Fuck You (Lily Allen song)

"Fuck You"
Single by Lily Allen
from the album It's Not Me, It's You
Released	10 July 2009 (Germany) 13 July 2009 (France) 20 August 2009 (Italy)
Format	CD single, digital download
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	3:43
Label	Regal
Writer(s)	Lily Allen, Greg Kurstin
Producer(s)	Greg Kurstin
Lily Allen singles chronology
"Not Fair" (2009) "Fuck You" (2009) "22" (2009) Audio sample file info · help Music video Lily Allen – Fuck You on YouTube

"Fuck You" is a song by English singer Lily Allen from her second album It's Not Me, It's You (2009). It is her third international single. The song became a quasi-gay anthem because of the song's lyrical message. The song was featured in the pilot of ABC's Suburgatory.

Song

The song originally appeared on Allen's Myspace page in 2008 alongside the songs "I Could Say" and "I Don't Know" (later released as "The Fear") under the title "Guess Who Batman". The song samples the piano of the theme to the Australian television show Neighbours. The song was written by Allen and Greg Kurstin. Allen wrote: "We are the youth, we can make coolness for our future, it's up to us. Go green and hate hate."

Despite its titular reference to the Caped Crusader, according to NME and Rolling Stone magazines the song is a George W. Bush protest. At an 2 April 2009 concert at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, Allen stated that the song was about Bush. At a concert in São Paulo, Brazil, Allen stated, "It was originally written about this fucking arsehole who used to be the President of the United States of America. His name is George W. Bush."

The Urban Review states that it was originally inspired by the right-wing British National Party, adding Allen now "feels the track is relevant everywhere now so has removed a particular target." At the 2009 Glastonbury Festival prior to performing the song, Allen made reference to the elections to the European parliament that had commenced three weeks earlier in which the British National Party gained their first ever representative seats, citing this as a reason to sing the song.

Chart performance

The song made its chart debut at number 37 on the Canadian Top 100 on 28 February 2009 despite not being released as an actual single. The song also entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 68 on the same week, being her third song on entry.

In the UK the song made its debut on the UK Singles Chart at number 154 on the strength of digital downloads due to the video having a lot of airplay on UK music channels despite not being released as an official single there.

In the Netherlands the song was released as the album's second single and debuted on the Dutch Top 40 on 18 April 2009 at number 23 and has peaked at number three. The song reached number one in Belgium on 6 June 2009. It also peaked at number four in Finland and Norway, number 18 in Sweden, number nine in France, number 23 in Australia and number 16 in Switzerland.

Music video

A music video for the song was posted on the official Parlophone YouTube page on 15 June 2009. EMI hired the French production company Frenzy Paris, who in turn hired the art collective AB/CD/CD and the post-production company "Firm". The video is shot from Allen's point of view (she can be seen using a polaroid she takes of herself). She is seen to be making the journey from her hotel room to a television studio. Throughout the video, Allen warps the shape and size of her surroundings using her hands and her own perspective; for example, by moving her hands apart she stretches the Eiffel Tower and enlarges a man's afro hairstyle.

In popular culture

The song was chosen as the theme song for the TV programme Periodismo para todos (Spanish: Journalism for everybody) in Argentina. Periodismo para todos is a controversial Argentine television program that has been labeled as investigative journalism. The song was chosen because it had been used in a telenovela of the state-owned TV Pública, in a satirical Spanish lyrics version. The opening of the show features photos of the audience making the "fuck you" sign. The song has a medium rotation on radio stations like La 100, from Buenos Aires (owned by Grupo Clarín, which also belongs Canal 13 (Argentina) who broadcast Periodismo para todos weekly). However, it was the second most popular song of 2012 in the chart show TUS 25 (Spanish: Your 25) of Tu Dial, an argentinian web radio station based in Mexico. The song was performed by The Sockapellas in the 2012 film Pitch Perfect, singing "Eff You" instead.

Track listing

• UK CD single (Cardsleeve)

1. "Fuck You" (Explicit) – 3:42
2. "Fuck You" (Clean) – 3:40

• French CD single (Slim Case)

1. "Fuck You" (Explicit) – 3:42
2. "The Fear" (The Count (aka Hervé) & Lily Face the Fear Remix) – 4:21

• American CD single (Standard Case / Cardsleeve)

1. "Fuck You" (Explicit) – 3:42
2. "Fuck You" (Ralphi Rosario & Craig J Klub)
3. "Fuck You" (Ralphi Rosario Dub)
4. "Fuck You" (Rich Morel's Extended Vocal Mix)
5. "Fuck You" (Rich Morel's Official Dub Mix)
6. "Fuck You" (Manhattan Clique Two Fingers Club Mix)
7. "Fuck You" (Manhattan Clique Dub Mix)
8. "Fuck You" (Ralphi Rosario & Craig J Mixshow)
9. "Fuck You" (The Boy's Crisis Remix)
10. "Fuck You" (Manhattan Clique "Now Watch This" Electropop Radio Edit)
11. "Fuck You" (Ralphi Rosario & Craig J Radio Mix)
12. "Fuck You" (Rich Morel's Radio Edit)

• UK digital download

1. "Fuck You" (Explicit) – 3:42
2. "Not Fair" (Radio Edit) – 3:03
3. "Not Fair" (Style of Eye Remix) – 6:19
4. "The Fear" – 3:26
5. "The Fear" (The Count (aka Hervé) & Lily Face the Fear Remix) – 4:21
6. "Why" – 3:16
7. "Everyone's at It" – 3:22
8. "Mr Blue Sky" (Acoustic) – 4:18

• French digital download

1. "Fuck You" (Explicit) – 3:42
2. "Why" – 3:16
3. "Not Fair" (Style of Eye Remix) – 6:19
4. "The Fear" (The Count (aka Hervé) & Lily Face the Fear Remix) – 4:21
5. "Not Fair" (radio edit) – 3:03

• American digital download

1. "Fuck You" (clean radio edit) – 3:41
2. "Fag Hag" – 2:55
3. "Kabul Shit" – 3:45
4. "Womanizer" (acoustic version) – 3:31

• American remix digital download

1. "Fuck You" (Ralphi Rosario & Craig J Klub) – 7:46
2. "Fuck You" (Manhattan Clique Two Fingers Club Mix) – 6:21
3. "Fuck You" (Rich Morel's Extended Vocal Mix) – 5:48
4. "Fuck You" (Manhattan Clique 'Now Watch This' Electropop Radio) – 3:32
5. "Fuck You" (Ralphi Rosario Dub) – 9:48

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2009)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	23
Austrian Singles Chart	12
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)	1
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)	2
Canadian Hot 100	37
Czech Airplay Chart	9
Dutch Top 40	3
European Hot 100	23
Finnish Singles Chart	4
French Singles Chart	14
German Singles Chart	49
Israeli Singles Chart	6
Italian Singles Chart	9
Norwegian Singles Chart	4
Slovak Airplay Chart	48
Swedish Singles Chart	18
Swiss Singles Chart	5
UK Singles Chart	104
US Billboard Hot 100	68
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2009)	Position
Austrian Singles Chart	66
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)	6
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia)	12
Dutch Singles Chart	17
French Singles Chart	55
Italian Singles Chart	66
Swiss Singles Chart	28
Swedish Singles Chart	66

Certifications

Country	Certification	Sales
Australia	Gold	35,000+
Belgium	Gold	20,000+
Finland	Gold	5,153
France	Gold	150,000+
Italy	Gold	15,000+
Switzerland	Gold	15,000+

Preceded by "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak	Belgian (Flanders) singles chart number-one single 6 June 2009 – 27 June 2009	Succeeded by "Boom Boom Pow" by "The Black Eyed Peas"
Preceded by "Did You See Me Coming?" by Pet Shop Boys	U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs number-one single 28 November 2009	Succeeded by "S.O.S. (Let the Music Play)" by Jordin Sparks