Lily Allen has made history with her highest-charting album in over a decade as it becomes the most downloaded of the week.
The singer, 40, released her much-talked about divorce record West End Girl – and it has been a huge success.
Lily’s latest studio album – her fifth – has become her highest-charting since 2014’s chart-topping Sheezus.
West End Girl joins 2006’s Alright, Still, 2009’s It’s Not Me, It’s You, 2014 LP Sheezus and 2018’s No Shame in an unbroken run of five consecutive Top 10 studio albums for the West London singer.
Released only on digital platforms so far, no other digital-only release by a British artist in 2025 has been streamed more times in its opening week than West End Girl.
It’s also the UK’s most-downloaded album of the week, landing at Number 1 on the Official Albums Downloads Chart.
Lily Allen has made history with her highest-charting album in over a decade as it becomes the most downloaded of the week
She will tour the UK in March, with her first shows kicking off in Glasgow before moving to Liverpool, Newcastle, Bristol and Cardiff before bringing her tour to an end in London
The album’s physical release is due in January 2026, just ahead of Lily’s newly-announced UK tour.
Martin Talbot, Chief Executive Officer, Official Charts says: ‘Meanwhile, Lily Allen is close behind in the Top 5 with her powerful, devastatingly personal new album, making a huge digital-only impact despite its short notice release last week.
‘What a joy to see, in one week, the return of two very different British music icons, and for them to underline so powerfully the enduring health of British music in 2025.’
The singer, whose new album is about her ex-husband David Harbour’s affair and their split, insisted that her new music isn’t meant to be ‘cruel’ and said she didn’t feel like she was being ‘mean’ by sharing an insight into their break-up publicly.
She has since said her ex-husband may be the last famous person she is ever with because she doesn’t want to date another celebrity again.
‘It does, because I’m not really looking to go out with another famous person,’ she said.
Lily, who did the interview in Los Angeles, also feels it’s something of a ‘novelty’ for British men to date her because she is so well known in the UK.
‘Also, when I go on dates with other people, there’s a bit of a barrier in terms of, not so much here, but in England it’s a bit of a novelty to be on a date with me,’ she said.
After splitting from Stranger Things actor David after four years of marriage, it seems Lily, pictured with her ex-husband in 2023, wants to go in a different direction for her next relationship
She also opened up about navigating online dating while healing from heartbreak, admitting: ‘They’re awful, especially if you’re going through heartbreak’
Meanwhile, rapper Dave has become the first British rap act to debut three albums at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart
Lily dropped a hint that she has mended her relationship with David as she insisted she doesn’t want ‘revenge’ against him.
During a chat with Interview magazine, Lily claimed she now feels ‘differently’ about the breakdown of their marriage, after writing the album in ten days last December.
Lily’s new insight into her recent relationship came as her former partner was spotted with her children, Ethel, 13, and Marnie, 12, at Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida, leading to speculation that there had been peace talks between the former couple.
When asked whether the new album is a ‘revenge tour’, Lily said: ‘It isn’t. I mean, I wrote this record in ten days in December, and I feel very differently about the whole situation now. We all go through breakups, and it’s always f***ing brutal.
‘But I don’t think it’s that often that you feel inclined to write about it while you’re in it.’
Meanwhile, rapper Dave’s The Boy Who Played The Harp is named the fastest-selling rap album on vinyl this century.
He has become the first British rap act to debut three albums at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart.
His third studio record The Boy Who Played The Harp landed straight in at Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart.
According to Official Charts data, The Boy Who Played The Harp notched up a massive 73,800 UK chart sales over the past seven days, making it the second biggest opening week for a British album this year, just behind Sam Fender’s Mercury Prize-winning People Watching.
It’s also the fourth biggest opening week overall of 2025 so far, behind Taylor Swift’s The Life Of A Showgirl, Sam Fender and Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend.
As anticipation peaked for the release of his new record, Dave fans have been diving into his back catalogue too, sending his first two albums back into the Top 40.
