Andy Warhol said you should never read what people write about you — just measure it in inches. Any press is good press, even when it’s a scathing review of your most recent televised performance on say… Saturday Night Live? Such is the case for Lana Del Rey, a doe-eyed, pouty-mouthed songstress whose coos of heartache and love are getting both bad and good reviews.
I, for one, am hooked. Not because I have an affinity for songs about longing over some douche-y hipster guy that probably doesn’t even deserve you in the first place (for example, “Our Deal” by Best Coast + its amazing Drew Barrymore-directed music video), but because Lana just gets it. It’s probably not in your best interest to be wailing “I will love you ’til the end of time…” alone in your room while thinking about the one that got away, but, sometimes, you’ve GOT to mope. Sulk. Feel sorry for yourself. Then move on.
Lana Del Rey is the perfect soundtrack for such moments. Here’s Blue Jeans, which includes the aforementioned lyric, as well as gems like “You fit me better than my favorite sweater.”
With a voice that’s gotten her dubbed “Gangster Nancy Sinatra”, Del Rey has gotten a lot of press across music blogs. However, it was her appearance on SNL that got the Twittersphere all aflutter. Del Rey delivered a less than stellar performance of both Blue Jeans and Video Games. Many tweets stated that she looked “cracked out” and that watching her was “a new kind of torture.” Ouch!
True fans, however, may be have seen videos of Del Rey when she was still known as Lizzy Grant, an up and coming singer in Brooklyn. A glimpse at her early performances makes it evident that Del Rey’s been put into the same type of fame machine Lady Gaga was put through pre-Poker Face.
It’s worth noting that this happens to practically every rising star in the music world. Look at Katy Perry’s success as a Christian artist versus her rise to fame after proclaiming she “kissed a girl and liked it.”
Whatever the future has in store for Lana Del Rey, she’s already become a bonafide internet sensation with blogs constantly buzzing about her first album – which coincidentally leaked a mere week after her SNL appearance – Born to Die.
Love her? Hate her? Comment below or tweet us at @HCEmerson!