However, it was ultimately decided on "The Fear" to be released on 26 January 2009 by Regal Recordings, while Allen posted the demo (which was then titled "I Don't Know") onto her MySpace account in April 2008.

The song incorporates electropop music as the lyrics articulate problems with celebrity lifestyles and include metaphors for recognised tabloid national newspapers such as The Sun and the Daily Mirror.

[7]Musically, Allen adopts a more mature electropop groove for the song, which has been described to have "a pulsing, sleekly modern electro dance backing",[8] while coming through a "flood of soft synths"[9] and being "eminently danceable and slightly trancey".

[10] Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph suggested that the song confirms that the singer's "pithy observational skills and sweet musicality" remain intact, as she has been a bit bruised by her encounter with 21st-century fame.

[8] Clash reporter Natasha Arico concluded that "The Fear" is somewhat trite, though "sickeningly catchy and dance friendly",[9] while Rolling Stone magazine criticised the song for being a "cliché" delivered by Allen "with sneer".

[18] Other reviews were also positive; Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine suggested that "The Fear" is proof of the pop singer's self-awareness, but, given her own personal tabloid history, the song possesses a trail of irony: "I'll look at The Sun and I'll look in The Mirror/I'm on the right track, yeah, we're onto a winner.

"[13] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly liked the song, in which Allen makes fun of her own material-girl ID and went on to say that it is in fact "a tale of two Lilys: the naughty postadolescent in the rearview mirror, and the fully realized female coming around the bend.

"[19] Chris Buckle from The Skinny gave "The Fear" three stars, commenting that it "is a potent reminder that she's more than just gobby gossip-fodder", but also disliked a few lyrics, which "in particular [are] a clumsy attempt to inject politics amongst the celeb-woe naval-gazing",[20] while About.com praised the song for being a "pop masterpiece", Allen's "witty intelligent lyrics" and compared it to Pink's "Stupid Girls".

"[26] The song shared similar success in Australia, where it peaked at number three on the ARIA Singles Chart and stayed eight consecutive weeks in the top 10,[27] and was certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association.

[29] The song became a success in Europe, having entered the top 20 in most of its countries,[30] which resulted in a peak of number three on the European Hot 100 Singles chart.

[32] In North America, "The Fear" shared moderate success, charting at number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Allen's only second entry in the United States.

[33] Despite low positions on the main chart, the single managed to become the singer's first Hot Dance Club Play number one, topping it for one week.

As she exits, her clothes are revealed to be a smock dress with a big bow and high heels; upon returning through the caravan door, the interior changes to that of a luxurious mansion, in reality an English country estate.

[37] Afterwards, she climbs the stairs and the camera cuts to the next scene, where she is sitting down in front of the mirror in an extravagant bedroom, with dresses, lamps, toys and cupcakes.

[37] The camera zooms out showing the estate tied in a giant ribbon, but also grey, melancholic clouds, which contrast the cheerful party from before.

[17]While being invited to the BBC show hosted by Scott Mills, Allen talked about her struggles with the paparazzi and also premiered the song by performing it live.

[42][43] The song was featured in the fourth episode of series three of the TV drama Skins,[44] and, also, an instrumental version is used as accompanying music by Match of the Day 2 during the review segment showing the goals.

[45] "The Fear" was parodied by the character playing Kevin Rudd on the TV show Double Take, in which the lyrics are altered to deal with the voting campaign for Prime Minister in Australia.

[46] The song was covered by JLS for BBC Radio 1's "Live Lounge" segment of Jo Whiley's show on 15 September 2009, featuring an interpolation of the Beyoncé's "Halo".

[94] The remake was titled "The Fear (The People vs. Lily Allen)" and consists of number of fans singing along to the song, fading in and out overtop of the original track.