Critical Reception
Michael Menachem from Billboard commented on the song, saying it "packs another lyrical punch", while complimenting Allen's vocals. The BBC interpreted the song, in which Allen " apologises for her avarice, confidently blaming the system", but also complimented the "exquisite" production. 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. Clash reporter Natasha Arico concluded that "The Fear" is somewhat trite, though "sickeningly catchy and dance friendly", while Rolling Stone magazine criticised the song for being a "cliché" delivered by Allen "with sneer". James Montgomery of MTV gave a good review, saying its a relatively scathing indictment of today's glossy, "celeb-ified culture". Ryan Dombal from Pitchfork Media described the song to have a "part admission, part brag, part apocalyptic vision" and suggested that "for almost any other artist, the lines would be barbed, sarcastic, and, ultimately, uppity and bland indictments. But not for the loudmouth ".
Other reviews were also positive; Sal Cinquemani form 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." 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." 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 a clumsy attempt to inject politics amongst the celeb-woe naval-gazing", while About.com praised the song for being a "pop masterpiece", Allen's "witty intelligent lyrics" and compared it to Pink's "Stupid Girls".
In January 2011 Allen supported a suggestion by the Bishop of Sheffield that people could listen to the song as part of a lenten Bible study course.
Read more about this topic: The Fear (song)
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