Outspoken UK pop mainstay Lily Allen has revealed that she was unable to release the song Sheezus from her upcoming album of the same name as a single, because it contained the word “period.” Allen has previously complained of the stifling influence of her label during this album cycle.
After a fan complained via Twitter that the singer’s singles L8 CMMR and Air Balloon were “docile pop rubbish,” Allen responded in the affirmative, saying, “What you’ve heard so far yes.” She explained, “All I can do is do my best, the labels and the radio stations won’t play the better stuff.”
When asked about her feelings regarding the control exuded by her label during a recent Rolling Stone interview, Allen explained that she intended for her comeback song, Hard Out Here, to be a radio single, “but you can’t have a song that has the word ‘bitch’ in it 72 times on the radio.”
“I would have liked to see Sheezus as a single,” she continued, “but it’s not up-tempo enough. It’s also got the word ‘period’ in it, which is really offensive to people, even though half the world has to deal with it once a month.” Commenting on the lack of menstrual references in music, she said, “It’s groundbreaking! I’m proud of that… I think that ‘period’ is going to be my ‘surfboard’ with Beyoncé.”
Speaking to TV3.ie at Vogue Festival earlier this month, Allen explained that higher-ups at radio stations and labels “are too scared to put themselves on the line in case someone gets offended,” meaning her singles have been “the more beige, saccharine elements to what I have made.”
Watch: Lily Allen – Our Time
