The People Yearn For Breakup Gossip
Lilly Allen's "West End Girl" is full of raw honesty—but why do listeners crave this frankness?
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After a seven year hiatus, last fall singer/songwriter Lily Allen dropped a tell-all breakup album West End Girl, detailing the cheating exploits and near-constant lies of her ex-husband, Stranger Things actor David Harbour.
For those out-of-tune with celebrity gossip, here's a quick breakdown of the couple's five-year marriage, according to Allen's new album: Allen and Harbour got married, bought a New York City brownstone, ordered expensive furniture, and enrolled Allen's kids in a nice nearby school. Soon after, Allen began work on a play in London, forcing her to temporarily relocate to her home country. The couple's early scenes of domestic bliss are catalogued in the first half of the album's title track, though the image of the happy couple is totally eviscerated by the end of the song when Allen receives a call from Harbour. Listeners only hear her side of the conversation, but we learn Harbour has been unfaithful and that he's requesting an open marriage. All alone in a hotel room on the other side of the pond, Allen reluctantly complies.
It's all downhill from there.
The heart-wrenching humanity of Adele and Beyoncé's romantic disappointments lets listeners know that heartbreak is a painfully mundane collective experience that is felt individually.