"Not Fair" is a song by British recording artist Lily Allen from her second studio album, It's Not Me, It's You (2009). Written by Allen and Greg Kurstin, the song was released as the second single from the album on 20 March 2009 by Regal Recordings. The song incorporates country music as the lyrics depict sexual frustration. Contemporary critics did not positively receive the song and its theme, some calling it a "pseudo-country track" and considering it a strange musical composition.[1] The single peaked in the top 20 of the charts of some European countries and Australia, while scoring Allen's second consecutive top-five hit on both the UK Singles Chart and the Dutch Top 40 (since in the latter "Fuck You" was a commercial success before "Not Fair").
The accompanying music video portrayed a western country theme, with Allen dancing next to a microphone while backing singers are dressed as cowgirls, accompanied by cattle and poultry. The video was shot the same day of the release of the single. It was performed live on different occasions, including Allen's 2009 concert tour. In Australia, the song was ranked at number eight on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2009.[2]
In the song, Allen describes her relationship with a boyfriend to which she describes him as "the perfect guy" yet is frustrated at his sexual laziness. She furthermore describes the situation as "Not Fair" because while he plays the perfect boyfriend in every other way, he is selfish when it comes to their sex life ("all you do is take") – thus the song gives the impression that all his niceness and concern may have been just a face to get what he wants from his girlfriend without any genuine concern with her satisfaction and happiness.
The single was officially released on January and climbed the charts, still being in the top 10 in June. The single was released as a digital download on 21 March 2009 (iTunes) and on 11 May 2009 as a CD. Allen performed it live for the first time on Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on 21 March 2009.
The censored version of the song, which is often used on the radio, blanks out the words "wet patch" and "I spent ages giving head" on the second verse, replacing them with a burst of the background instruments. An alternative version only removes the word "head", replacing it with a short chord played on a mouth organ. While performing the song in the BBC Radio Live Lounge and on The Graham Norton Show, she replaced the latter with "I spent ages kneading bread".
Compositionedit
This section needs expansion with: stub. You can help by adding to it. (June 2017)
"Not Fair" charted two months before the release date at number 200 in the UK. By 2 May, "Not Fair" reached the #10 spot on the official chart before reaching a final peak of #5. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 32 on 18 May 2009, giving Allen her fifth top 40 hit there. It has so far peaked at number 20. The song has also been a big hit in Australia, where it peaked at number three and has so far spent eight consecutive weeks in the top 10, equalling the success of her previous single "The Fear".
Music videoedit
Allen in the 1970s-inspired music video for "Not Fair"
The music video for "Not Fair" was directed by Melina Matsoukas and filmed in Los Angeles on 19 February 2009.[5][6] Allen released pictures from the video on her official Twitter account.[7] A 17-second teaser of the video was released on YouTube on 17 March, before T4 premiered the entire video on Saturday, 21 March. As of October 2022, it has gained over 100 million views on YouTube. [8]
The music video shows Allen performing the song on the Porter Wagoner Show, starting off with a snippet from the Porter Wagoner show from the 1970s to present Allen (dubbed) by saying, "Now it's time for the purty little lady to come forth with a real purty song. And it's called "Not Fair". Let's make her welcome, Miss Lily Allen!"
Allen is revealed to be singing alongside a country and western band, including a very bored-looking drummer, mullet-wearing guitarists, and backing singers/dancers. Allen performs the song into a microphone and can be seen dancing around the stage, dressed in a white jumpsuit and sporting a blunt fringe with long hair. The video was recorded on videotape and with a real vacuum tube TV camera (as can be seen by the "comet trails" at 1:56 when the camera pans away from the studio lights) to keep with the theme of the video, as opposed to being filmed like most other music videos made in the 21st century.[citation needed]
^Cinquemani, Sal (3 February 2009). "Lily Allen – It's Not Me, It's You Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 27 February 2014. ...a key component to the inventively bluegrass-infused 'Not Fair',...
^"It's Not Me, It's You Album Review | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
^"SHOT: Lily Allen – Melina, director". VideoStatic.com. 27 February 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
^"Gettin my hair did. Shooting the next video today x". Twitter. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
^"Not Fair". Twitpic. Twitter. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
^"Lily Allen | Not Fair (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
^ abc. Archived from the original on 11 September 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
^. Auspop.blogspot.com. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
^"iTunes – Music – Not Fair – EP by Lily Allen". iTunes Store. 8 May 2009.
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For the Glenn Lewis song see It s Not Fair Not Fair is a song by British recording artist Lily Allen from her second studio album It s Not Me It s You 2009 Written by Allen and Greg Kurstin the song was released as the second single from the album on 20 March 2009 by Regal Recordings The song incorporates country music as the lyrics depict sexual frustration Contemporary critics did not positively receive the song and its theme some calling it a pseudo country track and considering it a strange musical composition 1 The single peaked in the top 20 of the charts of some European countries and Australia while scoring Allen s second consecutive top five hit on both the UK Singles Chart and the Dutch Top 40 since in the latter Fuck You was a commercial success before Not Fair Not Fair Single by Lily Allenfrom the album It s Not Me It s YouB side Why Released20 March 2009 2009 03 20 GenreCountry popbluegrassLength3 23LabelRegalSongwriter s Lily AllenGreg KurstinProducer s Greg KurstinLily Allen singles chronology The Fear 2008 Not Fair 2009 Fuck You 2009 Music video Not Fair on YouTube The accompanying music video portrayed a western country theme with Allen dancing next to a microphone while backing singers are dressed as cowgirls accompanied by cattle and poultry The video was shot the same day of the release of the single It was performed live on different occasions including Allen s 2009 concert tour In Australia the song was ranked at number eight on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2009 2 Contents 1 Background 2 Composition 3 Commercial performance 4 Music video 5 Track listing 6 Charts 6 1 Certifications 6 2 Year end charts 7 Release history 8 References 9 External linksBackground editIn the song Allen describes her relationship with a boyfriend to which she describes him as the perfect guy yet is frustrated at his sexual laziness She furthermore describes the situation as Not Fair because while he plays the perfect boyfriend in every other way he is selfish when it comes to their sex life all you do is take thus the song gives the impression that all his niceness and concern may have been just a face to get what he wants from his girlfriend without any genuine concern with her satisfaction and happiness The single was officially released on January and climbed the charts still being in the top 10 in June The single was released as a digital download on 21 March 2009 iTunes and on 11 May 2009 as a CD Allen performed it live for the first time on Ant amp Dec s Saturday Night Takeaway on 21 March 2009 The censored version of the song which is often used on the radio blanks out the words wet patch and I spent ages giving head on the second verse replacing them with a burst of the background instruments An alternative version only removes the word head replacing it with a short chord played on a mouth organ While performing the song in the BBC Radio Live Lounge and on The Graham Norton Show she replaced the latter with I spent ages kneading bread Composition editThis section needs expansion with stub You can help by adding to it June 2017 Not Fair is a bluegrass infused country song 3 4 Commercial performance edit Not Fair charted two months before the release date at number 200 in the UK By 2 May Not Fair reached the 10 spot on the official chart before reaching a final peak of 5 In New Zealand the song debuted at number 32 on 18 May 2009 giving Allen her fifth top 40 hit there It has so far peaked at number 20 The song has also been a big hit in Australia where it peaked at number three and has so far spent eight consecutive weeks in the top 10 equalling the success of her previous single The Fear Music video edit nbsp Allen in the 1970s inspired music video for Not Fair The music video for Not Fair was directed by Melina Matsoukas and filmed in Los Angeles on 19 February 2009 5 6 Allen released pictures from the video on her official Twitter account 7 A 17 second teaser of the video was released on YouTube on 17 March before T4 premiered the entire video on Saturday 21 March As of October 2022 it has gained over 100 million views on YouTube 8 The music video shows Allen performing the song on the Porter Wagoner Show starting off with a snippet from the Porter Wagoner show from the 1970s to present Allen dubbed by saying Now it s time for the purty little lady to come forth with a real purty song And it s called Not Fair Let s make her welcome Miss Lily Allen Allen is revealed to be singing alongside a country and western band including a very bored looking drummer mullet wearing guitarists and backing singers dancers Allen performs the song into a microphone and can be seen dancing around the stage dressed in a white jumpsuit and sporting a blunt fringe with long hair The video was recorded on videotape and with a real vacuum tube TV camera as can be seen by the comet trails at 1 56 when the camera pans away from the studio lights to keep with the theme of the video as opposed to being filmed like most other music videos made in the 21st century citation needed Track listing editUK CD1 Cardsleeve 9 Not Fair explicit 3 20 The Fear The Count Herve amp Lily Face The Fear Remix 4 21 UK CD2 Slim Case 10 Not Fair radio edit 3 03 The Fear The Count Herve amp Lily Face The Fear Remix 4 21 Not Fair Di Angelis amp Dobie Circus Remix 5 36 Not Fair Style of Eye Remix 6 14 UK Promo Standard Case 9 Not Fair explicit 3 20 The Fear The Count Herve amp Lily Face The Fear Remix 4 21 7 limited edition picture disc 9 Not Fair Radio Edit 3 03 Why 3 16 Digital download 11 Not Fair 3 23 Why 3 38 Not Fair Style of Eye Remix 6 19 The Count Herve and Lily Allen Face the Fear 4 22 Not Fair Clean Radio Edit 3 24 Mr Blue Sky 3 41Charts editChart 2009 Peakposition Australian ARIA Singles Chart 12 3 Austrian Singles Chart 13 6 Belgian Singles Chart Flanders 14 15 Belgian Singles Chart Wallonia 14 12 Czech Airplay Chart 15 1 European Hot 100 12 Danish Singles Chart 16 34 Dutch Top 40 17 4 German Singles Chart 18 12 Irish Singles Chart 19 3 Israeli Singles Chart 20 1 Italian Singles Chart 21 4 New Zealand Singles Chart 22 20 Slovak Airplay Chart 23 1 Swedish Singles Chart 26 Swiss Singles Chart 24 6 UK Singles Chart 25 5 Certifications edit Region Certification Certified units sales Australia ARIA 26 Platinum 70 000 Switzerland IFPI Switzerland 27 Gold 15 000 United Kingdom BPI 28 Platinum 600 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone Sales streaming figures based on certification alone Year end charts edit Chart 2009 Position Australian Singles Chart 29 20 Austrian Singles Chart 30 23 Dutch Singles Chart 31 30 German Singles Chart 32 34 Italian Singles Chart 33 29 Swiss Singles Chart 34 22 UK Singles Chart 32Release history editRegion Date Format United Kingdom 35 Australia 20 March 2009 Digital download Germany 8 May 2009 CD single Australia 36 9 May 2009 United Kingdom 11 May 2009 CD single United States June 2009 DigitalReferences edit Davies Lucy BBC Music Review of Lily Allen It s Not Me It s You bbc co uk The Hottest 100 Archive 2009 Australian Broadcasting Corporation 11 November 2017 Retrieved 2 March 2023 Cinquemani Sal 3 February 2009 Lily Allen It s Not Me It s You Review Slant Magazine Retrieved 27 February 2014 a key component to the inventively bluegrass infused Not Fair It s Not Me It s You Album Review Pitchfork Pitchfork Retrieved 13 June 2017 SHOT Lily Allen Melina director VideoStatic com 27 February 2009 Retrieved 19 March 2009 Gettin my hair did Shooting the next video today x Twitter 19 February 2009 Retrieved 19 March 2009 Not Fair Twitpic Twitter 19 February 2009 Retrieved 19 March 2009 Lily Allen Not Fair Official Video YouTube Retrieved 23 August 2020 a b c 2009 04 03 What s Happening LillyAllenMusic com Archived from the original on 11 September 2009 Retrieved 13 March 2022 Auspop Net A Totally Fair Local Lily Single Auspop blogspot com 28 April 2009 Archived from the original on 5 October 2011 Retrieved 15 March 2011 iTunes Music Not Fair EP by Lily Allen iTunes Store 8 May 2009 ARIA Charts Week Commencing 15th June 2009 PDF Australian Recording Industry Association Aria com au 15 June 2009 Retrieved 14 June 2009 Lily Allen Not Fair Charts orf at Archived from the original on 6 July 2011 Retrieved 15 March 2011 a b Steffen Hung Lily Allen Not Fair Ultratop be Retrieved 18 May 2010 CNS IFPI Hitparada ifpicr cz Archived from the original on 5 July 2006 Retrieved 13 March 2022 Steffen Hung Lily Allen Not Fair danishcharts dk Retrieved 15 March 2011 Top 40 Top40 nl Retrieved 15 March 2011 musicline de PhonoNet GmbH Die ganze Musik im Internet Charts News Neuerscheinungen Tickets Genres Genresuche Genrelexikon Kunstler Suche Musik Suche Track Suche Ticket Suche Musicline de Archived from the original on 11 September 2009 Retrieved 15 March 2011 The Irish Charts All there is to know Irishcharts ie Archived from the original on 2 June 2009 Retrieved 13 March 2022 Media Forest Airplay chart mediaforest biz Archived from the original on 9 September 2012 Italian Singles Chart Archived 23 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart Archived 13 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 19 May 2009 ds Sns Ifpi Ifpicr cz Retrieved 15 March 2011 Steffen Hung Lily Allen Not Fair swisscharts com Retrieved 15 March 2011 Chart listing TXT Zobbel de Retrieved 13 March 2022 ARIA Charts Accreditations 2009 Singles PDF Australian Recording Industry Association Retrieved 6 January 2015 The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community Awards Not Fair IFPI Switzerland Hung Medien Retrieved 6 January 2015 British single certifications Lily Allen Not Fair British Phonographic Industry Retrieved 26 July 2019 ARIA Charts End Of Year Charts Top 100 Singles 2009 Australian Recording Industry Association Retrieved 9 January 2010 Jahreshitparade 2009 Austriancharts at Archived from the original on 10 September 2010 Retrieved 13 March 2022 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on 30 September 2013 Retrieved 6 August 2013 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link MTV Single Jahrescharts 2009 charts www mtv de Archived from the original on 25 January 2010 FIMI Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana Ricerche e dati di mercato Fimi it 19 January 2010 Archived from the original on 23 January 2010 Retrieved 18 December 2010 2009 Year End Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts 2009 Retrieved 16 July 2010 UK Digital Download apple com AUS Digital Download apple com External links editVideo on YouTube Making of the music video on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Not Fair amp oldid 1221080447, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
