STACK #255 January 2026

FEATURE MUSIC

Lily Allen’s new album is already one of the year’s most talked-about records. WEST END RIOT

B reaking up is hard to do. But Lily Allen has turned her divorce into a hit album. After releasing her fourth album, 2018’s No Shame , Lily met and married American actor David Harbour, who is best known for playing Jim Hopper in the Netflix hit Stranger Things . They were married in Las Vegas, with an Elvis impersonator their official celebrant. The English singer then moved away from music, When her second marriage ended, Lily returned to making music. She hasn’t said much about the source of the songs, preferring to let the tracks do the talking. “I can walk out with my dignity if I lay my truth on the table,” she sings. focusing on acting and her Miss Me? podcast. The title of her fifth album is a nod to the fact she became a star on the West End.

CHART FACT

Lily Allen has had five Top 10 albums in Australia, including the 2009 chart-topper It’s Not Me, It’s You . The new album’s second single, Pussy Palace , became her first Top 10 hit in the UK in 11 years.

Lily Allen

If it were a movie, West End Girl would be a rom-com gone wrong. Suddenly, the story shifts to revenge drama. It ain’t pretty. But musically, it’s a diverse delight. And in the end, the singer is proudly solo – and defiant. “Wish I could fix all your sh-t,” she declares. “But all your sh-t’s yours to fix.” Jeff Jenkins

AUSSIE CONNECTION

West End Girl

Australian artist Kito co-produced and plays drums and keyboards on the album. Kito – real name Maaike Kito Lebbing – grew up in the coastal town of Denmark in WA. She moved to London and then LA.

by Lily Allen is out Jan 30 via BMG

FUN FACT

THE KID GROWS UP The Kid LAROI digs deep on his emotional second album. digs deep on his emotional second album.

The Kid LAROI still lives with his mum,

Sloane Howard, who used to manage Scott Cain, who won the third season of Popstars in 2002 – the year before The Kid was born.

I n June last year, The Kid LAROI released All I Want Is You . It was believed to be the first single from his second studio album, Watch This! But after a few more singles, he decided to scrap the album, saying simply: “I didn’t feel comfortable releasing it.” What we didn’t know

new album, which is called Before I Forget . After the split, the 22-year old from Waterloo in Sydney who’s now based in LA, said: “I knew exactly what I wanted to say and how I felt.” In the first single, A Cold Play , he sings: “Who was I to think that I could fix you, baby?” The Kid LAROI says the new

The Kid LAROI

CHART FACT

THE NAME GAME The Kid LAROI was born Charlton Howard. His first rap name was FC6. He took the name The Kid LAROI to honour his family’s Indigenous heritage, specifically the Kamilaroi people of northern NSW. The Kid LAROI is one of the biggest Aussie stars of the 2000s. He says he wants to put Australia on the map, in the same way that Drake has promoted Toronto and Canada. AMBASSADOR LAROI

Before I

Forget by The Kid LAROI is out Jan 9 via Sony

After his smash hit mixtape F-ck Love , The Kid LAROI’s first official studio album, 2023’s The First Time , reached number three in Australia, 24 in the US, and 29 in the UK.

at the time was the Aussie artist was going through some personal turmoil, splitting with his girlfriend, Canadian star Tate McRae. The break-up has fuelled the

album – which he worked on with his younger brother, Auz – is “a sadder, more emotional-sounding album. “Something about it also feels a bit nostalgic.” Jeff Jenkins

TATE FOR TAT

Tate McRae issued a response song to A Cold Play called Tit For Tat .

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