hard. Another is Beck, whose Odelay initially went over my head. I rediscovered him through the laid-back Mutations and now I love it all.
Meet Me In Montauk 