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Sheezus is the third studio album by English singer Lily Allen, released on 2 May 2014 by Parlophone. The album was Allen's first work after a five year hiatus since the release of her second studio album, It's Not Me, It's You (2009). Sheezus features production from longtime collaborator Greg Kurstin, along with the likes of Shellback, DJ Dahi and Fraser T. Smith. Upon release, Sheezus received generally mixed reviews from Music journalism. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Allen's second consecutive number-one album.
The album was preceded by the release of two singles. The lead single "Hard Out Here" was released on 17 November 2013 and entered the UK Singles Chart at number nine, giving Allen two simultaneous top-10 singles. "Air Balloon" was released as the second single from the album, peaking at number seven on the UK Singles Chart.
In 2009, Allen announced that she would be taking a hiatus from musical activities. The following year, she opened a fashion rental shop named Lucy in Disguise with her sister Sarah, followed by the 2011 launching of her own record label.
In 2013, Allen revealed that she had begun working on her third studio album. On 20 June 2012, Allen tweeted that she was in the studio working with Greg Kurstin on new music. She changed her professional name from Lily Allen to Lily Rose Cooper. In August 2013 she changed her professional name back to Allen and tweeted new music would be arriving "soon".
Allen confirmed in an interview with BBC Radio 1 on 19 November 2013 that she was to perform at the 2014 Glastonbury Festival. She also revealed that she wrote a song for the album inspired by a Twitter feud with Azealia Banks that happened in mid-2013. Sheezus was predominantly produced by longtime collaborator Greg Kurstin, with whom Allen had worked on her first and second studio albums. Other collaborations came from DJ Dahi, who produced the album's title track, and Shellback, who produced "Air Balloon".
"Air Balloon" is a bubblegum pop song that was described by Billboard as "more of a loopy lullaby than a slice of social commentary", the song contains a toy piano arrangement and creaseless beat. "Our Time" is song built over "synth pop swirls", described as having a "carefree attitude". "Insincerely Yours" is a funk song that contains a "narrative of blunt truths and gutsy celeb culture sneers." The track namechecks models Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn, as well as singer Rita Ora; Allen stated that the song is "not about them, it's about the idea of them—how the media perceive them. It's about how the way the media perceive them as entities and how that actually has nothing to do with how they are in real life."
"Take My Place" is a song that lyrically is about Allen's first child who she lost through a stillbirth in 2010. "As Long as I Got You" revolves around the theme of married life and Allen's partying past. "URL Badman" is a response to the controversy surrounding Allen's music video for Hard out Here. The song was described as "an astute slap across the faceless nature of the blogosphere". On "Silver Spoon", Allen lambasts all the critics who continually attribute her success to her privileged upbringing, echoing the "snarky charm" of her previous albums, Alright, Still and It's Not Me, It's You. "Hard out Here" is a "typically outspoken, sweary" synth-pop song. Lyrically, it speaks about "body image pressures and misogyny in the entertainment industry".
"Air Balloon" premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 13 January 2014, and was released on 2 March 2014 as the second single from the album. The song reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart. A video of "Our Time" appeared on 10 March 2014 to conincide with the tracklisting reveal. The physical release appeared on the 27 April, and peaked at number 43 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was serviced to radio in Italy on 14 April.
"URL Badman" was released on 13 July 2014 as the fourth single from the album. "As Long as I Got You" was released on 24 August 2014 as the fifth and final single. The music video was filmed at the Glastonbury Festival 2014 and released on 24 July.
On 14 November 2013, Allen made her debut live performance of "Hard Out Here" in the YoYos pod at the Red Bull Revolutions in Sound event on the London Eye. During an interview with Graham Norton on The Graham Norton Show on 21 February 2014, Allen performed the album's second single, "Air Balloon". On 24 May 2014, Allen performed "Sheezus", "Hard Out Here", "URL Badman" and "Our Time" as part of her set at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Glasgow.
Allen played at Glastonbury Festival on 27 June 2014, where she also recorded a video for "As Long as I Got You". Moreover, to promote the album, Allen embarked on the Sheezus Tour, which took place in Europe, Australia and North America.
In his review for The Guardian, journalist Alexis Petridis said Allen seems timid lyrically and musically inconsistent on an album that is "far from terrible – indeed, in parts it's very sharp". NME magazine's Laura Snapes was more critical and derided the lyrics as egotistical, clichéd, lacking conviction, and plagued by "empty grandstanding, trying to say something about female oppression, but not knowing quite what". Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing for AllMusic, felt only "Life for Me", "Insincerely Yours", and "URL Badman" showcase Allen's usually sharp songwriting, as "many of these songs falter on their specificity; she's traded incisive commentary for pedantic details paired with music that winds up diminished by her weariness." Stephanie Benson of Spin believed Allen's message in her lyrics about marriage and womanhood are inconsistent with the party themes on other songs: "Her attempt at convincing us she's a loving wife and mother of two, a savvy feminist, and a satirical mastermind mostly comes off as disingenuous."
In a positive review for the Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot argued that Sheezus is a modest but successful pop album that "connects because it's more conversational than confrontational, a personal statement that dabbles in pop rather than trying to embody the pop moment." Andy Gill of The Independent found both the music and themes diverse, which he felt "clinches the album's success, confirming that this is an artist with taste and opinions of her own, not just a schedule and a fanbase to satisfy". Robert Christgau was impressed by how melodic some of the songs are and Allen's take on marriage in her lyrics, writing in his review for Cuepoint: "Even when that bliss devolves into a painful argument, she can put it into song, and though the bite that was her premarital specialty has softened, give her credit—marital bliss is a theme few lyricists sharpen much at all."
Sheezus was placed at number 47 on The Daily Telegraphs list of 2014's best albums. Christgau ranked it 32nd on his year-end list for The Barnes & Noble Review.
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