Lily Allen has called Lady Gaga a "martyr" for choosing "art" over commercial success.

The 'Air Balloon' hitmaker has defended her fellow singer after she was criticized for her latest album 'ARTPOP' being a relative flop, insisting she deserves credit for the risks she has taken.

Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, Allen said: "If she's not succeeding commercially because she's standing by what she does as art, then that's a f**king great thing.

"That's to be commended. That's what makes a martyr. There's nothing wrong with that."

Allen has had similar problems with her own music, and admitted she had to choose her singles carefully to make sure they were acceptable for radio play.

She explained: "I would love 'Hard Out Here' to have been a single, but you can't have a song that has the word 'bitch' in it 72 times on the radio."

The star previously admitted her own singles were "rubbish" after receiving criticism from a fan on Twitter, describing her new music as "docile pop rubbish." The fan went on to write: "So disappointing. She properly (sic) just wrote some rubbish to cash some cheques."

The 28-year-old Allen was quick to fire back and told the Twitter follower: "What you've heard so far yes. All I can do is do my best, the labels and the radio stations won't play the better stuff."