In late 2005, after a short-lived deal with Warner Music signed in 2002 and before releasing any music, Allen signed with Regal Records. Despite alleged resistance from the label, who wanted to send her off to a "hit factory" to record her album, she uploaded the tracks she had written (songs that had her signed in the first place) to community website MySpace in November 2005, regularly updating the developments in her life.

More and more people discovered her profile, with links to her tracks being e-mailed and eventually reaching UK music publication NME, reviews site musicOMH.com, and online music blog Popjustice. These publications reviewed her and her demo tracks positively. After this exposure, which came well before the proposed album release date, The Observer published a short report on Allen; soon after, the demo of her track "LDN" was played on BBC Radio One by DJ Jo Whiley. Because of the consequent buzz, her release dates were changed, and "LDN", produced by her, was released—on limited-edition 7" vinyl only—as Allen's first single, on 24 April 2006. This was accompanied by album track "Knock 'Em Out" on the B-side. She also took a spot at the Notting Hill Arts Club, London, in early May, performing every Thursday night for four weeks.