For most of 2025, Lily Allen found every opportunity to say that the only artist she was really listening to/excited by was JADE. Which meant, of course, having That’s Showbiz Baby! on repeat (not to mention its deluxe version featuring “Church”). So it was probably only inevitable that the two would collaborate together. Especially since JADE’s boyfriend, Jordan Stephens, took over Allen’s podcast co-hosting spot on Miss Me? (allowing Miquita Oliver to keep it going), thereby fortifying the connection between Allen and JADE. And oh, how that connection shines through on the JADE remix of “Beg For You,” from Allen’s much acclaimed (and now, Ivor Novello Award-winning) album, West End Girl.
On said remix, JADE adopts the tone of a concerned friend—one who can’t stand to hear a formerly empowered woman feel so strongly about wanting a shithead to act more interested. In this case, that shithead (for it’s certainly no secret, particularly not at this juncture) is David Harbour, who seems to have “no shame” (to use the title of Allen’s fourth album) about what happened, or all of these details from their marriage being laid bare…even if in the form of “autofiction.”
Though, with Allen being so candid about her emotions over the years, there’s no denying she really did feel what she sings on “Beg For You,” including, “You’re so indifferent/And that’s insane/Where’s all your empathy for, for all my pain?/My friends all tell me you are deranged/I wanna feel held/I wanna be told I’m special and I’m unusual/I want your desire/I wanna be spoiled/I wanna be told I’m beautiful.” All of this followed by the earnest, pleading question, “Why won’t you beg, beg, beg for me?” Or, to put it another way, why won’t this numb, insensitive cad fight for her? Fight to keep their love (de facto, their marriage) alive?
But with JADE now present to interject on the remix, a new spin is put on the song in the sense that her friend’s words serve to remind her that the breakup—the relationship rupture—is all for the best. Because it means that Allen might finally start to remember she was “that bitch” before becoming a codependent doormat.
Opening the track in a way that’s, intonation-wise, reminiscent of Brandy and Monica’s exchange at the beginning of “The Boy Is Mine,” JADE tells Allen, “Hey, it’s me. Just checking in. I know there’s a lot going on right now. So how you feeling?” Not missing a beat, Allen is quick to reply with the same lyrics she says originally: “I feel embarrassed/I feel ashamed.” It then doesn’t take long for the remix to even more fully differentiate itself with the drum n’ bass elements being brought out far more (along with the “Back That Azz Up”-esque beat) than they are on the original. Though both, of course, are still sure to keep that signature Lumidee sample, “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)”—because it would be foolish to get rid of such an iconic, recognizable refrain.
After Allen goes through the rigmarole of describing her fraught emotions, JADE elevates the revamped version of the single by assuring her, “His fragile ego/Ain’t worth your tears/If we’re being honest, yeah, it’s better to find out now than find out in a few years/‘Cause we all need joy/Men need their toys/But no butt plug’s gonna fill the void.” This, of course, is not only a reference to the lyrics of “Pussy Palace” that go, “Duane Reade bag with the handles tied/Sex toys, butt plugs, lube inside,” but also to Harbour’s generally “insatiable,” “freaky deaky” sexual appetites. Which he apparently knew were too freaky deaky to be candid about from the outset of his relationship with Allen, let alone informing her before she tied the knot with him that he had (and has) certain “needs.” Most notably/problematically (for Allen, a “traditional” monogamist), the fact that Harbour wanted to be polyamorous (or “non-monogamous,” if one prefers), using that “lifestyle choice” as a smokescreen to ultimately cheat on Allen by violating the terms of their agreement (ostensibly on a number of occasions), as “Madeline” covers in detail.
And it was an agreement that Allen only made under duress after being informed by Harbour of his predilections after getting married to him. This being highlighted on track one of the album, “West End Girl.” So it was that, throughout this marriage during which she “soldiered on” by making concessions and doing things she otherwise wouldn’t have if she didn’t want this person to stay (even though he was clearly already gone from the get-go), Allen found herself shrinking, losing her original sense of identity. Luckily, JADE is here to remind her, “So don’t you forget/Before you both met/You were that bitch with the razor tongue/So take that pain/And make it your blade.” Something Allen has not only been doing since her breakout 2006 single, “Smile,” but also something she did in order to cope with the wreckage of her marriage, alchemizing emotional agony into one of the most standout albums of 2025.
In fact, the reaction Allen received from fans, “generally curious” listeners and fellow musicians/celebrities alike really did seem to remind her of who she was before she gave Harbour all of her power, as she sings during “Just Enough” (which just so happens to be the first song she started to write for West End Girl). Reclaiming that strength after the record’s release and reception has now continued with the JADE remix of “Beg For Me,” and JADE herself telling Allen, “‘Cause it breaks my heart when I hear you say…” To which Allen completes the line with the chorus, as if currently mocking her former “pathetic” self, “Why won’t you beg, beg, beg for me?”
But it seems that, now (and with the assistance of JADE), Allen no longer cares to 1) ask that question or 2) if the person she once aimed it at presently wishes he had begged for her or not. Because she can at last see the light, presented in the form of the JADE outro that goes, “If he can’t see/If he’s too weak/Get him on his knees/Tell him to beg for me.” Emboldening Allen (and those who have been in similar situations) to never take for granted her own value and self-worth again.
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