Here’s the video for the new Lily Allen song we heard earlier today, the title track (and opener) from her forthcoming third album Sheezus. Apparently this is not one of the rubbish songs that have been serviced to radio, but the singer’s preferred choice for a single. She talked to Rolling Stone about its provocative lyrics earlier this month:

I would have liked to see “Sheezus” as a single, but it’s not up-tempo enough. It’s also got the word “period” in it, which is really offensive to people, even though half the world has to deal with it once a month. … I think that “period” is going to be my “surfboard” with Beyoncé. People will wear sweatshirts to my concerts that are just going to say “period.”

“Sheezus” also features tongue-in-cheek references to the competition, namely Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Lorde. (“Lorde smells blood, yeah, she’s about to slay you / Kid ain’t one to fuck with when she’s only on her debut.”) She explained that to RS, too:

I don’t like being compared to other people because I’m quite aware that there are people who are far more talented and have better singing voices than me. I don’t like being put in the same category as people because we have the same genitals and boobs. Nobody is going to write “Lily Allen vs. Ed Sheeran.” It just doesn’t happen. … It feels like the reason we play women against each other is because it’s the last bit of power that men have. They’re like, “Let’s make them feel shit about each other.”

Now that you’ve got all that context, you can watch the video which features a bunch of Warholian Day-Glo Lilys with animated scribbles.

Sheezus is out 5/5 on Parlophone/Warner Bros.