A hag is a wizened old woman, or a kind of fairy or goddess having the appearance of such a woman, often found in folklore and children's tales such as Hansel and Gretel.^[1] Hags are often seen as malevolent, but may also be one of the chosen forms of shapeshifting deities, such as the Morrígan or Badb, who are seen as neither wholly beneficent nor malevolent.^[2][3] The term appears in Middle English, and was a shortening of hægtesse, an Old English term for witch, similarly the Dutch heks and German hexe are also shortenings, of the Middle Dutch haghetisse and Old High German hagzusa respectively^[4]. All these words derive from the Proto-Germanic *hagatusjon-^[4] which is of unknown origin, however the first element may be related to the word "hedge".^[4][5] As a stock character in fairy or folk tale, the hag shares characteristics with the crone, and the two words are sometimes used as if interchangeable.^[6]

Using the word "hag" to translate terms found in non-English (or non-modern English) is contentious, since use of the word is often associated with a misogynistic attitude.^[7][8]

Hag in folklore[link]

A hag, or "the Old Hag", was a nightmare spirit in English and anglophone North American folklore. This variety of hag is essentially identical to the Old English mæra — a being with roots in ancient Germanic superstition, and closely related to the Scandinavian mara. According to folklore, the Old Hag sat on a sleeper's chest and sent nightmares to him or her. When the subject awoke, he or she would be unable to breathe or even move for a short period of time. In the Swedish film Marianne, the main character suffers from these nightmares. This state is now called sleep paralysis, but in the old belief the subject had been "hagridden".^[9] It is still frequently discussed as if it were a paranormal state.^[10]

Many stories about hags seem to have been used to frighten children into being good. The Northern English Peg Powler, for example, was a river hag who lived in the River Tees and had skin the colour of green pond scum.^[11][12][13] Parents who wanted to keep their children away from the river's edge told them that if they got too close to the water she would pull them in with her long arms, drown them, and sometimes eat them. This type of nixie or neck has other regional names, such as Grindylow^[14] (a name connected to Grendel),^[14][15] Jenny Greenteeth from Yorkshire, and Nellie Longarms from several English counties.^[16]

Many tales about hags do not describe them well enough to distinguish between an old woman who knows magic or a supernatural being.^[17]

In Slavic folklore, Baba Yaga was a hag who lived in the woods in a house on chickens legs. She would often ride through the forest on a mortar, sweeping away her tracks with a broom.^[18] Though she is usually a single being, in some folktales three Baba Yagas are depicted as helping the hero in his quest, either by giving advice or by giving gifts.^[19]

In Irish and Scottish mythology, the cailleach is a hag goddess concerned with creation, harvest, the weather and sovereignty.^[3][20] In partnership with the goddess Bríd, she is a seasonal goddess, seen as ruling the winter months while Bríd rules the summer.^[20] In Scotland, a group of hags, known as The Cailleachan (The Storm Hags) are seen as personifications of the elemental powers of nature, especially in a destructive aspect. They are said to be particularly active in raising the windstorms of spring, during the period known as A Chailleach.^[20][21]

Hags as sovereignty figures abound in Irish mythology. The most common pattern is that the hag represents the barren land, who the hero of the tale must approach without fear, and come to love on her own terms. When the hero displays this courage, love, and acceptance of her hideous side, the sovereignty hag then reveals that she is also a young and beautiful goddess.^[3]

The Three Fates (particularly Atropos) are often depicted as hags.

In Persian folklore, the Bakhtak has the same role as that of "the Old Hag" in English folklore. The Bakhtak sits on a sleeper's chest, awakening them and causing them to feel they are unable to breathe or even to move. Bakhtak also is used metaphorically to refer to "nightmare" in the modern Persian language.^{[citation needed]}

She is similar to Lilith.

In Western literature[link]

This section requires expansion.

In mediaeval and later literature, the term "hag," and its relatives in European languages, came to stand for an unattractive, older woman. Building on the mediaeval tradition of such women as portrayed in comic and burlesque literature, specifically in the Italian Renaissance the hag represented the opposite of the lovely lady familiar from the poetry of Petrarch.^[22]

In neurobiology[link]

The expression Old Hag Attack refers to a hypnagogic state in which paralysis is present and, quite often, it is accompanied by terrifying hallucinations.^{[citation needed]} When excessively recurrent, some consider this to be a disorder; however, many populations treat them as simply part of their culture and mythological world-view, rather than any form of disease or pathology.

See also[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Sagan, Carl (1997) The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark.
• Kettlewell, N; Lipscomb, S; Evans, E. (1993) Differences in neuropsychological correlates between normals and those experiencing "Old Hag Attacks". Percept Mot Skills 1993 Jun;76 (3 Pt 1):839-45; discussion 846. PMID 8321596
• Old Hag Myth
• Nocturnal Assaults: Aliens in the Dark: Alien abductions and Old Hags - things that go bump in the night. Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena November 21, 2006

External links[link]

• Henry Fuseli's painting of a hag, from the Met collection

Eric Church
Eric Church
Background information
Birth name	Kenneth Eric Church
Born	(1977-05-03) May 3, 1977 (age 35)
Origin	Granite Falls, North Carolina, United States
Genres	Country, Southern rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Nashville
Associated acts	Terri Clark, Jay Joyce
Website	www.ericchurch.com

Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Signed to Capitol Records in 2006, his debut album Sinners Like Me produced four singles on the Billboard country chart, including the Top 20 hits "How 'Bout You", "Two Pink Lines", and "Guys Like Me". His second album, 2009's Carolina, produced three more singles: "Smoke a Little Smoke" and his first Top 10 hits, "Love Your Love the Most" and "Hell on the Heart". 2011's Chief, his first #1 album, includes the singles "Homeboy" and "Drink in My Hand", which became his first #1 single in January 2012.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Eric Church was born and raised in Granite Falls, North Carolina. At thirteen, he bought a guitar and began writing songs of his own. By his senior year of high school, he had found a gig at a local bar, which occupied most of his time. He played many Jimmy Buffett cover songs and a few of his own original songs in some dive bars. Some of these places were so rough that he got into a few altercations from the stage. For a few years, the band played often in bars and restaurants throughout North Carolina.^[1] The band "Mountain Boys" consisted of his college roommate (Mark Snow), brother, and a fellow guitarist.^[2]

Before moving to Nashville, Eric Church graduated from South Caldwell High School and then Appalachian State University with a degree in marketing. Upon graduation, Church became engaged. The future bride's father attempted to persuade Eric into a corporate career, which he rejected as an aspiring musician. He broke the engagment and headed to Nashville with his father's financial backing. His father also provided the opportunity to make contacts, and more importantly, time to focus on developing his songwriting ability .^[1]

Music career[link]

[edit] 2006-2007: Sinners Like Me

Arthur Buenahora Jr. signed him to a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Tree Music Publishing. Terri Clark took "The World Needs a Drink", which he co-wrote with Casey Beathard, into the country Top 30.^[2]

He started recording with different producers. Capitol Nashville showed an interest and watched him perform but they were yet to be convinced enough to offer a recording contract.^[3] Autumn House-Tallant told HitQuarters that they didn't think the music was interesting enough.^[3] The record company's attitude changed after he started working with producer Jay Joyce. The strong sound and direction the two forged together finally convinced Capitol Nashville that he was ready.^[3] His first single, "How 'Bout You" peaked at #14 on Hot Country Songs and led off his debut album Sinners Like Me. In April 2006, he performed on the Grand Ole Opry for the first time.^[4]

The album's other two singles, "Two Pink Lines" and "Guys Like Me", both reached the Top 20 as well.^[2] The fourth single, the title track, peaked at #51. An additional track from the album, "Lightning", was made into a music video despite not being released as a single. Church wrote the song shortly after moving to Nashville, inspired by the movie The Green Mile.^[4] Following the album's success, Church toured with Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts.^[4]

[edit] 2008-2010: Carolina

In 2008, Eric Church released a fifth single, "His Kind of Money (My Kind of Love)" to country radio. It debuted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at #55 in early 2008, and reached its peak of #46 in August. Originally slated as the lead single to an upcoming second album, "His Kind of Money" was instead included as a bonus track on albums sold at Best Buy.

Following this song was "Love Your Love the Most", which debuted in late 2008 and was the first single from his second album Carolina, released on March 24, 2009.^[2] As with his debut album, Carolina was produced by Jay Joyce, and is entirely composed of songs that he co-wrote. "Love Your Love the Most" brought Church to the top 10 for the first time, peaking at #10 in September 2009. The album's second single, "Hell on the Heart", debuted in October 2009 and would also hit the top 10 in May 2010. The third single from "Carolina" was "Smoke A Little Smoke".

In June 2010 he moved to Capitol Nashville's new imprint EMI Records Nashville, becoming their second artist. On January 14, 2011, he released a four song EP entitled "Caldwell County".

[edit] 2011-2012: Chief

Eric Church released "Homeboy" to country radio in early 2011. The album Chief was released July 26, 2011, debuting at #1 on both Top Country Albums and the Billboard 200.^[5] The album sold 145,000 copies in its first week.^[5] On November 30, 2011, Chief was announced as a nominee for the 2012 Grammy Awards for Best Country Album. In January 2012 "Drink in My Hand" became his first #1 single. In February 2012, "Springsteen" was released as the third single from Chief, and has since become a Top 10 country hit, as well as his first Top 20 single on the Billboard Hot 100.

Personal life[link]

On January 8, 2008, Church married music publisher Katherine Blasingame in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. On October 3, 2011, they welcomed son Boone McCoy Church.^[6][7] Their home (along with Eric's "mancave"), located in Nashville, was featured in an episode of CMT "Cribs".^[8]

Tour[link]

• Me & My Gang Tour 2006 with Rascal Flatts & Gary Allan (Eric was kicked off for playing too long & Taylor Swift took his spot)
• Roadside Bars and Pink Guitars with Miranda Lambert (Select Dates)
• CMT Revolution Tour 2010 with Miranda Lambert & Josh Kelley
• My Kinda Party Tour 2011 with Jason Aldean & The JaneDear Girls (Spring Leg)
• Locked & Loaded Tour 2011 with Toby Keith
• Blood, Sweat and Beers Tour 2012 with Brantley Gilbert (First Headlining Tour)

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Extended plays[link]

Singles[link]

Music videos[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site
• Eric Church on Myspace
• Buy Erick Church Concert Tickets Online

Lily Allen
Background information
Birth name	Lily Rose Beatrice Allen
Born	(1985-05-02) 2 May 1985 (age 27) Hammersmith, London, England
Genres	Pop
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, presenter, actress
Instruments	Vocals, guitar[1]
Years active	2002–present
Labels	London, Regal, Capitol
Website	lilyallenmusic.com

Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper^[2] (born 2 May 1985), better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist, actress and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative. Allen abandoned school and concentrated on improving her performing and compositional skills. Afterwards, she created several demo songs and, near the end of 2005, she created a profile on MySpace where she made some of her recordings public.

A contract was signed with the label Regal Recordings, as the views on MySpace rose to tens of thousands. In 2006, she began to work on completing what would be her first studio album and its first mainstream single "Smile" reached the top position on the UK Singles Chart in July 2006.^[3] Her debut record, Alright, Still, was well received on the international market, selling over 2.6 million copies and brought Allen a nomination at the Grammy Awards, BRIT Awards and MTV Video Music Awards. She then began hosting her own talk-show, Lily Allen and Friends, on BBC Three.

Her second major album release, It's Not Me, It's You, saw a genre shift for her, having more of an electropop feel, rather than the ska and reggae influences of the first one. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and the Australian ARIA Charts and was appreciated by the critics, noting the singer's musical evolution and maturity. It spawned the hit singles "The Fear" and "Fuck You", popular mostly in Europe. Allen and Amy Winehouse have been credited with starting a process that led to the media-proclaimed "year of the women" in 2009 that has seen five female artists making music of "experimentalism and fearlessness" nominated for the Mercury Prize.^[4]

During the autumn of 2010, Allen opened a fashion rental shop "Lucy in Disguise" with her sister Sarah,^[5][6] followed by the 2011 launching of her own record label.^[7]

Life and career[link]

Childhood and youth[link]

Allen was born in Hammersmith, west London, daughter of Welsh-born comedian and actor Keith Allen and English, Portsmouth-born, film producer Alison Owen.^[8] She has an older sister, Sarah; a younger brother, Alfie Owen-Allen (who was the subject of her song "Alfie"); and a younger sister Rebecca.^{[citation needed]} She has a number of half-siblings. At the age of three, Allen appeared on The Comic Strip Presents... episode "The Yob",^[9] which her father had co-written.^[10] When Allen was four years old, her father left the family.^[11] Allen grew up with her mother living on a council estate during her early childhood.^[12][13] Her family settled in the North London borough of Islington. Allen lived for a while with comedian Harry Enfield while her mother dated him. She is the god-daughter of Wild Colonials vocalist Angela McCluskey.^[14] The late Clash singer and guitarist Joe Strummer was close to Allen. Allen has fond memories of the week and a half they would spend together at Glastonbury Festival as part of a regular collective centred on Strummer and her father. Strummer's musical past would not come into focus for Allen until after his death.^[15]

She attended some of the UK's most expensive fee-paying public schools; Allen attended 13 schools in all, including Prince Charles's junior alma mater, Hill House School, Millfield, Bedales School^[11] and was expelled from several of them for drinking and smoking.^[13][16] When Allen was 11, former University of Victoria music student Rachel Santesso overheard Allen singing Wonderwall by Oasis in the school's playground; impressed, Santesso, who later became an award-winning soprano and composer, called Allen into her office the next day and started giving her lunchtime singing lessons. This would lead to Allen singing Baby Mine from Disney's Dumbo at a school concert.^[17] Allen would tell Loveline that the audience was "brought to tears at the sight of a troubled young girl doing something good". At that point Allen said she knew that music was something she needed to do either as a lifelong vocation or to get it out of her system. Allen played piano to grade 5 standard and achieved Grade 8 in singing. She also played violin, guitar and trumpet as well as being a member of a chamber choir. Her first solo was "In the Bleak Midwinter."^[15] Allen made an appearance as a lady-in-waiting in the 1998 film Elizabeth, which was co-produced by her mother.^[18] She dropped out of school at age fifteen, not wanting to "spend a third of her life preparing to work for the next third of her life, to set herself up with a pension for the next third of her life."^[19]

2002–05: Career beginnings[link]

When her family went to Ibiza on holiday, Allen told her mother that she was staying with friends but remained in Sant Antoni de Portmany instead. She earned money by working at a Plastic Fantastic record store and dealing ecstasy.^[19] Allen met her first manager, George Lamb in Ibiza.^[19][20] She was rejected by several labels, which she attributed to her drinking and being the daughter of Keith Allen.^[20] However, she eventually used her father's connections to get signed to London Records in 2002.^[21] When the executive who had signed her left, the label lost interest and she left without releasing the folk songs^[which?] many of which were written by her father.^[15][21][22] She then studied horticulture to become a florist, but changed her mind and returned to music. Allen began writing songs, while her manager introduced her to production duo Future Cut in 2004. They worked in a small studio in the basement of an office building.^[22]

In 2005, Allen was signed to Regal Recordings; they gave her £25,000 to produce an album, though they were unable to provide much support for it due to their preoccupation with other releases such as X&Y (Coldplay) and Demon Days (Gorillaz).^[23] Allen then created an account on MySpace and began posting demos that she recorded in November 2005.^[23] The demos attracted thousands of listeners, and 500 limited edition 7" vinyl singles of "LDN" were rush-released, reselling for as much as £40.^[19][23] Allen also produced two mixtapes — My First Mixtape and My Second Mixtape — to promote her work. As she accumulated tens of thousands of MySpace friends, The Observer Music Monthly (OMM), a magazine published in The Observer, took interest in March 2006.^[19] Few people outside of her label's A&R department knew who she was, so the label was slow in responding to publications wanting to report about her.^[23] She received her first major mainstream coverage, appearing in the magazine's cover story two months later.

[edit] 2006–08: Alright, Still and television

The success convinced her label to allow her more creative control over the album and to use some of the songs that she had written instead of forcing her to work with mainstream producers. Allen decided to work with producers Greg Kurstin and Mark Ronson, finishing the rest of the album in two weeks.^[23] Allen's debut album, Alright, Still, was released in July 2006. Most of the tracks had been previewed on her MySpace page,^[24] including the singles "Smile", "LDN", "Knock 'Em Out", and "Alfie". In September 2006, "Smile" was made available on the United States version of iTunes Store. By December 2006, her music video for Smile had been played on various music channels as well as the song getting a little airplay. Entertainment Weekly named Alright, Still as one of the top 10 albums of 2006 despite the fact that it had not yet been released in the U.S. Allen also did several promotional ads for MTV as their Discover and Download artist of the month for January 2007. The album was released in the United States on 30 January 2007, landing at 20 on the Billboard Album Charts.^[25] By January 2009, the album had sold 960,000 copies in the United Kingdom and 520,000 copies in the United States.^[26]

Performing at "Solidays" on 7 July 2007

In 2007, she played the newly launched Park Stage at the Glastonbury Festival, replacing M.I.A. who had cancelled.^[27] During the festival she reunited two members of The Specials an act that guitarist Lynval Golding claimed played a "massive part" in the group's 2009 reunion.^[28] She also sang the vocals on the top ten single, "Oh My God", a cover of the Kaiser Chiefs song by Mark Ronson. The single, "Littlest Things" from Allen's album produced by Ronson, helped earn him a "Producer of the Year – Non Classical" 2008 Grammy Award.^[29] She also provided background vocals to a couple of songs on the Kaiser Chief's third album in 2008. Allen won a 2008 BMI songwriting award for "Smile".^[30] Allen began dating musician Ed Simons of the Chemical Brothers in September 2007, and in December, Allen announced that she and Simons were expecting a child.^[31] Allen suffered a miscarriage in January 2008.^[32]

Due to her outspokenness, Allen was the subject of many controversies early in her career. Disparaging remarks about musicians Luke Pritchard of The Kooks, Bob Geldof,^[33] Amy Winehouse,^[34] Kylie Minogue,^[35] and Katy Perry^[36] have all garnered minor press attention. She later said that making fun of other pop stars was a result of a lack of confidence, saying "I felt like 'Oh God, I'm short, fat, ugly and I hate all these people who flaunt their beauty.'"^[37] On 28 June 2007, Allen was arrested in London for allegedly assaulting photographer Kevin Rush while she was leaving a nightclub in London's West End. Prior to this, she had expressed discomfort with attention from the paparazzi on her MySpace blog.^[38] By February 2009 she had stopped addressing controversies about herself on her blog because she found it "boring when people just pick stuff up and write about it. People get hurt, people get upset."^[39] In September 2009, she shut down her MySpace account and stopped social networking completely in December due to the abuse she was taking.^[40]

Allen signed a one series contract to present her own BBC Three TV show entitled Lily Allen and Friends based on the social networking phenomenon that helped to launch her music career.^[41][42][43] Guests included Mark Ronson, Joanna Page, James Corden, Lauren Laverne, Roisin Murphy, Louis Walsh, and Danny Dyer.^[44][45] The show received a 2% share of the total multi-channel audience share despite a high-profile nationwide marketing campaign.^[46] Allen was quoted in a British tabloid as rating the show "probably five out of 10" and said "I made a lot of money out of it".^[47] Citing Allen's rapid development as a TV host and her popularity among its target audience BBC Three announced it was renewing Lily Allen and Friends for a second season.^[48] BBC Three controller Danny Cohen later said that the show will not air in the Spring of 2009 as originally scheduled because of music commitments.^[49]

Allen performed at a benefit concert for War Child, an international child protection agency that works with children affected by war. Backed by Keane, Allen sang "Smile" and "Everybody’s Changing".^[50] Although the singer is a staunch supporter of the Labour Party,^[51] she has been credited with helping inspire a parliamentary rebellion against Prime Minister Gordon Brown when she wrote to all Members of Parliament asking them to back an amendment to an energy bill.^[52] She has since confirmed her support for the UK Labour Party and for Prime Minister Gordon Brown in particular.^[53]

[edit] 2008–09: It's Not Me, It's You

After the release of her first album, her parent record company, EMI, was taken over by Terra Firma.^[54] She also changed her management company from Empire Artist Management to Twenty-First Artists, although her core team remained in place. At the urging of her record company, Allen tried unsuccessfully to create the album with several writers and producers. Allen eventually returned to Greg Kurstin who had written three songs for Alright, Still.^[15] The album was produced by Kurstin at Eagle Rock Studios in Los Angeles.^[55] Before returning to Kus, Allen co-wrote the songs for the album with Kurstin who played piano on it. This is a change from her earlier work in which she wrote lyrics for finished tracks.^[56] Allen released a statement saying "We decided to try and make bigger sounding, more ethereal songs, real songs ... I wanted to work with one person from start to finish to make it one body of work. I wanted it to feel like it had some sort of integrity. I think I've grown up a bit as a person and I hope it reflects that."^[55] She posted two new song demos on her MySpace page and planned to release a mixtape to give her fans an idea of what the new direction was.^{[57][58][59][60][61][62]}

Allen cancelled a scheduled appearance at the 2008 Isle of Wight Festival telling festival promoter John Giddings the reason for the cancellation was that her album was behind schedule. Giddings said that the reason given was not acceptable and possibly a lie. Giddings decided not to sue her.^[63] Photos of her drunk and topless in the Cannes Film Festival were also widely covered in the press.^[64][65] Her appearance at the 2008 Glamour Awards also generated criticism, as she showed up intoxicated wearing a dress covered in decapitated Bambi figures, and had an on-stage, expletive-laced exchange with Elton John.^[66][67][68] On 29 June 2008, Allen performed at the Glastonbury Festival alongside producer Mark Ronson. An emotional Allen dedicated her performance of "Littlest Things" to her grandmother who died the night before.^[69] It's Not Me, It's You was first scheduled for an early 2008 release, but her miscarriage and creative issues delayed the release date to the autumn. During autumn 2008, EMI was undergoing restructuring. Due to this environment, a decision was made to move the album's eventual release date.^[26][70] An online game, Escape the Fear, was created by Matmi as part of the viral marketing campaign targeted at people unaware of Allen or the album.^[71] Since its release, "The Game" has topped the worldwide viral charts three times, including the week of Christmas—a highly contested time of the year. By 18 February 2009, "The Game" had been played over two million times.^[72] The singer and The Clash guitarist Mick Jones performed The Clash’s song "Straight to Hell" on an album for the charity Heroes.^[73]

Performing at the INmusic festival in Zagreb, Croatia, 24 June 2009

It's Not Me, It's You was released in February 2009. It debuted at the number 1 position in the UK, Canada, and Australia and the number 5 position in the United States.^{[74][75][55][76][77]} The album has been certified platinum in the United Kingdom.^[78] The release of the album was a factor in EMI’s more than trebling its earnings.^[79] The first single from the album, "The Fear", was number 1 for the first four weeks in the UK after its release.^[80][81] The second single released from the album, "Not Fair", reached the number 9 position.^[82] She began her It's Not Me, It's You World Tour in March, touring throughout the next two years until September 2010. Her work on this album with Greg Kurstin earned her the Songwriters of the Year at the 2010 Ivor Novello Awards. In addition, she won with Kurstin Best Song Musically and Lyrically and Most Performed Work for "The Fear". Allen appeared overwhelmed by this recognition from what she considered "real awards".^[83] In October 2010, Allen won her second BMI Pop Song Award by the United States music licensing organization Broadcast Music Incorporated for extensive United States radio airplay of her song, "The Fear".^[84][85] Allen has been named the face of the National Portrait Gallery as part of the gallery's marketing campaign.^[86] The picture was photographed by Nadav Kander emblazoned with the words, "Vocalist, Lyricist, Florist" .^[87] Allen and Jamie Hince, guitarist for The Kills, raised £48,350 for the children’s charity The Hoping Foundation. The pair sang "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" at a karaoke auction fundraiser.^[88] Karl Lagerfeld, the head designer for Chanel personally hired and photographed Allen for a campaign to promote a luxury line of handbags due to launch in September 2009.^[89][90]

In May 2009, French football magazine So Foot published a fake interview in which Allen was quoted as making derogatory remarks about David and Victoria Beckham and Ashley and Cheryl Cole. Some of the material was reprinted in the British tabloid The Sun. Both publications later apologized and paid damages to Allen.^[91]

2009–12: Musical hiatus, marriage and motherhood[link]

Allen began dating Sam Cooper, the owner of a building company, in the summer of 2009. In September 2009, Allen announced that she was considering a career in acting and that she would not renew her record contract. Allen additionally stated that she has "no plans" to make another record.^[92]

After the British government's plans to implement a three strikes policy for file sharing copyright infringement, Lily Allen came out in support for disconnecting repeat offenders.^[93][94] Creating a blog entitled "It's Not Alright" against file sharing, it subsequently came to light that she had copied text directly from the Techdirt website of an interview with 50 Cent, without attribution.^[95] This led to an exchange on the Internet, which culminated in accusations being made that Allen had infringed on other artists' copyrights by creating mix tapes early in her career, that she then made available via her website.^[96][97] A group of supporters of filesharing launched a denial of service attack dubbed Operation Payback that shut down Allen's website and targeted other critics.^[98]

On 1 October 2009, Allen and several other musicians released the world's first digital musical petition aimed at pressuring world leaders attending the December 2009 climate change summit in Copenhagen. The petition included a cover of the song "Beds are Burning" by Midnight Oil.^[99] She featured on the UK top five single, "Just Be Good to Green" by Professor Green in June 2010.

In August she began a musical hiatus following a performance at the Big Chill Festival in Herefordshire, England.^[100] On 5 August 2010, Allen announced that she was pregnant with her and Cooper's first child,^[101] later confirmed to be a boy^[102] due early in 2011.^[103] Allen and her sister opened their own clothing store entitled "Lucy in Disguise" on 15 September 2010. Allen's pregnancy involved early complications, including "about a week and a half of really heavy bleeding."^[104] Six months into her pregnancy, Allen contracted a viral infection which caused her to suffer a pre-term delivery.^[105] On 6 November, Allen was rushed to the hospital, where she responded well to treatment for the blood poisoning condition septicaemia.^[106][107]

Citing invasion of privacy and copyright infringement, in November 2010 Allen took legal action against Associated Newspapers, the parent company of the Daily Mail after the Daily Mail published photographs of Allen's home.^[108] Allen and Cooper became engaged over the Christmas holidays in December 2010 while vacationing in Bali.^[109] In January 2011, Allen launched her own record label In the Name Of, financially backed by Sony Music. The first act signed to the label was New York noise pop duo Cults.^[7] In February 2011, Allen started penning songs for the musical version of Bridget Jones's Diary which is scheduled to open in London's West End in 2012.^[110] Allen and Cooper wed on 11 June 2011 at St. James church in Cranham, Gloucestershire, England. The designer of Allen's wedding dress confirmed she was several months pregnant on the wedding day.^[111] Allen gave birth to a daughter, Ethel Mary,^[112] on 25 November 2011.^[113][114]

2012–present: Third studio album[link]

On 8 April 2012, it was reported that Allen was planning a musical comeback. Wanting to record a third album later this year and release as early as next year.^{[115][116][117]}

Artistry[link]

Musical style[link]

	"LDN" noicon The first song released as a single, featuring ska influence and a sample of "Reggae Merengue."
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Allen's early released songs saw her take on a thick Cockney accent while singing against retro productions.^[26] Her music was used as part of an exhibition at the British Library tracing the history of Cockney English.^[118] Her songs also featured other elements, such as the ska influence on second single, "LDN". She was also noted for her liberal use of crude words in her lyrics.^[119] Allen has said she cringes now when listening to tracks from Alright, Still, as it reminds her that she was a "sort of over-excitable teenager who desperately wanted attention" when she wrote it.^[15] Wanting to move on from the retro sound that many other artists had adapted since her debut, Allen ventured in a new direction sonically and lyrically in her second studio album, It's Not Me, It's You. "The Fear", the first single from the album, is an electro-pop track denouncing consumerism.^{[120][121][122]} While Allen did not set out to make a revolutionary record, her new music direction and willingness to write lyrics that tackled less common subjects were lauded by critics.^[77][123] Allen's song Who'd Have Known was sampled in T-Pain's single 5 O'clock because of her accent.^[124][125]

Discography[link]

• Alright, Still (2006)
• It's Not Me, It's You (2009)

Filmography[link]

See also[link]

• List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen

References[link]