Alright, Still

Alright, Still is the debut studio album by English singer Lily Allen, released on 13 July 2006 by Regal Recordings. After being rejected by several record labels, Allen signed to London Records, who eventually lost interest in her, leading her to meet production duo Future Cut and sign to Regal Recordings. Recording for the album began in 2004 with sessions between Allen and Future Cut, and Allen's work garnered publicity on the internet as she posted demos to her MySpace account before they were officially released. Allen later travelled to the United States to work with Greg Kurstin and Mark Ronson, to complete the final half of the album in 2006. Alright, Still is predominately a pop album, with songs that are heavily influenced by Jamaican ska music, reggae and hip hop. The lyrics are conversational and farcical, discussing past relationships with a dark sense of humour. Due to the instances of strong language in a majority of the songs, the album was released with a Parental Advisory warning, although the song "Friday Night" remains censored on all versions of the album. Upon release, Alright, Still received acclaim from the British music press, with international critics calling the record and Allen "original". It was commercially successful in the United Kingdom, where it debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart and was later certified triple platinum. Alright, Still has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide. The album earned a nomination for Best Alternative Music Album at the 50th Grammy Awards. It was promoted by the release of four singles, including the chart topper "Smile" and the top 10 single "LDN".

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. Allen met her first manager, George Lamb, in Ibiza. When the executive who had signed her left, the label lost interest and she left without releasing the folk songs that had been written for her, many of which were written by her father. 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. In 2005, Allen was signed to Regal Recordings; the label 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 Coldplay's X&Y and Gorillaz' Demon Days. Allen created an account on MySpace and began posting demos in November 2005. She stated that she tried to "write about stuff that happens to people from all different backgrounds". The lyrics are conversational, with a dark sense of humour. Joe Strummer, a close friend of Allen's father Keith, played mixtapes of Brazilian music and Jamaican reggae and ska when she was young. Allen stated that she had "always been into very black music" such as ska, reggae, and hip hop music. Since she did not know how to rap, she chose to use reggae as a point of reference when making Alright, Still. The album's music blends ska and reggae with pop melodies. The album's beats are influenced by various genres such as jazz and grime. 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. On the day "Smile" was released, Allen appeared on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge with DJ Jo Whiley, performing an acoustic version of "Smile" and a cover of the Kooks' song "Naïve". At the Secret Garden Party, in September 2006, Allen made a rendition of the song and afterwards stated: "The festival was well good, particularly as Lester, my ex, who I wrote 'Smile' about, and subsequently sold his story to the papers, had a tent called 'the shit tent' positioned directly opposite the main stage. So he and his new girlfriend had no option but to watch me perform to a couple of thousand people singing 'Smile' back to me. Oh, it's the little things eh!" "Smile" was performed live as part of the setlist of Allen's 2007 concert tour. During the 2007 South by Southwest music festival, Allen said, "I'm so sick of this song, but I'll play it for you, Austin" before singing it. On 3 February 2007, the singer was invited as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, where she performed "Smile" and "LDN".

Alright, Still received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 79, based on 27 reviews. The Observers Rosie Swash stated that Allen's "uniquely acidic brand of pop" music justified the publicity it generated and that "the icing on the cake is that brutally barbed tongue". Ron Webb wrote for Drowned in Sound that the album "is almost a brilliant record, easily a good one and one that promises to divide opinion like Marmite". In a review for The Guardian, Sophie Heawood stated that "the album is rough round the edges, that amateurism serves to bring the listener in", noting that it gave the album a more personal touch. while Slant Magazine deemed it "rubbish" and called Allen "sickeningly contemptuous". The mastering of Alright, Still, done by Tim Burrell and Tim Debney, has been criticised. In January 2007, The Guardian ran a piece about loudness wars, the practice of increasing the loudness of tracks which often results in distortion and the loss of dynamic range. It included Alright, Still in a list of CDs in which sound quality was compromised for loudness. Rolling Stone published a similar story in December 2007, and it also identified Alright, Still as an album "so unrelentingly loud that the sound is actually distorted".

The Guardian ranked it the seventh best album of the year and commented, "For her lyrical nous and her quick delivery alone, get that toast on." Pitchfork called it "one of 2006's most enduringly rewarding pop albums" and listed it as the 29th best album of 2006. "Rolling Stone" ranked the album 13th on its list of the best albums of 2007. Uncut called it "a terrific, bolshy, eclectic stew of London street pop", listing Alright, Still at number 38 on its "Definitive Albums of 2006". The Observer ranked the album tenth on its list of the best albums of 2006. At the 2008 Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album but lost to the White Stripes' Icky Thump. Ronson's production on "Littlest Things" helped him win a Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non Classical.

Alright, Still debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, selling 62,701 copies in its first week. During the week ending 3 February 2007, all top 10 places on the UK Albums Chart were occupied by British artists for the first time since the chart was established in 1956; Alright, Still was number nine that week. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified it triple platinum on 14 March 2008. In Ireland, the album debuted at number six on the Irish Albums Chart and was certified platinum by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded the album a gold certification on 6 December 2007, Alright, Still peaked at number seven on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart,

+ Release history for Alright, Still Region Date Edition Label Ref. (Reference) France 13 July 2006 Standard EMI Germany Italy 14 July 2006 United Kingdom 17 July 2006 Regal Australia 28 July 2006 EMI Canada 19 September 2006 Japan 4 October 2006 United States 30 January 2007 Capitol France 26 December 2007 Reissue EMI