"Madeline" is a song by English musician Lily Allen. The song was released as the first single from Allen's fifth studio album, West End Girl. The song peaked at No. 16 on the UK singles chart. It is her first official single release since "Lost My Mind" in 2018.
Released as a single on Halloween, Allen dressed for the holiday as Madeline of the eponymous children's media series, following jokes comparing the character and the song's subject.
Composition "Madeline" is a country-inspired song featuring flamenco-style guitar. In the track, Allen sings about confronting the woman her husband is having an affair with over text, specifically asking whether it is a purely sexual relationship or whether the pair have an emotional connection. The song follows on chronologically from the track "Tennis" on the album, during which Allen finds messages on her husband's phone to Madeline. Allen stated in interviews that Madeline is a fictional character who is a "construct of others".
The song features elements of Neil Diamond's "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" (1967), namely the chord structure and sections of vocal melody.
Promotion Allen performed "Madeline" on an episode of the fifty-first season of Saturday Night Live that was hosted by Josh O'Connor and aired on 13 December 2025. American actress Dakota Johnson joined Allen on stage, portraying the character of Madeline during the spoken word sections of the song. Allen also performed album track "Sleepwalking" during the episode.
Credits and personnel Credits adapted from Tidal.
Lily Allen – vocals, lyrics, composition, production Blue May – lyrics, composition, production, bass, drums, engineering, guitar, piano, programming Chrome Sparks – production, drums, engineering, guitar, programming, synthesizer Kito – production Micah Jasper – production, programming Seb Chew – production Chaz Eugene Carter – lyrics, composition Jeremy Malvin – lyrics, composition Violet Skies – lyrics, composition, additional production Leon Vynehall – additional production Alex Marshall – cello Jess cox – cello Klara Romac – cello Rhian Porter – cello Vicky Matthews – cello Amy Langley – conducting, strings arranger Ben Baptie – engineering Joe LaPorta – engineering Amy Standford – viola Jordan Bergmans – viola Polly Wiltshire – viola Sarah Chapman – viola Blaize Henry – violin Ellie Standford – violin Gita Langley – violin Glezni Roberts – violin Honor Watson – violin Jessie Murphy – violin Kotono Sato – violin Martin Lissola – violin Paloma Deike – violin Sarah Sexton – violin Stephanie Benedetti – violin
Charts
Weekly charts + Chart (2025) Peakposition Australia (ARIA) 98 New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) 5
Monthly charts + Chart (2025) Peakposition Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 94
References