Lily Allen thinks women are controlled by male executives in the music industry.

The 'Hard Out Here' hitmaker thinks the word ''b***h'' - an insult which rose in the 1920s - is often used to describe a number females who are in the spotlight.

She told The Observer magazine: ''Dolly Parton is a b***h. Adele's a b***h. Angela Merkel [German Chancellor] is a b***h ... Rihanna's an inspiring b***h, my mum, Miley's a b***h, rising. She's my hero. Kate Middleton is NOT a b***h.

''I've always been called 'mouthy' when, in fact, I'm just talking. In the music industry, women have always been controlled by male execs, told to do the Kate Moss thing. Keep your mouth shut, or people will laugh at you. They've been talking about us like this for years, basically.''

Lily, who is returning to the music industry after a four-year break, insists things have changed since she launched her career in 2005 as there are more female artists.

She said: ''It's nice, but it's weird. I'm totally out of touch. When I first started, in terms of girls it was just me and Amy [Winehouse]. Now, 'reentering the marketplace', it's all girls.''

However, the brunette beauty doesn't think the hits they produce are ''real'' because their songs are written by other people.

Lily said: ''Nobody says anything real today. Most of those girls have their songs written by other people. It annoys me, because 'eh oh eh oh ahh' is not a chorus - that's not a point where I feel 'we're connecting', you know? I need a narrative.''