Yes, breakups happen and people cheat, but Lily Allen managed to turn heartbreak into one of the most talked-about albums of the year.
The singer, 40, spoke during a recent interview about whether she was seeking “revenge” after splitting from her husband David Harbour through the album.
She admitted she was “processing” her feelings about the breakup through the song-writing journey.
Highlights
- Lily Allen took her heartbreak and turned it into one of the most talked-about albums of the year.
- She released 'West End Girl,' her first album in seven years, on October 24.
- The songs tell the story of a woman who’s been cheated on, gaslighted, manipulated, and stuck in a loveless, open marriage.
- Lily admitted she wrote the album while “processing” her feelings about breaking up with David Harbour.
Lily Allen managed to turn heartbreak into one of the most talked-about albums of the year
Image credits: Dave Benett/Getty Images
Lily Allen said it took her just 10 days to write the 14-track album West End Girl, which was her first album in seven years.
Fans dubbed it her “revenge album,” as the songs tell the story of a woman who’s been cheated on, gaslighted, manipulated, and stuck in a loveless, open marriage.
The singer was heard questioning whether her partner was a “s** addict” leading a “double life.”
Image credits: lilyallen
“We all go through breakups and it’s always f***ing brutal. But I don’t think it’s that often that you feel inclined to write about it while you’re in it,” the mother-of-two told Interview in a chat published on Tuesday, October 28.
“It’s viscerally like going through the motions,” she said about the album.
The nonmonogamummy singer admitted she feels “differently” about the situation now and addressed whether she was looking for “revenge.”
Through the album, Lily tells the story of a woman who’s been cheated on, manipulated and trapped in a loveless, open marriage
Image credits: Michael Simon/GC Images
“At the time, I was really trying to process things and that’s great in terms of the album, but I don’t feel confused or angry now. I don’t need revenge,” she added.
The 14 songs in the album, when put together, tell the complete story of a woman who moved to New York to build a life with her husband, only to be cheated.
One song even talked about stumbling upon his “s** toys, bu*t plugs [and] lube inside” their West Village apartment.
“You’re so f***ing broken,” she sang in one song. “How’d I get caught up in your double life?”
One song in the album has Lily questioning whether her partner was a “s** addict” leading a “double life”
Image credits: Nicky J Sims/Getty Images
During the interview, she spoke about whether the claims in her songs were true.
“Some of it is based on truth and some of it is fantasy,” she said.
In real life, Lily did indeed move to New York to live her life with the Stranger Things actor, whom she met on the celebrity dating app Raya in 2019 and tied the knot with in 2020. They broke up in 2024.
Image credits: Lily Allen
The British singer explained that she wanted to create an album where each song could stand alone and tell a story on its own, but when put together, it’s more like a “novel.”
“The night before I went into the studio, I wrote 18 track titles. No melodies, no lyrics,” she said. “Nobody in the studio knew what was going on in my life.”
“I got there, spent about two hours crying my 147 heart out, and then I was like, ‘We’re going to write an album based on some of these feelings,’” she recalled.
The British singer spoke about whether she was seeking “revenge” after her split from husband David Harbour
Image credits: David M. Benett/Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage
Lily explained that she wrote the album in LA with an executive producer, “this guy called Blue.”
He was also her musical director on her 2018 tour.
At the time, “I was like, ‘I’m going f***ing crazy. I need to get out of this house and write with somebody I trust.’ I called up Blue and he had 10 days so I just did it in those 10 days,” she recalled.
Image credits: Lily Allen
The main driving force behind writing the songs was trying to get a grip on what she was going through in the moment, she said.
“It’s not a cruel album. I don’t feel like I’m being mean. It was just the feelings I was processing at the time,” she told the outlet.
The singer said she was conscious about not wanting to sound like a “victim” in her songs. So she would go back to the songs and tweak certain things before the final version was ready.
“I’d be like, ‘We have to change that line. It just sounds too “poor me.”’ I wanted it to feel brutal and tragic, but also empowering, that there was joy in being able to express it,” she said.
“Heartbreak is also a f***ing gift,” she added.
The Smile singer was asked about how one can “get out of a broken heart” during the interview
Image credits: dkharbour
When asked about how one can “get out of a broken heart,” the singer suggested going out and socializing.
“I’m guilty of putting all of it on one person when I’m in a relationship,” she admitted. “So when that person leaves, I feel completely bereft and it takes me a while to be like, ‘Actually, I can rely on friends for some of this stuff as well.’”
The Smile singer also shared that she has been dating but called dating apps “awful,” especially for someone going through heartbreak.
“There is nothing more depressing than hundreds of people that are nothing like the person that you’re missing,” she said. “It’s just like, ‘No, that’s not him. That’s not him. That’s not him.’”
Lily revealed why it feels “awful” to be on the dating apps now
The Ruminating singer said she wasn’t looking for a famous person to go out with.
“Also, when I go on dates with other people, there’s a bit of a barrier … In England it’s a bit of a novelty to be on a date with me,” she said.
To get past that barrier, she has to “really be interested” in the person, she said.
“I’m sorry David, but you’re stupid. You could have done this to anyone but the queen of heartbreak poetry,” one commented online
