Foxes (singer)

Allen devised a stage name to differentiate herself from British pop singer Lily Allen. She considered the alias Foxes after a suggestion from a friend, the first song she had written being titled "Like Foxes Do"; her mother then told her that she had a dream the previous night "about these foxes running up our street and they were howling and making these beautiful noises", which she said reminded her of her daughter's music. Allen chose Foxes based on this connection.[13] She began performing gigs as Foxes in London in 2011.[9]

Foxes released her debut single, "Youth", in January 2012 on Neon Gold Records,[14][15] and the following month was signed to Sign of the Times, a Simon Fuller-owned UK imprint of Sony Music Entertainment.[16] "Youth" and its B-side, "Home", were featured in the American television series Gossip Girl and an EP, Warrior (produced by Samuel Dixon, also known as Sam Kennedy), followed in July 2012, which Foxes promoted with a US tour.[17][18][19] Paste magazine described Warrior as "a beautifully ethereal EP that warrants all sorts of comparisons, but equally manages to stand on its own two feet",[20] while PopMatters wrote that it was "a powerful, well-rounded set" and Consequence of Sound introduced the singer as "[i]f Florence Welch and Katy Perry had a beautiful, brunette love child".[21][22] Later in 2012, Foxes toured with Marina and the Diamonds on her Lonely Hearts Club Tour and released a second single, "Echo".[12]

Foxes in 2013

"Youth" caught the attention of dance producer Zedd, who invited Foxes to feature on his song "Clarity".[23] "Clarity" was released as a single in late 2012 and became a major hit during 2013, reaching number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Dance Club Songs.[24] The song was certified double platinum in Australia, platinum in the United States,[25][26] and gold in the United Kingdom, where it reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, Zedd and Foxes won the award for Best Dance Recording.[10] Also in 2013, Foxes featured on Fall Out Boy's song "Just One Yesterday" from their album Save Rock and Roll, on the Rudimental single "Right Here" (a top 20 hit in the United Kingdom) and on the Sub Focus track "Until the End", from his album Torus.

Foxes' "teaser" single "Beauty Queen" was released in May 2013, followed by a US re-release of "Youth" in August 2013 after Foxes signed to RCA Records in the country.[23][27][28] In the United Kingdom, "Youth" reached number 12 on the singles chart in October 2013, concurrent to the song's use in a high profile advertising campaign for retailer Debenhams.[29][30][31] During late 2013, Foxes embarked on a headline tour of the United Kingdom.[9] A newly recorded version of "Let Go for Tonight", a track previously featured on the Warrior EP, was released as a single in February 2014, charting in the United Kingdom at number seven—Foxes' first top ten hit.[29]

On 17 April 2014, Foxes appeared on BBC Radio 1's Innuendo Bingo.[32] Foxes' debut album, Glorious, was released in May 2014 following the single "Holding onto Heaven" (number 14), and debuted at number five on the UK Albums Chart.[29] A fourth single, "Glorious", followed in August 2014 and was used in an ITV advertising campaign promoting the network's autumn season of programmes.[33] During September and October 2014, Foxes served as the opening act for R&B musician Pharrell's Dear Girl Tour, playing to arenas across Europe.[11] Pharrell personally offered a support slot to Foxes after hearing her cover of his hit single "Happy" for Radio 1's Live Lounge;[34] Foxes later accused producers of the televised singing competition The X Factor for copying her arrangement of "Happy" for a performance of the song by contestant Lauren Platt, as both versions interpolated the Massive Attack song "Teardrop".[35][36][37] Also in October, Foxes featured in the eighth series of the iconic BBC science fiction series Doctor Who, performing Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" in the episode "Mummy on the Orient Express".[38][39] In December, Foxes toured the United Kingdom once again as a headliner.[34]

Foxes stated in a late 2014 interview that she had commenced work on her second album.[34] She also collaborated with veteran dance producer Giorgio Moroder on his 2015 solo album, Déjà Vu, featuring on the track "Wildstar".[40] In subsequent interviews, Foxes said that the album is titled All I Need and that she hoped to release it in late 2015.[41] Recording sessions took place in America, Sweden and the United Kingdom.[42][43]

All I Need was released on 5 February 2016.[44][45] The album's first single, "Body Talk", was released in July 2015 and reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.[29][46] Foxes debuted the track during a one-day tour of seven UK cities that earned her an entry to the Guinness World Records for the title of "most live concerts in 12 hours in multiple cities".[47] The album's track listing and the video for the song "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" were also released in July.[48][49] The second single, "Better Love", was released in September 2015.[50] Following this Foxes embarked on a headline UK tour, supported by Izzy Bizu.[51] The third single "Amazing" was released on 4 December 2015. "Amazing" was used by ITV in an advertsiment to promote their Christmas programming. Foxes featured on Kygo's track "Oasis" from his album Cloud Nine, which was released on 13 May 2016. "Cruel" was released as the fourth single from All I Need on 19 April 2016 with an accompanying music video released on the same date. In the same month, Foxes was announced to be one of the supporting acts of British alternative rock band Coldplay in the European and North American legs of their A Head Full of Dreams Tour, alongside Alessia Cara.[52]

In March 2017, ITV used Foxes' song "Scar" to promote Grantchester's third series.[53] She performed at the Indonesian Television Awards on 20 September 2017, performing songs including "Better Love", "Let Go For Tonight" and "Clarity".[54] In February 2018, Foxes teased of new music, stating "Thank you for your patience with this next record... I will be releasing new music this year and I can't wait to share it with you" [55]

On 15 May 2020, Foxes teased of new music on her social media platforms by sharing three videos, one each day, which consisted of her asking a question. These videos were accompanied by a phone number one could ring to answer the question.[56][57][58] The lead single from her third studio album, "Love Not Loving You", was released on 20 May 2020, marking her first song release in four years.[59][60] On the same day, it was revealed that Foxes has signed a new record deal with PIAS Recordings, thus making the single her first release under the label.[61] On 29 July 2020, Foxes' second single from her upcoming album, "Woman", was released.[62][63] On 2 September 2020, Foxes' released her third single from her next album, "Friends in the Corner".[64][65] This was followed by the fourth single "Hollywood", released in December 2020, which was described as a "cathartic experience" by Clash magazine.[66]

In 2013, Foxes appeared in an advertising campaign promoting retailer Debenhams' autumn/winter collection.[30] She compiled a playlist to accompany the London Fashion Week premiere of Markus Lupfer's autumn/winter collection in 2014,[13] and later in the year advertised Adidas's Energy Boost line of running shoes.[67][68][69] For stage outfits on her 2014 tours, Foxes collaborated with fashion brand River Island, citing Björk and Patti Smith as inspirations.[70] She fronted the 2015 poster campaign for Fashion Targets Breast Cancer alongside Abbey Clancy, Alice Dellal and Lily Donaldson,[71] and the same year became the face of fashion retailer H&M's H&M Loves Music collection.[72]

Foxes has said that her fashion sense has been influenced by fellow singer Cyndi Lauper and characters in films such as Empire Records (1995) and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), as well as by grunge fashions and Japanese street fashion.[70][73] In 2014, ASOS.com declared Foxes "a total fashun [sic] muse" and praised her bangs as "great for hairspiration",[74] while Elle referred to the singer as a "fashion maven" and invited her to perform for their ELLE Sessions series.[67][75] Foxes is signed to the modelling agency Premier Models, has appeared in shoots for Vogue and Nylon magazines, and has been dressed for various red carpet events by Mark Fast, Markus Lupfer and Miu Miu.[13][74][76]