Lily Allen: "Smile" Video

Video description: ?I guess I knew from an early age that I could never do a job where I?d have to sit in an office all day long,? says Lily Allen. It seems unlikely Allen will be confined to a cubicle any time soon. The 21-year-old artist, pronounced by NME as ?the archetypal singer-songwriter for the iPod generation,? took Britain by storm this past summer with her debut album Alright, Still rocketing onto the U.K. Album chart at #2 and her first U.K. single, ?Smile,? topping the U.K. Airplay chart for six weeks in a row. Now she?s set her sights on America ? and early reports indicate she won?t exactly be flying under the radar here, either. ?She symbolizes a new blogging-age, middle-class girl: cockily ambitious, skeptical yet enthusiastic, technically savvy, musically open, obsessed with public expression and ready to fight back,? said The New York Times in a feature on Lily. Allen was born in Hammersmith, a borough in Greater London, and grew up all over London ? Shepherds Bush, Bloomsbury, Islington. ?I went to 13 different schools so I never had time to make enduring friendships. Music became a lifeline to me. I listened to punk, ska and reggae, courtesy of my parents? record collections,? she says, which explains why, in addition to numerous up-and-coming dance artists she counts The Specials, T. Rex, The Slits and Blondie as favorites.

Related Videos

Acid Lily: "Too Bright Sun"

The Rapture: "Woo Alright, Yeah Uh-Hu"

Kelly Willis: "Teddy Boys"

Lucinda Williams: "Are You Alright"

Temposhark: "Blame"

Motion City Soundtrack: "Everything Is Alright"

"No Direction Home: Bob Dylan" DVD trailer

The Constantines: "Nightime/Anytime, It's Alright"

The Chemical Brothers: "Do It Again"

Getting things done, David Allen's way