Cleared for Landing: Lily Allen's US Return

After being grounded by US immigration officials just as her 2007 album was set to take off, the UK’s Lily Allen is taking a second shot at conquering America with a new album, reports the Wall Street Journal. Despite her visa travails, Allen's debut sold a respectable 500,000 copies in this country (and 2 million elsewhere). Her biggest challenge now, the Journal notes, is fighting comparisons against commercially successful imports that followed her, including Amy Winehouse and Duffy.

Allen’s detention at the Los Angeles airport and visa cancellation came at a particularly inopportune time, with a West Coast tour and MTV performance with Kanye West waiting in the wings. “The record was ascendant when it got cut short,” says one EMI exec. “We could have done 250,000 or 500,000 more.” An Allen representative says the singer is clear to work in the US next month. (More visas stories.)