Lily Allen has suggested that Beyoncé is “getting some help” when it comes to her “great” appearance amid a discussion about the latter’s newly-released album.
The singer-songwriter, 38, and her pal Miquita Oliver, 39, spoke about Beyoncé, 42, on the latest episode of their Miss Me? podcast. It comes following the release of the Grammy Award winner’s new album Cowboy Carter.
During the discussion about Beyoncé, co-host Miquita commented: “She does look great. She makes me quite excited about [getting into my] 40s.” Her longtime pal Lily responded by saying: “She’s getting some help, y’know.”
Addressing the remark, presenter Miquita said: “She has not had any work done if that’s what you’re implying.” Lily went on to dismiss the suggestion, instead stating that Beyoncé has “access” to stylists, personal trainers and more.
Lily told her co-host: “I didn’t say that! I’m just saying that like she’s got a great team of stylists, hair people, y’know she works out a lot, I’m sure she’s got access to the best trainers in the world.” She added: “Like y’know, she’s Beyoncé.”
Miquita – who’s fronted T4 and other projects – suggested that Beyoncé has “great genes”. She stated: “I looked into her ancestry and I think it’s also rather genetic.” She added: “She’s just got great genes. Look at [her mother] Tina Knowles. She looks great. [Tina] has great bone structure.”
The two podcast co-hosts also discussed Beyoncé’s latest album, Cowboy Carter, which was released last week. It has been described as a “genre-bending country album” and features a cover of Dolly Parton’s song Jolene. Lily suggested that Beyoncé has been “calculated” about the album and the promotion of it, recalling that she wore “the blonde wig and a cowboy hat” at the Grammy Awards in February, shortly before the new album was announced.
The podcast host also commented: “It’s quite an interesting thing to do when you’re like trying to tackle a new genre and you just choose the biggest song in that genre to cover.” She however continued: “I mean, you do you Beyoncé.” Sharing her thoughts, Miquita said: “I think it’d like it a lot more if it wasn’t like ‘this is Beyoncé’s country album’. It’s just kind of a nice album. I feel like it’s forcing itself to be part of its own narrative of [being] a country album.”
Lily suggested that it’s “intentional,” adding: “I think it’s been quite calculated. I feel like at the Grammy’s when Jay-Z [spoke about her not ever winning Album of the Year despite numerous other wins] – I feel like that was part of this campaign. […] She was wearing the blonde wig and a cowboy hat, and [her husband] Jay-Z did that speech.
“It’s a bit about challenging these institutions that have thus far rejected Beyoncé as the icon and institution that she is of herself. So now she’s the most played woman on country radio and y’know I guess she’s coming for that market.”
Her pal Miquita went on to tease that Lily was speaking to her from Nashville herself, where she’s recording a new album. Addressing the attention, Lily told her co-host: “I’m not like trying to conquer the country market. I’m here because I love country music and always loved [it], not saying that Beyoncé doesn’t, but y’know I tell stories in my music and quite a lot of country music does the same thing – it’s generally quite sort of simple, three-chord progressions. I think it’s well suited to what it is that I do.”
Miss Me? is available on BBC Sounds. Cowboy Carter is out now.
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