Lily Allen had a strange second half of 2009. She threw her hat into the ring as being against file-sharing, setting up a blog to explore the issues surrounding it. And then she quit the blog, quit Twitter, MySpace, and her BlackBerry, and threatened to quit music.

Her last tweet from September read, “I am a neo-luddite, goodbye.” But she’s now back on the micro-blogging social network, returning with the short and sweet, “hello, I’m back.”

She’s since explained, “Just got back from aus, and I had a wonderful time. Setting up my new office in london, got some really exciting stuff to share with you… so watch this space x xx x”

My guess is Allen had had enough of everything and decided to have a break. Which is a luxury only afforded to celebrities – if the rest of us did it then we’d lose our jobs and run out of money very quickly.

The problem is that Lily invites the attention she gets with her loud, say anything attitude. So it’s hard to feel sorry for her when it all gets a little too much. Having said that, it’s nice to see her back, as she always makes for good copy.

Welcome back, Lily Allen.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

Lady Gaga, JLS, Lily Allen, Pixie Lott, and Florence & The Machine have all been nominated for three or more awards. Lady Gaga is up in every category she is eligible for, those being the international awards.

Robbie Williams will be honored for his ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music’, while two new awards have been added as a one-off to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Brits. Artists will battle it out for ‘Best Performance’ and ‘Best Album’ from the last three decades.

The nominations are listed in full, along with my pick of who I think will win (in italics). Although they aren’t necessarily who I want to win, especially in the case of Paolo Nutini.

The 2010 Brit Awards Nominations In Full

British Male Solo Artist

Calvin Harris
Dizzee Rascal
Mika
Paolo Nutini
Robbie Williams

British Female Solo Artist

Bat For Lashes
Florence And The Machine
Leona Lewis
Lily Allen
Pixie Lott

British Breakthrough Act

Florence And The Machine
Friendly Fires
JLS
La Roux
Pixie Lott

British Group

Doves
Friendly Fires
JLS
Kasabian
Muse

Mastercard British Album

Dizzee Rascal – Tongue ‘N Cheek
Florence And The Machine – Lungs
Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
Lily Allen – It’s Not Me, It’s You
Paolo Nutini – Sunny Side Up

British Single

Alesha Dixon – ‘Breathe Slow’
Alexandra Burke ft. Flo Rida – ‘Bad Boys’
Cheryl Cole – ‘Fight For This Love’
Joe McElderry – ‘The Climb’
JLS – ‘Beat Again’
La Roux – ‘In For The Kill’
Lily Allen – ‘The Fear’
Pixie Lott – ‘Mama Do’
Taio Cruz – ‘Break Your Heart’
Tinchy Stryder ft. N-Dubz – ‘Number 1′

International Male Solo Artist

Bruce Springsteen
Eminem
Jay-Z
Michael Buble
Seasick Steve

International Female Solo Artist

Lady GaGa
Ladyhawke
Norah Jones
Rihanna
Shakira

International Breakthrough Act

Animal Collective
Daniel Merriweather
Empire Of The Sun
Lady GaGa
Taylor Swift

International Album

Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
Black Eyed Peas – The E.N.D.
Empire Of The Sun – Walking On Dream
Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3
Lady GaGa – The Fame

British Producer of the Year

Jim Abbiss
Paul Epworth
Ethan Johns
Steve Lillywhite

Critics’ Choice Award

Ellie Goulding

Outstanding Contribution to Music

Robbie Williams

Brits Performance of 30th Year

Bee Gees – ‘Stayin’ Alive’ / ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ (1997)
Bros – ‘I Owe You Nothing’ (1989)
Coldplay – ‘Clocks’ (2003)
Eurythmics and Stevie Wonder – ‘Angel’ (1999)
Girls Aloud – ‘The Promise’ (2009)
Kanye West – ‘Gold Digger’ (2006)
Kylie Minogue – ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ (2002)
Michael Jackson – ‘Earth Song’ (1996)
Paul McCartney – ‘Live And Let Die’ (2008)
Pet Shop Boys – ‘Go West’ (1994)
Robbie Williams and Tom Jones – Full Monty medley (1998)
Scissor Sisters – ‘Take Your Mama’ (2005)
Spice Girls – ‘Wannabe’ / ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ (1997)
The Who – ‘Who Are You’ (1988)

Brits Album of 30 Years

Coldplay – A Rush Of Blood To The Head
Dido – No Angel
Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms
Duffy – Rockferry
Keane – Hopes & Fears
Oasis – What’s The Story Morning Glory
Phil Collins – No Jacket Required
Sade – Diamond Life
The Verve – Urban Hymns
Travis – The Man Who

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

Overall, album sales in the UK were down by around 3.5 percent to 128.9 million, continuing a longterm trend which the music industry blames on illegal file-sharing. 16.1 million of this total were legal downloads.

Overall, single sales were up a whopping 32.7 percent to 152 million. This was explained by way of an increased number of downloads, and a whopping 98 percent of all singles sold were legal downloads.

The BPI also detailed the top-selling singles and albums for the year, which were as follows:

Top 10 UK Albums Of 2009

1. Susan Boyle – ‘I Dreamed A Dream’
2. Lady Gaga – ‘The Fame’
3. Michael Buble – ‘Crazy Love’
4. Black Eyed Peas – ‘The End’
5. Kings Of Leon – ‘Only By The Night’
6. JLS – ‘JLS’
7. Beyonce – ‘I Am Sasha Fierce’
8. Paolo Nutini – ‘Sunny Side Up’
9. Lily Allen – ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’
10. Robbie Williams – ‘Reality Killed The Video Star’

Top 10 UK Singles Of 2009

1. Lady Gaga – ‘Poker Face’
2. Black Eyed Peas – ‘I Gotta Feeling’
3. Lady Gaga – ‘Just Dance’
4. Cheryl Cole – ‘Fight For This Love’
5. Joe McElderry – ‘The Climb’
6. La Roux – ‘In For The Kill’
7. Black Eyed Peas – ‘Boom Boom Pow’
8. Rage Against The Machine – ‘Killing In The Name’
9. Alexandra Burke Ft Flo Rida – ‘Bad Boys’
10. Black Eyed Peas – ‘Meet Me Halfway’

[Photo Source: Amazon.co.uk]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

It now seems most of the rumors and reports were correct. In an interview with Sara Cox on Radio 1, Allen confirmed she was taking a break from music but isn’t retiring for good.

Instead, she’ll spend a couple of years doing other stuff, including setting up a record label and signing new artists, and opening a fashion shop with her sister.

According to Newsbeat, she said:

“My last gig is my Dizzee Rascal concert at the O2 (London) in March. That’s the last thing I’ve got planned. I’m just going to concentrate on doing some behind the scenes sort of stuff. [I'll take] one or two years off from recording and performing music.”

Allen also spoek a little about rumors she had abandoned the Internet and the methods of communication most of us now take for granted. She said:

“I’ve stopped everything, I haven’t got a computer and I haven’t got a blackberry. I don’t do emails or anything now. I’ve decided to stop being so hypocritical and consume things and pay for them. I buy music in vinyl and buy newspapers. I support the industry I’m in. I’m a neo-luddite, that’s how I describe myself.”

It’s a shame Lily Allen is taking a break from music because her most recent album, It’s Not Me, It’s You, made me want to hear more straight away. However, one or two years is how long some artists take between albums anyway and the break may mean Allen comes back refreshed and eager to produce music again. At least I hope that’s what happens.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

That doesn’t, however, mean that she has suddenly stopped caring about the subject. Although she does seem a little mixed up with her views on how her music is shared over the Internet and burned on to pirate CDs.

According to NME, in a recent interview on radio station Key 103, Allen claimed:

“If someone comes up with a burnt copy of my CD and offers it to you for £4 I haven’t a problem with that as long as the person buying it places some kind of value on my music.”

So, for Lily Allen at least, it isn’t about people stealing money from her when they share her music but turning her music from something with value into a devalued commodity. Which kind of makes sense in one way but not in others.

Is Allen really that much happier to see others making money from her hard work than to see her music being shared openly and freely? It’s a strange opinion to hold and at odds from what she was saying on her blog just a few months ago.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

There have been rumors of a Take That/Robbie Williams reunion taking place for months now, and the Children In Need concert seemed to be the perfect opportunity. In the end, Robbie and Take That shared the stage twice but didn’t actually reunite.

So, a little wink and a grin as Take That left the stage and Robbie Williams took to it. And a 57-second reunion at the end of the concert when Paul McCartney and Take That were joined in a chorus of Hey Jude in turn by the likes of Lily Allen, Leona Lewis, and of course Robbie Williams.

That’s not what the fans were really hoping for, especially the ones who paid a premium of up to £250 ($400) so they could say they’d witnessed the moment Robbie Williams rejoined Take That. Which he hasn’t. Yet. He will do though, guaranteed.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

Talking to The Daily Star after winning a Q Award for ‘Best Track’ for The Fear, Allen denied the claims over her desire to leave music behind. However, rather than promising new music, it looks as though she is now more keen to disappear more behind the scenes. She said:

“I never win anything for my music so I’m very happy. I’m not retiring, I’m just getting away from this media and recording rubbish. I’m setting up my own label and theater. I’m no media monkey. The words Fearne and Cotton don’t mean anything to me. I don’t wanna have anything to do with that. Eugh.”

Fair enough. A record label and theater are noble aims to possess, especially for the girl who seems to be able to achieve pretty much anything she sets her heart and mind on. But I’m not convinced at her denial of being a “media monkey” in the vein of Fearne Cotton. That’s exactly how I see Lily Allen at the moment.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

And now? Now, it’s all technology, including MySpace, Twitter, and her BlackBerry, allegedly all in aid of pleasing her boyfriend Sam Cooper.

One of Lily’s pals reportedly told The Daily Star:

“We thought she was joking, but it’s been a month since she last Twittered. Before then you could always get a response from her straight away. No matter what time of day or where she was, she’d be glued to her BlackBerry. Now you have to leave a message on her home answer phone.”

“She does have a clapped out old mobile phone, but you’re lucky to get her on that because she keeps leaving it when she goes out. She was so obsessed with the next new thing that it has shocked everyone. It’s like she’s back in the 80s.”

This is truly bizarre because Lily built her career using social networking sites and used them religiously to keep up with fans and have the odd celebrity bith fight, usually with Perez Hilton. And now, nothing?

I’m guessing this came as a result of the abuse she received from her views on filesharing. Some of which weren’t exactly complimentary. Lily’s last tweet read, “I am a neo-luddite, goodbye.” And it seems that has now proved to be an accurate statement.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

Allen’s pronouncement she was quitting music was deleted almost as soon as it appeared on the site, so maybe it was a thing she blurted out on the spur of the moment. But there seems there could be one very good reason for her quitting music, and that is to fulfill her ambition to move into acting instead.

Now magazine claims Allen has been feeling down recently due to a number of reasons. But that her ambition to act could bring her back to her usual self. A source reportedly said:

“She needs a break. Lily’s miserable – a far cry from a few weeks ago when she was the life and soul of the GQ Men Of The Year Awards. She came back from touring South America and told everyone she’s sick of 
being famous. She took great umbrage at paparazzi trying to snap her at the airport.”

“Things aren’t going great with Sam [Cooper, her builder boyfriend] – partly because she hasn’t seen 
him much lately, but mostly because she’s so low. In private, she’s been going on about acting for well over a year. It’s a big ambition.”

I’m not sure turning to acting is the way to stop being famous and persuading the paparazzi you’re not worth taking photos of. But then that’s just me and my non-fame-seeking state of mind talking. maybe I’ve got it all wrong.

I’d think an easier way of preventing quite so much press coverage coming your way would be to do your job and keep your head down. Which isn’t how Allen goes about things, as she’s known for her outspoken views and expressing those at the drop of a hat.

Could Lily Allen act? Probably, seeing as both her dad Keith and brother Alfie can, so it’s probably in her blood. But she’d be a loss to the British music scene, even if just for her forthright way of talking to the press.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

Post from: Brit Music Scene

The debate surrounding illegal filesharing – not just of music but also movies, TV shows, software, etc. – is a very complicated one with strong opinions on both sides of the divide. So I guess it was never the most sensible idea for Lily Allen to blindly rush in and spout her controversial opinions on the issue.

Allen is a firm believer that illegal filesharing is bad in all its forms and wants to see severe punishments meted out to offenders. She gained a lot of support from fellow musicians but most commenters on the blog were critical of her position.

Her role as a spokesperson for the music industry on this issue crumbled when she was caught scanning newspaper articles on to the site (copyright infringement), stealing an article from Techdirt without attribution (copyright infringement) and offering unauthorized mixtapes from before her career took off (copyright infringement of the highest order).

So she has now deleted her blog after claiming on Twitter that “the abuse was getting too much.” Having read the blog daily since its creation, I must say I didn’t see much abuse, merely people vociferously disagreeing with Allen’s point of view. And there is a big difference.

It’s a shame Lily Allen threw her toys out of her pram over this issue, and a shame too that it looks as though she could have quit music for good. For all her faults, Allen invokes debate and controversy, and that is something the music industry needs at this point in time.

[Photo Source: Newscom]

Post from: Brit Music Scene