Lily Allen
Photo: George Pimentel/ WireImage

Lily Allen isn't renewing her record contract, and she's got no plans to release a new album anytime soon, or possibly ever. Or maybe she does?

On Thursday (September 24), Allen took to her just-launched "It's Not Alright" blog — which she started earlier this week to discuss and debate the issue of music piracy (which she is against, because it "[has] a dangerous effect on British music ... it's making it harder and harder for new acts to emerge — to announce that she's quitting the music business, mostly, it appeared, because of the abuse she got from fans over her anti-piracy stance.

"Just so you know, I have not renegotiated my record contract and have no plans to make another record (applause). I do however remain a fan of new music, so this is not some selfish crusade," Allen wrote. "The days of me making money from recording music has been and gone as far as I'm concerned ... Slagging me, my music and my so-called 'family connections' off, and calling me a government puppet is not going to get anyone anywhere, so stop it. I think people assume we artists are a lot richer than you think we are, please bear in mind this doesn't have anything to do with me or my wealth."

Hours later, Allen deleted not just the post, but her entire blog because, as she would later write on her Twitter account, "the abuse was getting too much."

It's not as if the news is exactly shocking, given that Allen has been talking about quitting music and raising a family ever since she started doing press for her It's Not Me, It's You album earlier this year. But does she mean it? And if so, what does that mean for Allen's string of International tour dates, which run until December?

MTV News emailed Allen's label, Capitol Records, seeking comment on the situation, but we were told to contact her management company. As of press time, the singer's manager has yet to respond to MTV News' request for comment.

However, her U.K. rep told England's New Musical Express that Allen most definitely "is not quitting music," and that "she is not thinking about her next album right now because she is still in the middle of promoting her current record."

• MTV News RAW: Lily Allen

• Lily Allen

Lily Allen
Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Earlier this year, Lily Allen and Perez Hilton engaged in a very nasty — and quite entertaining — war of words on Twitter that set new standards for 140-character catfights.

And now, they're back for round two.

It all started Thursday (August 27), when Hilton posted a photo of Allen on his Web site featuring the standard Perez treatment (lots of crude doodles) and the headline "Lily Allen + Motherhood = Disaster."

In the accompanying text, Hilton linked to a recent interview Allen had given to the U.K.'s OK! magazine, in which she said she wanted to retire from the music business and raise a family on a farm. Hilton then expounded on her virtues as a mother, writing: "Bad Idea! ...We forsee the afternoon Lily gets so drunk she confuses the playpen for the pig pen and her baby has to waddle in mud for hours before someone notices ... can't [Allen] stick to intoxication instead of moving on to procreation? It's what [she] knows best!"

Somewhat understandably, this upset Allen — who reportedly suffered a miscarriage last year — and she took to her Twitter account to call Hilton "an evil bastard," then wrote, "I hate this man. Someone better watch themselves. And yes, that is a threat."

Hilton responded with laughter (seriously, he tweeted "Ha ha ha ha!") then wrote, "I love you too! xoxo."

Meanwhile, an Allen fan had sent a message to the singer, assuring her that Hilton "wasn't worth the effort," to which Allen responded "maybe worth a few phonecalls though," suggesting that Hilton might be hearing from her lawyers.

A spokesperson for Allen had not responded to MTV News' request for comment on the matter at press time.

Hilton then fired back, telling Allen, "I'm worth more than that," then tweeting a link to his Gap-sponsored fashion Web site and suggesting that she should read it alongside reality TV mom Kate Gosselin.

At press time, Allen had maintained Twitter silence, possibly signaling the end of this bout. Hilton, on the other hand, has since gotten back to business as usual.

• Lily Allen

MTV News Picks For Best Albums of the Year (So Far)
Photo: MTV News

The actual midway point of 2009 occurred on July 2, one week after the death of arguably the greatest entertainer of our generation. It was a pretty somber way to cap off the first 182.5 days of the year and, obviously, pretty much everyone's attention was turned to eulogizing the King of Pop (myself included ... twice over).

One piece I had intended on writing was my annual mid-year "Best Of" list, taking a look at my favorite albums released so far. And, well, here it is. There's lots of ground to cover, and I used a lot of words to do it (more than 2,000?! Jeez ... ), so let's get right to it. Here are my picks — some honorable mentions and a straightforward Top 10 — for the Best Albums of 2009 (So Far).

Honorable Mentions

Bat for Lashes, Two Suns
Multiple-personality music from schoolteacher-turned-songsmith Natasha Khan, Suns envisions pop music much in the same way M83's Saturdays=Youth did: through a John Hughes-ian filter. An album filled with gauzy vintage synths and odes to teenage love, as told by Khan and her alter ego Pearl, it's bravely backward-looking and weirdly prescient at the same time. If only all pop could be this good.

Dan Auerbach, Keep It Hid
Black Keys' main man goes solo, makes the best (or at least most somber, rousing, dusty, creaky, pretty, dank, horny, focused, swampy, sweaty, spooky, funky) Black Keys album yet. "I Want More" is a herky-jerky haunted-house ride, "When the Night Comes" is a plaintive, plucky ballad, and "Goin' Home" sounds like a Beatles B-side. There's a lot here, and it's all good.

The Decemberists, The Hazards of Love
The Pacific Northwest's reigning poets laureate ditch the diction and make a batsh-- prog-rock album (OK, it's still plenty wordy — the title track is broken into three sections, with handles like "The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle the Thistles Undone"). They unveiled it with a big, booming show at South By Southwest, and frontman Colin McCoy unveiled some burly sideburns for the occasion. Not surprisingly, this one runs a bit long, but there are hooks for days. Bookworms shouldn't be able to rock this hard, but the Decemberists do.

The Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca
Grating, overly cutesy choir exercise, or daring, artfully arranged vocal experiment? To be honest, I can't really seem to decide, though given that this album has received near-universal acclaim, it seems to be the latter, which is why I keep giving it second (and third, and fourth) listens. There's something here; I'm just not sure I've got the patience to find it.

Ida Maria, Fortress Round My Heart, and the Dead Weather, Horehound
Both are currently stuck in the six-disc changer of my friend Monty's car, so I will grade them both as incompletes for the time being. But Ida rocks and rambles like the female Craig Finn, and the Weather recalls the rattling, ethereal darkness of the Jesus and Mary Chain, so, you know, based on what I've heard, both are plenty good.

Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown
The album that drew the unenviable task of following the decade's biggest rock spectacle, Breakdown might not be a better album than Green Day's revelatory American Idiot, but it's certainly a more accomplished one. A difficult album about a difficult topic (because, really, how do you encompass this upside-down decade?), it's proven divisive among GD fans and rock critics alike, though, according to my pal Christopher Weingarten, this is the best album of the year. And really, who am I to disagree?

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Swoony, gossamer-thin nu-gaze (get it?!?) from a bunch of Brooklyn kids too young to remember My Bloody Valentine or Sarah Records. Somehow, nothing gets lost in translation. Pure, unadulterated joy — whirringly, blurringly so.

Silversun Pickups, Swoon
The year's most unlikely rock-radio success story, the Pickups proved they weren't just flashes in the pan thanks to "Panic Switch," a very angsty track on their very angsty album. Frontman Brian Aubert told us the song is about a nervous breakdown, which is fitting, because it probably gave a few program directors shakes when they realized they had to fit the track next to Shinedown's latest. It's just one song, but at this point, we'll take all the small victories we can get.

UGK, UGK 4 Life
The real King of the South (his highness Bun B) leads a funeral procession for his partner (the late Pimp C) and a victory lap for the beloved Underground Kingz. In keeping with tradition, the beats are smooth like a wood-grain grip, the production is plush like velour seat-covers, and B emits vocal sparks like a dragging muffler. It's hardly a somber affair — more like a joyous celebration, which is probably why Bun included the ode to hirsute ladies. You know, for old time's sake.

The Top 10

10. Mos Def, The Ecstatic
Fun, funky and free — not to mention rambling, shambling and downright terrifying at points. And partially sung in Spanish. Mos Def is pretty much everything at this point (actor, rapper, poet, rocker, dodgy interview subject), and this album perfectly captures his free-wheeling, wide-ranging personae. It leaps through time (and time signatures), genres and generations with glee, gets political and doomy at points, is biting and smart and also a genuine thrill to listen to. Throw in cameos by Slick Rick (as a soldier in Iraq on "Auditorium") and Mos' Black Star partner Talib Kweli (on the J Dilla-produced "History"), and you've got the album his fans have been waiting for since 1999's milestone Black on Both Sides. Welcome back to earth, Ford Prefect.

9. Lily Allen, It's Not Me, It's You
Super-smart pop from a woman who makes no bones about being anything but, It's Not Me details the breakups, makeups, booze-ups and punch-ups of Allen's recent years, only, thanks to her growing strength as a songwriter, it's never alienating or off-putting. Lily's a very normal girl, unsatisfied by her lover (the great "Not Fair"), let down by life ("The Fear," "22") and just looking for a little tenderness ("Chinese") or forgiveness ("Back to the Start"). She's also brave enough to admit that she feels all those things, which puts her head-and-shoulders above everyone else in her field. She's the perfectly (im)perfect pop star, which is just what we need in these imperfect times.

8. Amadou & Mariam, Welcome to Mali
A married musical couple from Mali who just so happen to both be blind? Sounds like a music journo's wet dream (and it probably is). Still, on A&M's Welcome to Mali, the duo make breathtakingly beautiful, undeniably inspired music, blending rock guitars with Syrian violins, Egyptian flutes and Dogon percussion — to name just a few. Sometimes little more than Mariam's achingly pretty voice, others a whirling, rousing boogie powered by Amadou's ax, it's music for all seasons and all people. Released overseas last year, it saw the light of the day here in the States back in March, and I'm thankful to have gotten the chance to hear it. You should too.

7. Wilco, Wilco (The Album)
Am I a 30-something white dude who lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn? Pssht, no. I'm a 30-something white dude who lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (there's a difference), and yet I still like the strummy, somber, decidedly NPR-ified version of Wilco. Jeff Tweedy and company appear to be aging gracefully here — except on the unwieldy "Bull Black Nova," of course, which seems to be about murdering someone in a car — and, in the process, they've created the summertime anthem for anyone who owns a battered Volvo wagon and spends their Saturdays playing kickball in McCarren Park. But don't hold that against them.

6. Grizzly Bear, Veckatimest
Beautiful, aural indie-rock from the gentlest band in Brooklyn (or the world, for that matter), Veckatimest — named after a small island in Massachusetts, just in case you were wondering — is full of carefully strummed guitars, hushed drums and, most notably, otherwordly harmonies, the musical equivalent of a million New England summer sunsets. A stunning, gorgeous album, featuring songs like "Cheerleader" and "Two Weeks," which are among the finest you'll hear this year. It leaked super early, but that didn't matter: Grizz fans are loyal, so when the album improbably bowed inside the Billboard top 10 (#8!), Grizzly Bear acted like any muted, genuinely nice indie band would — they Twittered a "thank you" note to their fans. Sometimes nice guys do finish first ... or eighth.

5. Kelly Clarkson, All I Ever Wanted
Yes, seriously. The finest pop album you'll hear this year, full of perfectly crafted, big-budget tunes, All I Ever Wanted is sort of like some high-powered musical F-14, with Clarkson as the pilot. Some might say that the album is her peace offering to Clive Davis (after the whole My December debacle), but I like to see it as her finally realizing her full potential as a pop megastar. We get big, bold tunes like "My Life Would Suck Without You" and "I Do Not Hook Up" mingling with weepers like "If No One Will Listen" and "Cry" (duh). She is empowered yet vulnerable, everything you could ask for in a star of her caliber ... pop perfection, delivered by the best voice in the business. Kelly is back. It's almost like she never went away.

4. Dinosaur Jr, Farm
In 2005, alt-rock elders Dino Jr surprised pretty much everyone by setting aside their differences and reuniting for a European tour. In 2007, they surprised pretty much everyone by recording a new album that was actually pretty awesome. And now they're back with Farm, an album that's even awesomer than their last one. So, I guess the question is: At what point do we stop being surprised? Held up by a couple of epic, solo-laden tracks ("Plans" and "Said the People"), Farm is shiftless, stoner rock that sounds exactly like the dudes playing it look, if that makes any sense. But don't let the glasses, paunches and poor posture fool you — as evidenced by the songs here, these dudes can kick your ass ... once they get up off the couch, that is.

3. Dan Deacon, Bromst
Massive-yet-molecular, full of never-ending builds that head heavenward and deep burrowing lows that strike limestone, Deacon has always made electronic music unlike anyone else ... and on Bromst, he's gone orchestral. Sure, this is still very much music crafted on laptops, but he's added a multitude of instruments to the madness here, which gives songs extra sonic wallop, and moves the album into the space of really, truly great art. This is communal stuff, hands-on and hippified, the kind of music that ascribes to a higher quality. It's also maddening, beautiful, ear-splitting and pin-drop quiet ... a cacophonous spazzer one second, churchly hushed the next. It's carefully crafted and composed chaos, with Deacon holding the conductor's baton. One bone to pick, however: If he really is our Mozart, perhaps he should stop wearing cutoffs.

2. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Retro pop hyper-focused on a futuristic re-imagination of post-modernism and neo-classicism as proletarian touchstones? That you can dance to? Why, of course they're French — but don't let the book-speak fool you. Phoenix are, at their very bourgeois heart, a pure pop band, and on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, they've crafted the year's most unabashed ode to the power of pop music. It's an album of undeniable melodies, joyous choruses and razor-sharp hooks — one that you wish would go on for eons (but sadly, is over in just 10 too-short tracks). Sure, conceptually they may be aiming for the stars, but with songs like "Lisztomania," "1901" and "Rome," they're also gunning for your heart, your hips and your lips. History can be awesome sometimes.

1. Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion
The blogs were right. Proclaimed to be "The Album of the Year" all the way back in January, and it's turned out to be about the only thing I can remember that has actually lived up to the hype ... if not exceeded it. A massive, hugely important record, one that represents one of this decade's most impressive groups operating at the absolute peak of their powers, MPP is the one people are gonna remember for a long, long time. Immaculately produced (Those highs! Those lows!) and full of bizarre, undeniable art-pop ("My Girls," "Lion in a Coma," "Summertime Clothes"), it shows what's possible if you stick to your guns and never, ever sacrifice your ideals. Amazing, breathtaking, undeniable — this time the hype machine got it right: The year really was over in January.

If there's something I've missed — or if you've got a list of your own — you can let me know in the comments below ... or e-mail me at BTTS@MTVStaff.com.

• MTV News RAW: Lily Allen

• Lily Allen
• Mos Def
• Kelly Clarkson
• Grizzly Bear
• Animal Collective

Lily Allen
Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Lily Allen is hitting back — only this time the singer is not using her feet or fists. A day after the tabloid-magnet singer was allegedly rear-ended by a paparazzo who was following her car — leading to a confrontation captured on camera in which it was reported that Allen punched and kicked the offending photog and chucked a water bottle at him — Allen's lawyers have taken action to put some distance between the singer and the swarm of snappers who are constantly shadowing her every move.

"My client has faced constant harassment over the last few months from the paparazzi," reads a statement released on Friday (March 13) by Allen's lawyer, Mark Thomson. "As a result of this and various incidents of harassment that took place yesterday my client has now been forced to take legal action. In a court hearing that took place this afternoon, my client, Lily Allen, has resolved issues surrounding her constant harassment with two picture agencies and has also obtained from the High Court an injunction restraining further harassment of her by other paparazzi photographers. My client, Lily Allen, is delighted with the outcome of the hearing today."

A spokesperson for Allen also said on Friday that despite speculation from British tabloids that possible legal action from the incident could affect her upcoming North American tour, her April dates will "not be impacted in any way."

Amy Winehouse was forced this week to cancel her appearance at next month's Coachella Festival in Indio, California, because she was recently charged with assault and, as a result, had problems obtaining a visa for the gig. Allen had her U.S. working visa revoked in 2007 after officials questioned her at the Los Angeles airport over an arrest earlier that year for a similar incident involving a paparazzo. The revocation resulted in Allen missing that year's MTV Video Music Awards ceremony in Las Vegas, where she was up for Best New Artist. At press time, neither police nor the paparazzo had taken any legal action against Allen.

When MTV caught up with Allen last month, she addressed what she described as the constant harassment from the paparazzi and said it sometimes makes her wonder if it's all worth it. "When I took a break between one album and another and you're still getting that attention," she said, "you're weighing it up like, 'I don't like this, this is my time off. I've just been on tour for two years. This isn't my job to walk out my house and be followed around by 30 guys with cameras all day.' That's when you start going, 'F--- this s---. I've really had it.' "

"I'm working, I'm on the promo trail, there's an interest," she said. "It makes sense. But there are times when it doesn't, and I get irritated and annoyed and unhappy at those times and I start thinking maybe I'm not doing the right thing with my life because it's obviously not making me happy."

• MTV News RAW: Lily Allen

• Lily Allen

Lily Allen (file)
Photo: PEX/ BuzzFoto/ FilmMagic

Aside from the occasional Twitter feud with Perez Hilton, Brit-pop bad girl Lily Allen has mostly been on her best behavior lately. But on Thursday, the "Everyone's at It" singer reportedly unleashed her powerful right hook on a paparazzo who allegedly bumped into the back of her car while pursuing her.

The Telegraph reports that Allen took a swing at the unnamed photog before being pulled back by one of her security guards following the alleged rear-ender. The paper has a photo of the alleged incident, in which Allen can be seen swinging her right fist and apparently missing the face of an unnamed man as a minder holds her left arm.

A spokesperson for Allen count not be reached for comment at press time. The singer is currently touring Britain in support of her recent album It's Not Me, It's You, but several British media outlets have speculated that if the photographer decides to press charges, or a police investigation results in an arrest for Allen, it could put her upcoming U.S. tour plans in jeopardy. Allen is scheduled to begin a month-long North American tour on April 1 at the House of Blues in San Diego, according to her Web site.

This week, fellow British bad girl Amy Winehouse was forced to cancel her appearance at next month's Coachella Festival in Indio, California, because she was recently charged with assault and was having problems obtaining a visa for the gig as a result. Allen had her U.S. working visa revoked in 2007 after officials questioned her at the Los Angeles airport over an arrest earlier that year for a similar incident involving a paparazzo. The revocation resulted in Allen missing that year's MTV Video Music Awards ceremony in Las Vegas, where she was up for Best New Artist.

London's Metro had more photos of the alleged incident, in which Allen is seen chucking a water bottle at an unseen person and kicking the camera-wielding paparazzo in the leg as he smiles and tries to deflect her attack.

Allen's current single, "The Fear," addresses her frequently contentious relationship with the constant swarm of photographers who chronicle her every move in England, with the lyrics, "I'll take my clothes off and it will be shameless/ 'Cause everyone knows that's how you get famous/ I'll look at the Sun and I'll look in the Mirror/ I'm on the right track — yeah, I'm onto a winner."

• MTV News RAW: Lily Allen

• Lily Allen

Lily Allen
Photo: MTV News

Lily Allen's It's Not Me, It's You debuted in the top five of the Billboard albums chart last week, and she also found her way to the top of the British singles, album and radio-play charts too. She's got a U.S. headlining tour scheduled for April, and she totally owned Perez Hilton in a recent Twitter battle. Needless to say, things are pretty good in Lily land at the moment.

So why is she thinking about quitting the business entirely?

"I'm a 'live the day' person. I have no idea what I'm doing tomorrow. I certainly don't think about a week from now or a month from now," she laughed. "As far as the future goes, there's only a vague plan of getting married and having kids. I couldn't tell you if I'm going to make another record, because I don't know if I'm going to enjoy this in six months' time."

So, Lily fans, enjoy her while you can. Because she might be trading in her platinum plaques for 2.5 kids and a minivan. And while her attitude toward her career is certainly a refreshing change of pace, it also begs the question: If making music doesn't make her happy, why release another album in the first place?

"Because I was given a big advance, and I've spent it. It's gone," she deadpanned. "No, this is what I'm doing right now, and there have been times when it hasn't made me happy, mainly when people are being really mean to me or when I'm getting followed down the street. When I took a break between one album and the other, still getting all that attention, you start weighing it all up, and it's like, 'I don't like this. This is my time off. I've been on tour for two years. This isn't my job to walk out of the house and be followed by 30 guys with cameras all day.' That's when you start going, 'F--- this sh--.' "

Still, she's enjoying the ride these days (even going so far as to claim she's "pretty damn happy" right now), which means retirement probably isn't in the cards anytime soon. But if she had her way, would she really be out on the road touring and promoting her new album? Probably not.

"Isn't the point of life to find a partner, to settle down? That's the idea, isn't it?" she said. "I don't know if I want to get married. I know I want to be falling in love, that's the good sh-- there. And I know people have been reading that about me a lot, lately, so I just want to say that I am not actively hunting for a husband. Much."

• MTV News RAW: Lily Allen

• Lily Allen

Lily Allen
Photo: MTV News

In 1998, Spin featured Australian ingénue Natalie Imbruglia on its June cover, putting her doe-eyed visage beneath the headline "Building the Perfect Pop Star."

At the time, it didn't seem like that great of a leap. After all, we were still roughly six months away from Britney Spears, and Imbruglia — a former child star with a massive hit under her belt (the weepy "Torn") and an album climbing the charts — seemed like a fairly safe bet to conquer the globe. Of course, in retrospect, Spin made a pretty terrible call, because Imbruglia never became the perfect pop star. In fact, I had to turn to Wikipedia to realize that she even released another album (two of them, in fact!).

The reason I mention this has less to do with Natalie Imbruglia than it does with Lily Allen. I'm not really sure what the two have in common — if anything — aside from the fact that Allen seems to get much of the same hyperbole thrown her way. She is "the perfect pop star for these crumbling times." The "wordsmith of the MySpace generation," proclaims one rather breathless press release. Now please allow me to throw another hype-soaked log onto the flame. Sort of.

Because while Allen might not be the perfect pop star, she's not Natalie Imbruglia, either. She is flawed and chipped and endlessly entertaining. She has a background that rivals your average hash dealer, she gets fabulously drunk in nightclubs, and she smokes cigarettes with reckless abandon. She spends too much money on clothes and gets into petty fights on Twitter and cries during interviews. She seems less like the model of a 21st century pop star and more like the kind of girlfriend you'd have when you're 22 — the awesome kind you'd go backpacking around Europe with, wear a sarong with. She is perfectly imperfect. Which is why she's probably also the most interesting pop star ever created.

I'm sure this point can be debated endlessly. Are bad behavior and MySpace meltdowns really that interesting? Well, no. But they're certainly human. And that's what separates Lily from her pop contemporaries — she's human, almost to a fault (and certainly more than Britney and Christina and Katy combined). And that's what makes her and her music so interesting — and so complex. There is very little about Allen that's black and white: She's kind of sexy, but probably not a sex symbol. She's mega successful, but she doesn't appear to care too much about the trappings of her success. She's coy, yet self-aware. Empowered, yet needy to the core. She deals almost exclusively in the grays of life.

And nowhere is she quite so gray as on her new album, It's Not Me, It's You. There are songs about how soul-crushing success can be. And about how fantastic it is to be rich and famous. She makes statements about being happy on her own, then sings about wanting nothing more than to be held by a man. She admonishes clingy exes, yet calls them when she's at her weakest. She makes no apologies, except for when she's apologizing to her sister and her father. It's perhaps the most human pop album ever created. It provides no answers to anything, because, well, the stuff Allen's dealing with usually doesn't have any answers. It's a multifaceted look at a world that's becoming increasingly multifaceted. So maybe she is the wordsmith of the MySpace generation.

Of course, it's entirely possible that all this might change. When I interviewed Allen last week, she was more guarded, less willing to let fly with the eyebrow-raising statements and the sh-- talk (she even had nice things to say about Britney). Perhaps she learned her lesson, and finally understands that shooting her mouth off is more trouble than it's worth. Maybe she's grown tired of the rigmarole that comes with being an imperfect 21st century pop star, and realizes that things would be much easier for her if she would just get in line. That would certainly be a shame — not just for me, but for fans like me — but I suppose it's inevitable.

Because when you're dealing with someone as wonderfully, endearingly, fascinatingly imperfect as Allen, an identity crisis almost seems like the next logical step. It certainly makes her even more human, when you think about it. Is this a good thing for her and her career? I'm not really sure ... I guess you could say I'm torn.

Questions? Concerns? Hit me up at BTTS@MTVStaff.com.

• MTV News RAW: Lily Allen

• Lily Allen

Taylor Swift's <i>Fearless</i>
Photo: Big Machine Records

After taking a couple of weeks off, Taylor Swift will once again top next week's Billboard albums chart. But the big news is the post-Grammy sales bump, which sent her album and plenty of others surging back up into the upper reaches of the chart.

Possibly thanks to her duet with Miley Cyrus on the Grammy telecast, Swift's Fearless sold more than 91,700 copies to grab #1, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Sitting at #2, with sales of more than 76,500 copies — a 715 percent increase from last week — is Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' Raising Sand, which took home five awards on Grammy night, including Album of the Year. On last week's chart, Sand sat at #69. Two weeks ago, it was out of the Top 200.

Landing at #3, with sales of close to 75,400 copies, is neo-soul chanteuse India.Arie, who scored the week's biggest debut with her Testimony: Volume 2, Love & Politics. Last week's chart champs, the Fray, sit at #4, selling more than 75,100 copies of their self-titled album. Chippy Brit Lily Allen debuts at #5, selling about 69,900 copies of her sophomore album, It's Not Me, It's You.

Bruce Springsteen's Working on a Dream sits at #6, with sales of more than 64,500 copies, and Bobby Valentino's Rebirth bows at #7, with 64,100 sold.

Coldplay — who took home three awards on Grammy night, including Song of the Year — jumped all the way from #31 to #8, selling more than 62,100 copies (a 271 percent increase from the previous week's numbers) of Viva la Vida Or Death and All His Friends. The 2009 Grammy Nominees compilation is next at #9, with sales of 61,000 copies, and Best New Artist winner Adele leapt from #27 to #10, selling more than 56,000 copies of her debut, 19.

Outside the top 10, there were plenty of other artists who benefitted from some post-Grammy love. Jamie Foxx — who performed a tribute to the Four Tops alongside Ne-Yo during the telecast — posted a 10 percent increase in sales, landing at #14. T.I., whose "Swagga Like Us" won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group, saw a boost from his pair of Grammy performances, as sales of Paper Trail increased by 45 percent, locking him in at #18. Kid Rock didn't win any awards, but thanks to his performance, sales of his Rock N Roll Jesus album jumped up 64 percent, giving him the #21 spot.

Lil Wayne won a trio of trophies on Grammy night and rocked the stage twice, which might explain why he saw sales of Tha Carter III jump 34 percent, placing it at #29. Jennifer Hudson's strong and soulful performance boosted sales of her self-titled debut by 112 percent; moving it all the way from #47 to #30. The Kings of Leon, Duffy, Lady Antebellum, Radiohead, M.I.A. and John Mayer also saw big jumps in sales thanks in part to their Grammy participation.

Check out MTV News' complete Grammy 2009 coverage right here!

• Taylor Swift
• Coldplay
• India.Arie
• Lily Allen
• Adele

Lily Allen
Photo: George Pimentel/ WireImage

Lily Allen might claim to be "pretty damn happy" these days, but it's clear that she's not running away from any fights. Case in point: the rather nasty war of words she recently engaged in with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton on Twitter.

Yes, for most of Monday (February 16), the two duked it out — 140 characters at a time — on the micro-blogging site after Perez wrote a post (er, "Tweet") letting it be known that Allen was casting for her new video, and that he should be considered for a role in the clip.

The quick-witted Brit fired back — writing "Oh, I'm sorry, we've already cast the jealous and bitter lonely old queen role. Next time, eh?" on her Twitter page — and just like that, it was off and running.

"Jealous of who?" Hilton responded. "David Beckham, maybe. And if I wanted to be a f---ed up Brit, I'd rather be Amy Winehouse — whose [sic] got talent."

The two then exchanged "you're so obsessed" barbs, before Hilton decided to take the beef to the next level, taking a potshot at the sales of Allen's just-released album, It's Not Me, It's You, which is selling at a low retail price.

"Congrats on your album doing well in America, though," he wrote. "It's REALLY HARD to sell copies when u discount it to $3.99. Desperate."

"It's also #1 everywhere else in the world, douchebag," Allen replied. "Go away you little parasite."

Hilton then tried to play nice — saying that both he and Allen were "big fat c---s," and that's why he loves her — then abruptly switched gears, getting catty about ads Allen's label had purchased to run on his Web site.

"P.S. Thanks for advertising on my website," Hilton wrote. "I'll take your money (or the label's) anytime!"

"I know you will, and that's what makes you a cheap ass w---e," Allen responded. "Now leave me alone, stop following me, I'm working. Bye x x."

Dang! Soon after the exchange, Allen attempted to block Hilton from reading her Twitter updates. Apparently, this didn't work, as Hilton repeatedly tried to re-ignite the feud, even attempting to bring Allen's U.S. labelmate (and onetime rival) Katy Perry into the mix, but alas, Lily was having none of it, and by Tuesday morning, Hilton was back to business-as-usual.

• Lily Allen
• Perez Hilton
• Amy Winehouse

Lily Allen
Photo: MTV News

Lily Allen is pretty happy these days.

That might fly in the face of a lot of things you might have read about her — that she's lonely, she's miserable, she's trapped by fame — but to hear her tell it, things couldn't be much better.

"I'd say right now, I'm pretty damn happy. I'm pretty pleased with myself right now," she laughed. "When people interview pop stars, this is it: 'Look at my teeth, they're really shiny! And I'm sooo happy to be here right now, and I just love all my fans and I just want to thank everyone for being sooo nice to me all the time and my life is just brilliant!' And because I'm not like that, people think I'm sad. I'm not ... I'm just me."

Of course, that me also warrants plenty of tabloid coverage — the catfights with Katy Perry (which Allen says is "nothing ... She called me fat once), the spat with Elton John, the boozy nights out and about — and shapes the public's perception of her. Which is why she decided to call her new album It's Not Me, It's You.

"There's a guy called Mike Skinner [who records under the name] the Streets, and he did a record that basically talked about how awful it was to be rich and famous, and I found that really boring," she explained. "It would be easy [for me] to do it because it's something I feel, but I'm always aware when I'm writing songs that other people have got to be able to relate to them. There aren't that many famous people in the world, and there definitely aren't that many famous people who are going to buy my record."

It's an album very much about the trials and tribulations of Allen's (very public) life: the late nights ("Everyone's At It"); the tattered relationships, both romantic ("Never Gonna Happen"), and with her family ("Back To The Start," "He Wasn't There"); the pitfalls of celebrity ("22," the first single "The Fear"). But in a funny way — and in perhaps the biggest testament to her burgeoning skill as a songwriter — it's a universal album. Allen might be a much-hounded celeb with a string of exes and a gaggle of Internet haters, but as it turns out, she's not that much different from any other 23-year-old woman.

"That's what I try to do," she said. "If you look at a song like 'Chinese,' it's about how, when people go away from home, they just want to be back on the sofa eating [take-out food] and watching TV — that's it. Or a song like 'Not Fair' ... I think probably quite a lot of girls feel unsatisfied by their boyfriends in bed, I do. I write songs about it, and I think girls relate to that."

But, of course, this is Lily Allen we're talking about. So even if she's telling exceedingly normal tales, there's always a bit of a twist. For example, when asked about celebrity and how she handles it on a daily basis, she doesn't give a stock answer. Rather, she thinks about it for a minute, then laughs.

"I have no control over most of it. But, to be honest, I Google myself," she smiled. "But I do it to see if people are writing bullsh--, so I can sue them. I Google myself to send stuff to my lawyers."

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