''It's Not Me, It's You'' is the second studio album by English singer
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen, Her accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivi ...
, released on 4 February 2009 by
Regal Recordings
Regal Recordings is a British record label functioning as an Record label#Imprint, imprint of Parlophone, Parlophone Records.
Background
Regal Records was a British record label founded in 1913 as a subsidiary of the UK branch of Columbia Rec ...
and
Parlophone
Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 1923 as the Parloph ...
. It was produced and co-written by
Greg Kurstin
Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to five songs that pe ...
, with whom Allen had previously worked on her debut studio album, ''
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 ...
'' (2006). The album represents a departure from the
ska
Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
and
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
influences of its predecessor, incorporating
electropop
Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
with elements of
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
.
Upon release, ''It's Not Me, It's You'' received positive reviews from critics, praising Allen's "sharp tongue" and calling the album "wonderful". The album was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the charts in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. It was later certified triple platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry
BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) and has sold 1,070,340 copies in the UK alone. It was also certified four times platinum by the
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
(ARIA) for shipments of over 280,000 copies in Australia. The album has sold over two million copies worldwide.
The album's lead single, "
The Fear", also debuted atop the
UK Singles Chart, where it remained for four consecutive weeks. Other singles include the UK top-five entry "
Not Fair
"Not Fair" is a song by British singer-songwriter Lily Allen from her second studio album, ''It's Not Me, It's You'' (2009). Written by Allen and Greg Kurstin, the song was released as the second single from the album on 20 March 2009 by Regal ...
", "
Fuck You", "
22" and "
Who'd Have Known
"Who'd Have Known" is a song by English singer-songwriter Lily Allen from her second studio album, ''It's Not Me, It's You''. Written by Allen and Greg Kurstin, while interpolating Take That's single " Shine", the song was released as the fif ...
". The track "
Back to the Start" was released as a limited-edition
seven-inch vinyl for
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...
. Allen performed on a variety of television programs to promote the album, including ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...
'' and ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...
''. She also embarked on her second concert tour, the
It's Not Me, It's You World Tour, which visited Europe, North America, Asia, Oceania and South America.
Background
Allen became well known through her
Myspace
Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
account, on which she started posting demo songs in 2005.
The increase of popularity led to a contract with
Regal Recordings
Regal Recordings is a British record label functioning as an Record label#Imprint, imprint of Parlophone, Parlophone Records.
Background
Regal Records was a British record label founded in 1913 as a subsidiary of the UK branch of Columbia Rec ...
.
Her debut single, "
Smile
A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile.
Among humans, a smile expresses d ...
", was released in 2006 and topped the
UK Singles Chart for two weeks. Allen's debut studio album, ''
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 ...
'' (2006), was released shortly after. The album was commercially successful, earning a triple platinum certification by the
British Phonographic Industry
BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) and a gold certification by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA). The album was nominated for
Best Alternative Music Album
The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...
at the
50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonie ...
. The follow-up singles "
LDN", "
Littlest Things" and "
Alfie" performed moderately on the charts, with "LDN" peaking at number six on the UK Singles Chart.
After the release of ''Alright, Still'', Allen's parent record company,
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
, was taken over by
Terra Firma. 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
Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to five songs that pe ...
, who had written three songs for ''Alright, Still''.
Recording
In April 2008, Allen announced that she would be moving in a "new direction" for her then-upcoming record. That same month, she posted two demo tracks on her Myspace page and planned to release a
mixtape
In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...
to give her fans an idea of what the new direction was. A year later, she described the album's sound in the April 2009 issue of ''
Teen Vogue
''Teen Vogue'' is an American progressive online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and ...
'', saying it was "quite fun" and had "loads of different types of music—country, jazz, and electronic." She continued on to say, "I wanted to do something danceable, to make the gigs more interesting for me and the people watching." 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."
Allen recorded most of the album at Eagle Rock Studios in Los Angeles with producer
Greg Kurstin
Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to five songs that pe ...
of the band
The Bird and the Bee
the bird and the bee is an American indie pop musical duo from Los Angeles, consisting of Inara George ("the bird") and Greg Kurstin ("the bee"). Kurstin is a nine-time Grammy Award–winning producer and multi-instrumentalist who has worked ...
.
Of the songwriting process, she said, "Greg builds the chords up and I just sing along and make up the words and then once you've got the bare song, we decide which way we're gonna go with the production."
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.
In May 2008, Allen told ''
The Sunday Mirror
The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marked ...
'' that the album was nearly finished. Allen said of the album: "I've worked so hard. My next album is nearly finished. I'm on a two-week break and then I'm starting a massive promotional tour." In August 2008, Allen blamed the delay in the album's release on her record company
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
. On 15 September, it was announced via her Myspace blog that the album would be released on 9 February 2009.
Release
In July 2008, the working title of the album was confirmed as ''Stuck on the Naughty Step''.
On 7 October at the
BMI Awards, Allen announced that the album title had been changed to ''It's Not Me, It's You'' because she "lived with
he original title
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
for too long" and got bored of it.
On 29 October, Allen announced the album would be released in the United States on 10 February 2009. The track listings were also released. She described the sound as bigger and more
ethereal
Ethereal may refer to:
* Ethereal (horse), a horse that won Australia's Caulfield Cup as well as Melbourne Cup in 2001
* Ethereal (musician), American rapper and record producer
* Ethereal wave, or simply ethereal, a subgenre of dark wave music
* W ...
sound. She noted she has grown as a person and feels the album will have some sort of integrity.
Allen posted several demos on her Myspace page before the album's release. The first two to appear were "I Could Say" and "I Don't Know" in April 2008, the latter of which was retitled and released as the album's lead single, "
The Fear". Based on the first two demos,
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...
described her new artistic direction as more mature, reflective, and electronic.
A third, politically charged clip was later posted in June 2008, with the titles "Guess Who Batman" and later "Get with the Brogram", finally appearing as "GWB". Despite both working titles sharing initials with
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, Allen wrote that "this song is not a direct attack at anyone, it was originally written about the
BNP in the UK but then I felt this issue has become relevant pretty much everywhere, we are the youth, we can make coolness for our future, its up to us. Go green and hate hate." The song was retitled "
Fuck You" for the album version. Allen posted a fourth song on her Myspace page, called "Who'd of Known", noting that the song had been recorded for the album but would not be included due to legal issues since the chorus is musically similar to the
Take That
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...
song "
Shine".
However, Take That later did allow Allen to include the song on the album (now titled grammatically correctly as "
Who'd Have Known
"Who'd Have Known" is a song by English singer-songwriter Lily Allen from her second studio album, ''It's Not Me, It's You''. Written by Allen and Greg Kurstin, while interpolating Take That's single " Shine", the song was released as the fif ...
").
In October 2008, Allen posted another song titled "Everyone's At It" which was later announced as the album's lead single however, "The Fear" was chosen instead.
Promotion

Allen promoted the album worldwide. While being invited to
Scott Mills
Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2, where he has be ...
'
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
show, Allen talked about her struggles with the paparazzi and also premiered "The Fear" by performing it live. Other live performances of the song include the ''
Sound
In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.
In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...
'' on
BBC 2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and d ...
with
Nick Grimshaw
Nicholas Peter Andrew Grimshaw (born 14 August 1984), nicknamed "Grimmy", is an English broadcaster and author. He became known for having hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1. He is also known as a television presenter for his Channel 4 rol ...
and
Annie Mac
Annie Macmanus (born 18 July 1978), known professionally as Annie Mac, is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1, including BBC Switch and ''Future Sounds''. She also DJed in various locations, includ ...
, ''
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' is a British chat show presented by Jonathan Ross and broadcast on BBC One between 2001 and 2010. The programme featured Ross' take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews (usually three per show ...
'', the
Orange unsignedAct
''Orange UnsignedAct'' (known as ''mobileAct Unsigned'' during its first series) was a Channel 4 talent competition, with bands and artists competing for a recording contract with Universal Music, a £60,000 advance, a single released after the ...
and ''
The Sunday Night Project''. In February 2009, she was invited at ''
The Today Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...
'' with
Matt Lauer
Matthew Todd Lauer (; born December 30, 1957) is a former American television news personality, best known for his work with NBC News. After serving as a local news personality in New York City on WNBC, his first national exposure was as the ne ...
, where she performed the song after an interview. The same month, she made an appearance on ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...
'', and while she was singing, DeGeneres freely dispensed copies of ''It's Not Me, It's You'' to the audience.
Afterwards, both Allen and DeGeneres performed a rendition of
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
's "
Womanizer".
Allen included the song on the setlist of her
It's Not Me, It's You World Tour, as part of the encore. "The Fear" was also performed at the
2010 Brit Awards as the opening song. Allen arrived on stage wearing a black corset dress and sitting on a rocket hoisted in the air. She was later joined on stage by paratroopers dressed in pink military camouflage and women with Silver Cross prams. She performed "The Fear" and "
Fuck You" in France on ''Le Grand Journal de Canal+'' and sang "The Fear" on
NRJ Radio.
Allen performed "The Fear" and "
Not Fair
"Not Fair" is a song by British singer-songwriter Lily Allen from her second studio album, ''It's Not Me, It's You'' (2009). Written by Allen and Greg Kurstin, the song was released as the second single from the album on 20 March 2009 by Regal ...
" at ''
Sessions@AOL
AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc.
The service traces its history to an online ...
''. She also went to Australia to promote the album, where she appeared on the talk show ''
Rove Live
''Rove'', also titled ''Rove Live'', is an Australian television variety show that featured live music performances and interviews with local and international celebrity guests. The program premiered on the Nine Network on 22nd September 1999, b ...
'' where she performed "The Fear", "Not Fair", and "
22", and
Triple J
Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
radio station where she performed "The Fear", "Not Fair" and "He Wasn't There". She also performed "The Fear" on ''
So You Think You Can Dance Australia''. She performed "The Fear" on the Japanese show ''
Music Station
, stylised in all caps, is a Japanese music television program. Broadcasting live weekly on TV Asahi since October 24, 1986, it currently airs from 9PM-10PM on Fridays. The program is also colloquially known as , , and . The show is currently sy ...
''. She performed "Not Fair" on the UK TV show
T4 and was interviewed about the album on ''
The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...
''. Allen performed songs off the album and old hits on
Radio 1's Big Weekend
BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (R1BW) (previously known as One Big Weekend, for 2012 as Radio 1's Hackney Weekend, and for 2018 as BBC Music's Biggest Weekend) is a British music festival run by BBC Radio 1. It is held once a year, in a different l ...
and at the London nightclub
G-A-Y. To further promote the album, Allen embarked on the
It's Not Me, It's You World Tour (2009–2010).
Singles
Allen stated on her official website that "
The Fear" had been chosen as the lead single. The song had its radio premiere via on ''
The Scott Mills Show'' on 1 December 2008. The song's official music video premiered on 4 December at
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
, but it was leaked before the official release date and uploaded on YouTube two hours before the official premiere. The song was officially released on 8 December 2008, topping the
UK Singles Chart for four consecutive weeks and becoming Allen's second number-one single in the UK.
"
Not Fair
"Not Fair" is a song by British singer-songwriter Lily Allen from her second studio album, ''It's Not Me, It's You'' (2009). Written by Allen and Greg Kurstin, the song was released as the second single from the album on 20 March 2009 by Regal ...
" was released digitally on 20 March 2009 and as a CD single on 16 May. "Not Fair" was played by DJ Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 2 days before the release of the album and was heavily edited to 2:04, removing the line "Oh I lie here in the wet patch in the middle of the bed, I'm feeling pretty damn hard done by, I've spent ages giving head". The single reached number five on the UK Singles Chart.
"
Fuck You" was released as the album's third single on 19 May 2009. "Fuck You" was released on the Australian iTunes store on 22 April, available as a censored version different from that which appeared on "The Fear" EP and the normal album version. The track peaked at number nine on the
Czech Airplay Chart in late December 2008, under the demo name "Guess Who Batman". The song also received much airplay on Australian radio stations
Nova
A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
and
Triple J
Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
, and charted at number 90 on the
2008 Triple J Hottest 100 countdown. It eventually reached number 23 on the
ARIA Singles Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
. "Fuck You" also became Allen's third chart entry on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States, peaking at number 68.
"
22" was released as the album's fourth official single on 14 July 2009. On 31 May, Allen stated on her Twitter page that "22" would be her next single after revealing that the music video would be shot the next day. The video was released on 11 July 2009.
"
Who'd Have Known
"Who'd Have Known" is a song by English singer-songwriter Lily Allen from her second studio album, ''It's Not Me, It's You''. Written by Allen and Greg Kurstin, while interpolating Take That's single " Shine", the song was released as the fif ...
" was released on 23 November 2009 as the fifth and final official single (fourth in the United Kingdom) from the album. In the US, it was released on 13 November 2009.
Other songs
"
Back to the Start" was released on
seven-inch vinyl exclusively for
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...
on 17 April 2010, in a limited run of 1,000 copies. The song was serviced to radio in Australia in late 2009, reaching number 21 on the Australian Airplay Chart in early 2010.
Critical reception
''It's Not Me, It's You'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a
normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
score of 71, based on 32 reviews.
Reviewing for ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'', Garry Mulholland awarded the album five out of five, calling this a "wonderful record," and added that it is "a pop album brave enough to have a go at defining the times."
James Skinner of ''
Drowned in Sound'' echoed these sentiments, stating that "when Lily Allen is at the top of her game, she is the (im)perfect pop star for our times" in a generally positive review.
''
Clash'' concluded, "Britain's mouthy pop idol returns triumphantly and with the brawny guts to stick with what she knows best", after commenting that Allen "probably has enough personal ammunition to fuel a ten-year career of brutally autobiographical albums". Mikael Wood of ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' stated the album is "hardly the grown-up buzz-kill it might have been", thanks to "Allen's still-sharp lyrical wit and an exceedingly crafty production job by
Greg Kurstin
Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to five songs that pe ...
." Wood also praised in particular the track "Him", calling it an "irresistible tune".
Neil McCormick of ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' praised Allen's more personal songs on the album: "It is when she turns her sharp tongue to her own affairs of the heart that Allen's growing adventurousness and lyrical confidence really pay off...But in particular 'Who'd Have Known' is a tender evocation of friendship turning to love, in which the detail is telling and Allen's vocal performance positively glows with easy affection. On such songs, Allen still sounds like a real person telling us the most intimate details of her real life, only with better hooks." McCormick also praised the lead single as "superb" and "an ironic declaration of celebrity superficiality set to a pulsing, sleekly modern electro dance backing."
In a mixed review, Charles A. Hohman of ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' stated "when she's infuriating, especially when she's infuriating, she's an enthralling performer, her personality taking her where her limited vocals cannot." He also commented, "Too often, she's treading water on songs that play like ''Alright'' outtakes, and when she tries to expand, she stumbles." However, praise was given to the lyrics and melodies, with Hohman stating, "Yet she is more comedienne than philosopher, better at taking the piss than making a point." Allison Franks of ''
Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television.
History
''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...
'' wrote, "Known for her upbeat melodies and rhymes, which are often comical, introspective and set to bouncy back beats, Allen decided to try something a little fresh on her next effort."
Commercial performance
''It's Not Me, It's You'' debuted at number one on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, selling 112,568 copies in its first week of release. It was certified quadruple platinum by the
British Phonographic Industry
BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) on 24 November 2023,
and by June 2018, it had sold 1,070,340 copies in the United Kingdom.
In the United States, the album debuted at number five on the
''Billboard'' 200 with first-week sales of 70,000 copies. As of November 2013, the album had sold 353,000 copies in the US.
It debuted at number one on the
Canadian Albums Chart
The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...
with 8,500 units sold in its first week. It was certified gold by the
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to some of Canada's leadin ...
(CRIA) on 18 February 2010 for sales of 40,000 units.
In Australia, ''It's Not Me, It's You'' entered the
ARIA Albums Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
at number one and spent three non-consecutive weeks atop the chart.
The
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...
(ARIA) certified the album four times platinum for shipments of over 280,000 copies.
The album debuted at number 11 on the
French Albums Chart with sales of 5,953 copies. By December 2009, ''It's Not Me, It's You'' had sold over two million copies worldwide.
Track listing
Sample credit
* "Who'd Have Known" interpolates a portion of "
Shine" by
Take That
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...
.
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''It's Not Me, It's You''.
*
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen, Her accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivi ...
– vocals ;
glockenspiel
The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the v ...
*
Greg Kurstin
Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and contributed to five songs that pe ...
– production, recording, keyboards, guitars, bass, programming ; mixing
*
Mark "Spike" Stent
Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & the Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sheeran, ...
– mixing
* Matty Green – mixing assistance
* Joel Avenden – additional engineering
* Geoff Pesche – mastering
* Serge Leblon – photography
* Alex Cowper – art direction, design
* Dan Sanders – art direction,
commissioning
* Andy Hillman –
set design
Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including plays and musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, where it may be referred to as prod ...
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications and sales
Release history
See also
*
List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2000s
The UK Albums Chart is a weekly record chart based on album sales from Sunday to Saturday in the United Kingdom; during the 2000s, a total of 274 different albums by 170 artists reached number one. The chart was compiled weekly by the Official ...
*
List of number-one albums of 2009 (Australia)
The highest-selling albums in Australia are ranked in the ARIA Charts, Australian Recording Industry Association albums chart, also known as the ARIA Charts, published by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). The data are comp ...
*
List of number-one albums of 2009 (Canada)
These are the Canadian number-one albums of 2009 in music, 2009. The chart is compiled by Nielsen Soundscan and published by ''Jam!'' Canadian Online Explorer, Canoe, issued every Sunday. The chart also appears in Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard ...
Notes
References
External links
{{Authority control
2009 albums
Albums produced by Greg Kurstin
Albums recorded at Kingsize Soundlabs
Capitol Records albums
Electropop albums
Lily Allen albums
Parlophone albums