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Lily Allen · S5 E5
Lily Rose Cooper
Changing her name, changing her life — or trying to
Lily Allen's Twitter account, August 2, 2012. Her publicist announces that the woman behind "Smile," "The Fear," and "Fuck You" will now be known professionally as Lily Rose Cooper, and for about twelve months the world tries to pretend that's a normal thing to do.
"True Love" by Pink ft. Lily Rose Cooper, official music video (2013). The only song ever released under Allen's married name. She filmed her parts separately, chopping vegetables in a kitchen while Pink sings about a love-hate relationship. It's the perfect visual metaphor for Allen's hiatus: a pop star playing housewife, and not quite pulling it off.
The Reinvention
In September 2010, Allen and her half-sister Sarah Owen opened Lucy in Disguise, a vintage clothing boutique at 10 King Street, Covent Garden. The shop had rooms devoted to different fashion eras, a Bumble & Bumble hair salon, a Grey Goose vodka bar, and a PlayStation den. Retail consultant Mary Portas advised on the business. Channel 4 documented the venture in a three-part series called Lily Allen: From Riches to Rags.
TAP TO REVEAL: Which future number-one artist got their start on Lily Allen's record label?
10 King Street, Covent Garden, London
The original home of Lucy in Disguise, Allen and Sarah Owen's vintage clothing boutique. The shop launched in September 2010 as a pop-up destination for fashion-forward Londoners before Allen stepped back from the business in 2011.
The Lily Rose Cooper Era
Insincerely Yours -- Lily Allen
From Sheezus (2014). The title captures everything about the Lily Rose Cooper period: a performance of sincerity that wasn't quite sincere. Allen spent twelve months trying to be a different person, with a different name, a different career, and a different life. This track, written shortly after she dropped the act, feels like the exhale after holding your breath for too long.
Insincerely Yours -- Lily Allen (2014)
Read the lyrics while you listen. Allen is writing to the version of herself that tried to disappear into someone else's life, and the letter is equal parts apology and accusation.
Which future number-one artist did Lily Allen sign to her record label ITNO?
The name change lasted twelve months. The clothing line lasted three years. The record label lasted four. But during the hiatus Allen learned something about the music industry she could never unsee. Next: what she saw behind the curtain that nobody wanted to talk about.
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