URL Badman explained

URL Badman
Cover:Lily Allen - URL Badman.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Lily Allen
Album:Sheezus
B-Side:Bass Like Home
Recorded:November 2013
Studio:
  • Echo, Los Angeles
  • Rocket, London
Genre:
Label:Parlophone
Producer:Greg Kurstin
Prev Title:Our Time
Prev Year:2014
Next Title:As Long as I Got You
Next Year:2014

"URL Badman" is a song by English singer Lily Allen, released on 13 July 2014 as the fourth single from her third studio album, Sheezus (2014). The B-side to the single, "Bass Like Home", is an unofficial World Cup song for England.

Composition

"URL Badman" is a dubstep and synth-pop song,[1] [2] with Allen rapping over "a surprisingly hip-hop beat".[3] In the song, there is an introductory dialogue between a boy named Alexander and his mother; Alex is in his room typing at a computer when his mother calls him for dinner. The main theme of the song is the Internet, and blog critics who "spend their life on the computer". Allen said she wrote the song after a blogger criticised the music video for "Hard out Here" because it used mostly black dancers. Joe Bishop, the writer who inspired the song, said in an opinion piece for The Guardian that his "first reaction was to feel flattered".[4]

Release

"URL Badman" was released on 13 July 2014 by Parlophone. The B-side "Bass Like Home" contains her singing about the UK. "Bass Like Home" is not available in the US.

Live performances

Allen performed the song on 24 May 2014 at the BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend, after "Littlest Things" and before "Our Time".[5]

Track listing

  1. "URL Badman" – 3:39
  2. "Sheezus" (Redlight Deconstructed Mix) – 4:37
  3. "Bass Like Home" (Lily Allen & Kid Harpoon) – 3:59

Chart performance

"URL Badman" peaked at number 93 on the UK Singles Chart

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lily Allen's 'Sheezus': Album Review. Lee. Christina. 6 May 2014. Idolator. 15 June 2016.
  2. Lily Allen Confronts Internet Trolls in 'URL Badman' Video. Reed. Ryan. 2 July 2014. Rolling Stone. 15 June 2016.
  3. Web site: [Year-End] Top 50 Albums of 2014 (#2) X Lily Allen Sheezus]. 31 December 2014. The Urban Alternative. 15 June 2016.
  4. News: Lily Allen wrote a song about me because I accused her of racism. The Guardian. 4 July 2014.
  5. Web site: BBC – Radio 1's Big Weekend – Glasgow – Acts – Lily Allen. BBC.
  6. Web site: iTunes - Music - URL Badman - Single by Lily Allen. 13 July 2014. iTunes Store UK.