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Lily Allen · S6 E4
Air Balloon
Pop lightness when the world wanted darkness
Early 2014. Months after 'Hard Out Here' sets the internet on fire, Lily Allen releases a single full of cartoon animals, rainbows, and a melody that sounds like it belongs on a children's TV show.
"As Long As I Got You" by Lily Allen (2014). From the same album that sparked a feminist culture war, this is Sheezus at its most uncomplicated: pure pop warmth without a trace of controversy. While the critics debate whether Lily Allen is a feminist hero or a hypocrite, this track just wants to make you smile.
The Whiplash
After 'Hard Out Here' and all its controversy, nobody expects Lily Allen's next move to be a bubblegum pop single about floating through the sky. 'Air Balloon' is bright, breezy, and deliberately lightweight. It's the sonic equivalent of walking out of a courtroom and going straight to a funfair.
As Long As I Got You, Lily Allen (2014)
'As Long As I Got You' strips everything back to the simplest equation: a warm beat, a singalong chorus, and Lily Allen sounding genuinely happy. Greg Kurstin's production is pure sunshine: acoustic guitar, handclaps, and a melody that could soundtrack a road trip with the windows down. There's no satire here, no social commentary, no axe to grind. It's the rarest thing on the Sheezus album: Lily Allen with her guard completely down.
TAP TO REVEAL: Why did Greg Kurstin make 'Air Balloon' sound so deliberately different from 'Hard Out Here'?
“People want me to be angry all the time now. But I've got two kids, I'm making music again, and sometimes I just want to write a happy song. Not everything has to be Hard Out Here.”
— Lily Allen, interview with The Guardian (February 2014)
The Numbers Don't Lie
'Air Balloon' peaks at number seven on the UK Singles Chart, outperforming several more 'serious' releases from the same month. The track proves Lily can deliver a pure pop hit just as effectively as a political anthem, reaching an audience that the 'Hard Out Here' controversy never touched. Whatever the critics think of the tonal shift, the public votes with their ears.
Air Balloon: Fast Facts
Close Your Eyes, Lily Allen
'Close Your Eyes' sits at the opposite end of the Sheezus spectrum from 'Air Balloon.' Where 'Air Balloon' floats through the sky without a care, this track pulls inward: quieter, more reflective, and carrying a vulnerability that the pop singles never show. It's the song that proves Sheezus has real emotional depth behind all the headlines and controversy.
Close Your Eyes, Lily Allen (2014)
Read the lyrics while you listen. After the sugar rush of 'Air Balloon' and the defiance of 'Hard Out Here,' these words land differently. This is Lily Allen writing for herself, not for headlines.
What was Lily Allen's single immediately before 'Air Balloon'?
Lily Allen has been fighting trolls on Twitter since the day her comeback started. With 'URL Badman,' she turns the fight into a song, and the trolls don't see it coming.
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