In Defense of Lana Del Rey

by Bradley Stern
filed under: Lana Del Rey, Muuses

Lana+Del+Rey+ldr151 In Defense of Lana Del Rey

On Saturday night, Lana Del Rey performed on Saturday Night Live.

By the next morning, the internet was abuzz: The Huffington Post proclaimed “Internet Sensation Bombs On Her U.S. TV Debut.” NBC’s Brian Williams called her a “Brooklyn hipster” and “the least-experienced musical guest in the show’s history” in a personal email. Predictably sneery cyber bully Perez Hilton tweeted “#DontBuyTheHype.” Musician Juliette Lewis tweeted that it was “like watching a 12 yearold [sic] in their bedroom when theyre [sic] pretending to sing.” And then there were hateful responses like this.

So, was it really that bad? Of course not.

After her homemade cut-and-paste clip for “Video Games” unexpectedly exploded all over the Internet, 25-year-old Lana Del Rey was almost immediately thrust into the hype machine by the notoriously self-sacrificial indie blogosphere (they build ‘em up, they knock ‘em down).

As quickly as she was regarded, she was almost immediately subjected to a merciless barrage of hateful criticism for everything from “exposes” about her lips (they’re fake, we get it) to her authenticity as an artist because–gasp! She was a failed singer-songwriter in a previous life. Apparently, that never happens in the industry–or does no one else remember Katy Hudson, the Christian rock singer revamped and remodeled as Katy Perry? Or Alanis Morrissette, the Angst-Rock goddess known formerly as teen dance-pop princess Alanis back in 1991?

By the time Lana Del Rey actually appeared onstage, visibly nervous, to perform her shaky renditions of “Video Games” (and later on, “Blue Jeans”), her fate was already sealed before she even opened her mouth.

Despite the fact that Lana Del Rey has become synonymous with “Internet sensation,” most people don’t actually know who she is–much less how her music sounds. If they did, they probably wouldn’t have been quite so shell-shocked by her performance. Juliette Lewis quickly changed her mind after giving Del Rey’s music a proper chance this weekend: “Such great haunting melodies! Regardless of my own taste LIVE she’s a #FreshandYummy songwriter. Period,” she tweeted Sunday morning. And it’s likely she’s not the only one to have cast judgment too soon without even knowing what Lana is about.

Watching back, there’s nothing all that bad even happening onstage: The vocals are only slightly different than what’s being offered on the studio versions (she does warble through scales somewhat uncontrollably), but the only actual issues are from a performer’s standpoint: The twirling, the awkward hand placement, a lack of confidence, the turning away from the crowd. These are rookie mistakes by a nervy performer on the rise–technical skills that can be ironed out and finessed through proper TV training, and hardly a testament to her overall talent as a songwriter.

Then again, Lana’s already made it known in interviews that she even doesn’t like to perform live to begin with: As she told GQ recently: “I love to sing and I really love to write, but in terms of being onstage, I’m not that comfortable, which I think is sort of clear [sighs].”

Being able to recreate the studio experience live isn’t the only part of being an artist, although it’s certainly the most heavily regarded–especially within the ‘authenticity’-driven voraciousness of the indie community. (Because God forbid we just enjoy a good song simply because it is good.)

Was it too soon for Lana to perform on Saturday Night Live? Absolutely. Even Lady Gaga–who skyrocketed to fame almost immediately after the release of her very first singles “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” in 2008–wouldn’t take to the stage of Saturday Night Live until nearly a year later in October of 2009.

Still, it would be considered silly for Lana’s management to pass up such high-profile exposure, and it’s not as though she’s always faltered live: Her performance of “Video Games” on The Jonathan Ross Show recorded only one week prior in the UK is absolutely gorgeous, for instance. Was she still nervous there? Of course. And do her vocals still sound sleepy? Yes. Guess what? She sounds sleepy on the actual record too. That’s the point!

All performance criticism aside, the songs–lest we forget–are still incredible: “Video Games” remains a haunting ballad of dreamy harps and Del Rey’s world-weary vocals that initially set the Internet ablaze in the summer (as evidenced by over 20 million views on YouTube since she uploaded the clip last summer.) The song’s accompanying A-side, “Blue Jeans,” is the embodiment of Del Rey’s self-described “gangsta Nancy Sinatra” persona, mixing Del Rey’s hip-hop flow with the twangy Western beat. “National Anthem” is an extraordinarily evocative and winning blend of Americana-meets-nostalgia (“Money is the anthem/God, you’re so handsome”), while “Born To Die,” currently being offered for free on iTunes, is nothing short of a sweeping orchestral masterpiece with all the drama and conviction of a James Bond theme spliced with the gutsy bravado of a spaghetti Western soundtrack.

As an artist offering something truly unique sonically, Lana’s not providing anything even remotely close to Top 40 radio: She’s bringing us back several decades, referencing everyone from Nancy Sinatra to husky-voiced disco chanteuse Amanda Lear to Warhol protégé, Nico.

She was nervous. So what? Who cares? Next time, consider pushing away the haterade and quenching your thirst with a nice, cold glass of Diet Mountain Dew instead. You’ll feel a whole lot better, I promise.

The Lana Del Rey EP was released on January 10. (iTunes)

pixel In Defense of Lana Del Rey

  • Lance

    Amen.

  • http://twitter.com/Chrisjcxa Chris

    Oh, come on. I love her. She’s a goddess, I listen to her all day long.
    But when you focus on your vocals as an act and your performance is far less consistent and focused, than, say Madonna’s (who is a certainly-not-so-good vocalist and doesn’t even focus on singing but rather entertaining), then you have done your worst possible on that performance. What is unjust against her however is that no one cared that she can be marvelous live or that her songs are marvelous. They stretched it from a terribly bad moment to a terribly bad artist, which is plain unfair and sad.

  • Amomentlost

    if singing is what u are doing for life and how you are earning money, i think you should be able to sing live nervous or not. maybe she will get better as she performs more but i must say i was disappointed (“another studio singer”).

  • Christopher

    I have to disagree, Bradley.  Her sound is fresh and interesting, but she shouldn’t perform if that performance is the best she can offer.  I’m not sure when (the internet age?) it became cursory for every songwriter to perform their own music, but it seems that perhaps Ms. Del Rey is better suited to offering her (clear) creative genius to someone more capable of giving it the life it deserves on stage.  What she does well is conceive and create…at this point, she should either let someone else deliver the goods that she clearly can’t, or she should retreat back into her process (and practice, practice, practice) until she’s more confident.  I’m excited by Lana’s potential…but I’m just afraid this is a case of too much, too soon.

  • George

    I love Lana Del Rey but that performance was horrible and she needs to know that so she can do better next time. I’m not a hater at all. It’s just a fact. She blew that performance but I’m sure she’ll have a chance to redeem herself.

  • http://twitter.com/thejadedcre8tiv TheJadedEntrepreneur

    As quickly as she was regarded, she was almost immediately subjected to a merciless barrage of hateful criticism for everything from “exposes” about her lips (they’re fake, we get it) to her authenticity as an artist because–gasp! She was a failed singer-songwriter in a previous life. Apparently, that never happens in the industry–or does no one else remember Katy Hudson, the Christian rock singer revamped and remodeled as Katy Perry? Or Alanis Morrissette, the Angst-Rock goddess known formerly as teen dance-pop princess Alanis back in 1991?
    Here’s the deal darlin’…Katy Perry and Alanis never lied (repeatedly, I might add) on-record about their past. They’re trying to recreate this girl like Dr. fucking Frankenstein and expect us to just swallow that pill and accept blatant lies as truth. Grew up in a trailer park? Hardly. Lips are all natural? Get real. Her sound and vibe isn’t completely fucking manufactured by a team of PR people? Highly unlikely. 

    Her mangers fucked her up. Blame them, not the critics. We’re just going by what is shoveled down our throats and what I heard was akin to Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis when they were trying to scare aware the new family in Beatlejuice near the beginning of the movie. Whoooaaaaaauuuuaaaoaoaooouuruuuuuuaaaaaaaaaoooooouuuuuuaaaaaa. 

  • http://twitter.com/thejadedcre8tiv TheJadedEntrepreneur

    As quickly as she was regarded, she was almost immediately subjected to a merciless barrage of hateful criticism for everything from “exposes” about her lips (they’re fake, we get it) to her authenticity as an artist because–gasp! She was a failed singer-songwriter in a previous life. Apparently, that never happens in the industry–or does no one else remember Katy Hudson, the Christian rock singer revamped and remodeled as Katy Perry? Or Alanis Morrissette, the Angst-Rock goddess known formerly as teen dance-pop princess Alanis back in 1991?
    Here’s the deal darlin’…Katy Perry and Alanis never lied (repeatedly, I might add) on-record about their past. They’re trying to recreate this girl like Dr. fucking Frankenstein and expect us to just swallow that pill and accept blatant lies as truth. Grew up in a trailer park? Hardly. Lips are all natural? Get real. Her sound and vibe isn’t completely fucking manufactured by a team of PR people? Highly unlikely. 

    Her mangers fucked her up. Blame them, not the critics. We’re just going by what is shoveled down our throats and what I heard was akin to Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis when they were trying to scare aware the new family in Beatlejuice near the beginning of the movie. Whoooaaaaaauuuuaaaoaoaooouuruuuuuuaaaaaaaaaoooooouuuuuuaaaaaa. No thanks.

  • http://twitter.com/thejadedcre8tiv TheJadedEntrepreneur

    As quickly as she was regarded, she was almost immediately subjected to a merciless barrage of hateful criticism for everything from “exposes” about her lips (they’re fake, we get it) to her authenticity as an artist because–gasp! She was a failed singer-songwriter in a previous life. Apparently, that never happens in the industry–or does no one else remember Katy Hudson, the Christian rock singer revamped and remodeled as Katy Perry? Or Alanis Morrissette, the Angst-Rock goddess known formerly as teen dance-pop princess Alanis back in 1991?
    Here’s the deal darlin’…Katy Perry and Alanis never lied (repeatedly, I might add) on-record about their past. They’re trying to recreate this girl like Dr. fucking Frankenstein and expect us to just swallow that pill and accept blatant lies as truth. Grew up in a trailer park? Hardly. Lips are all natural? Get real. Her sound and vibe isn’t completely fucking manufactured by a team of PR people? Highly unlikely. 

    Her mangers fucked her up. Blame them, not the critics. We’re just going by what is shoveled down our throats and what I heard was akin to Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis when they were trying to scare aware the new family in Beatlejuice near the beginning of the movie. Whoooaaaaaauuuuaaaoaoaooouuruuuuuuaaaaaaaaaoooooouuuuuuaaaaaa. No thanks.

  • http://twitter.com/dylancx2 Dylan Cook

    I think that first and foremost, she is a recording artist. Which means she goes into the studio and records what is written and composed for an audience to listen to. She’s not just a singer. People who sing for a living are cruise ship performers or local bar acts. Those are the people who sing and perform for a living. It just so happens that performing is another way to present the work a recording artist makes. I for one think she’s an AMAZING performer when she’s in her element. Which by the way, Bradley, I pretty much agreed with everything except how you said she’s not confident. Something about her on stage exudes a confidence in who she is and it’s enough to carry her set out. It’s just unfortunate that she was extremely nervous that night and the nerves overpowered everything. The one thing I love about your points here is that mainly you’re trying to get across to us that it’s all about the music. Why does everyone have to over analyze everything? We all do it so much we forget to actually enjoy the music. 

  • DJTravLuv

    YES bradley. thank you for writing this.spot. on.

  • http://twitter.com/davidbauti David Bauti

    *applauses*

  • Malcolm Montgomery

    nice write up! Finally someone is standing up for her! 

  • Sam

    But have you even watched any of her other live performances? This was obviously a fluke in what has been her perfect live performance history. She is well known for having a great voice and obviously in this case her nerves got the best of her. It was her first US TV performance so I’m not surprised. Also, let’s not forget that Florence + the Machine and Ellie Goulding both sounded off when they performed on SNL yet they are two of the most talented women in the business IMO. People that are so quick to jump on her case, without doing any kind of research to form a valid opinion, are the people that are causing actual Lana fans to come to her defense.

  • lilly

    “After her homemade cut-and-paste clip for “Video Games” unexpectedly exploded all over the Internet”
    Actually this isn’t correct we already know that LDR had signed with Interscope in July before she even uploaded ‘Video games’ or ‘blue jeans’   Sure Fire Media had already been hired to promote her online. So she was not thrust into the hype machine she is the hype machine.  The exposes of this was shocking enough an artist being marketed as a diy internet find. When you add this to the fact that Ms Grant is set to inherit millions from her multi millionaire father and her extensive plastic surgery both of which she has tried to deny you start to understand why people are getting more than a little feed up of the whole thing. If anyone built ‘em up, to knock ‘em down it was Lana herself and her own Label.

  • http://twitter.com/lingur Erlingur Óttar

    I think the issue isn’t even about whether or not she can sing well live or not. It’s the fact that it was probably not a good idea to have her perform on SNL at this stage in her career. 

    Brad says, “it would be considered silly for Lana’s management to pass up such high-profile exposure”, but I’m pretty sure it was the other way around: Her management probably pushed for her to be on SNL. I doubt SNL got in touch with her first.

    I’m neither a huge fan nor a hater (the songs are very nice), but I think she didn’t do herself any favors by performing on SNL. Most of the people watching the show are not going to run out and buy her stuff based on those performances.

  • Pierrick101

    Thank you for this !

  • flipper

    It’s not trivial that she was signed by one of the biggest labels in
    the industry and they tried to cover it up so they could market her
    without it appearing that she was being marketed, we were being sold the homemade artist when she was already being funded by the label for video and music production. I recently read an interview with David Kahne (he produced her last album) he didn’t share the same view as you he said she had bought out the rights to her old album herself so there was no trace of Lizzy Grant to mess up her transformation into Lana Del Rey, well I thought she couldn’t afford surgery cause she was too poor let alone buy out the music rights from her previous label. So this is all really shocking but what is most
    SHOCKING is that LDR is not a great live singer and don’t try to tell me she is I
    have seen her live performances they are all very…how do I say it
    best… mediocre and lacking passion and delivery…the fact she bought
    her way into this position is far from trivial and I don’t understand why people are being so supportive of this deceit. The music industry it’s bad already if you support what they are doing with Lizzy Grant it’s going to get so much worse.

  • Blu

    I think she is getting too much credit for the creative side of things, everything she has done so far is co-written the music for video games was written by Justin Parker who Lana referred to as some kid’ and the music is much more powerful than the lyrics, she says she writes the lyrics and it has to be said it’s not ground breaking stuff
    Open up a beer and
    Say get over here
    And play your video game.

    I heard the leaked National Anthem demos which Lizzy quickly tweeted ‘they don’t sound like that on the recorded’ no I’m sure they don’t cause an amazing and talented song writer has got his/her hands on it an transformed if from the cheesy Britney teen track you created into something beautiful and heartbreaking, I also have to say don’t ever try and rip off a Nirvana rif Lana like you have in your National Anthem demo, how dare you…

  • Lance

    Are you kidding?! That voice. Why does it need a life on stage? I could care less if she ever performs live again. Her recordings are incredible and deserve to be heard. with HER voice. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/jeff.venuti Jeff Venuti

    I didn’t like her before the performance and the performance on SNL just solidified why I don’t like her.

  • coco

    You really need to get your fact straight before writing something like this because what you have written is incorrect or are you being paid by Sure Fire Media to promote LanaDelRey?

  • Guest

    The album is going to be amazing, but her life vocals are just awful.

  • Anthagio

    “So, was it really that bad? Of course not.”

    She was bad, though, and there’s really nothing to defend. She sucked, case closed. Move on.

  • http://twitter.com/thatguyjonny jonny collazo

    PREACH

  • Laz

    How is anything he’s written wrong?

  • Esh

    YAY!!!!! x0x0

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_UHPGJRMWP6PIBC7LA7SUPCOKTY josephp

    After seeing everyone on my twitter feed go on and on about this girl being the 5,000,000th greatest thing since sliced bread, i caved and watched SNL. Ummmm yea no defending that performance it was just bad. I know they’re slow songs an all but she looked plain disinterested. Nerves are acceptable ( i to HATE being in front of a crowd, and would rather slit my throat then give a speech) but even i interact better than that.  I listened to the itunes snippets and didn’t find them much better tbqh. It will be interesting to see how her album does.

  • http://www.proform-coupons.com/ BeauOnTheJob

    I still think she is great – this won’t set her back far. She’s going to continue to become a major star 

  • Artiam77

    Wow, someone standing up for her. she doesn’t by any way deserve the criticism she has been subjected to. I think people forget she has been calapulted into the world of fame for 6 months, of course she can write brilliant songs, her lyrics are fresh, her videos creative, her styling immaculate, and the voice is to die for literally. She suffers from stage fright, many pop stars through time have suffered Robbie Williams, Adele, Barbara Streisand, Carly Simon etc. her pitch was off, but at least she sang live. the pressure was way too much, and the show was way too soon in her career, nerves got the better of her, but honestly re watch and she wasn’t that bad. As to her authenticity, she is 100% a star and whether you like her or not, she is here to stay I hope for a very long time to come.

  • HatersToTheLeft

    ^^ false. Go take a nap.

  • Fan

    Great review! thanks. I love lana!

  • coco

    “After her homemade cut-and-paste clip for “Video Games” unexpectedly exploded all over the Internet”

    She didn’t just unexpectedly explode on the internet she was already signed to her label I can’t believe you are all still falling for it even though it’s been exposed

  • Tiger

    She hasn’t been catapulted into the world of fame it’s been in planning for over two years, her previous producer has spoken about it. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/kylevm420 Kyle Vincent Mendolera

    First, finally a review that doesn’t bash her.
    Second, like many others said, yes the SNL performance was bad. Blue Jeans was terrible. Sorry. Video Games was decent. Nothing spectacular, but decent. But check out her other performances on youtube. Search ‘Video Games Live Corinthia’ and click the first video that comes up. And then come back here and try to say she cant sing. Oh wait, you wont be able to because she KILLED that performance. Excellent.
    Third, say what you want about her being signed before Video Games was released. But Im sure this was all the labels idea to build up hype. Look at the way some other artists are treated in the industry. No control over their career until they prove that they will make the label money. You think the people running the label really care about the music? Probably not. Just their fat wallets. Of course they will try to do anything in their power to make Lana look like a fresh new artist picked off the street. That will give them cred for discovering and signing this fresh talent. Doesnt really help Lana any. They will get the credit for taking a chance on something different.

    Oh and anyone who says her lyrics are childish, mediocre, bull, etc. have you heard half the crap on the radio? I know 3 year olds who can make better music than some of the biggest names in music. So shove it. And stop hating on contracts from the label you never read, Lana’s lips, her style, where she came from, and how rich she already was (from her dad). None of that matters if you are really in it for the music. Judge the music, not the musician. And remember everyone has different tastes. If its not your cup of tea, doesnt mean it isnt someone elses. Just saying.

    Love ya Lana!

  • BritneyLover

    Lana got the X-factor…still rooting for her!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Alex-Bell/735018146 Alex Bell

    In all fairness, the performances were bad. -However-, look at Rihanna at the Jingle Bell Ball. Lana Del Rey’s wasn’t any worse then that, plus, you can see the girl is utterly ruined by her nervs at that, which is understandable considering it’s her TV debut.

    Del Rey’s clearly a talented songwriter with good ideas and a unique voice, just because her opening performances were bad doesn’t mean she’s bad. Her other performances are much better and, if a little shakey, much more promising.

    Del Rey’s still got my full support and to throw her aside because of bad debut performances is to likely throw aside a very good album.

  • Muffinhead114

    She like a Lady Gaga 2.0 completely contrived but sold as DIY.  It’s actually really sad how the majors have bought up the internet culture since 08, totally killed a thriving underground functioning music society and shut the door in so many artists’ faces.

  • Christopher

    I cannot abide Florence or Ellie’s live vocals either, so I guess our difference of opinions on this matter are just that.

  • Christopher

    I quite agree that her recordings are a window into a fantastically eerie other world, one which I look forward to further exploring with her in the future.  But as Bradley himself pointed out in the article, Lana admits to being uncomfortable onstage.  She doesn’t like it, she knows she’s not good at it.  At some point, she will have to promote her music, but that point is not now.  She is clearly not ready for SNL or platforms that large.

  • Christopher

     I didn’t think she sounded very good on Jonathan Ross either.  I just watched Jools as well, and yes, it’s clear she’s less nervous, but she also changed some bits of the melody line to eliminate octave jumps and other things of which she’s clearly incapable in a live setting.  I just think Lana may be one of those acts that is best experienced through a studio recording.

  • comehomenow

    To all the folks on here with insight into Lana’s past/label/management, I think the question that anyone who really cares about music should be asking is, “Are the songs good?” If Britney Spears can make a good pop song, so can Lana Del Rey. 

  • http://twitter.com/charliekelso Charlie Kelso

    I’d do the same. I’m an illustrator, and when I started I did really shitty work, because I was naive and a beginner. I would really want to take that out of anybody’s view, so they could not relate that to my future more polished work. People that really work and try hard get better, and she did get a lot more experienced. I don’t see a reason not to do that. It’s HER work after all.

  • G-Nasty

    Everyone has their off days. People are so soon to forget that celebrities are human just like the rest of us. Everyone that’s talking shit needs to take multiple seats because I’d like to see them try to perform on live TV on a show viewed by millions. :P

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Sarah-B-Putney/1159037350 Sarah B Putney

    Thank you guys for going to bat for Lana! She is a unique artist with a beautiful voice. This SNL criticism is unwarranted. It’s somewhat older, but there’s another good blog post about her here — Stand up for Lana!  http://unapologeticallypop.blogspot.com/2011/10/in-defense-of-lana-del-rey.html

  • jose

    first off, snl is like vegas, and to do her two fabulous yet maudlin ballads on that stage isn’t apropos, esp when she could have got pumped- up and done some of her fab up-tempo songs, like “you can be the boss”, “diet mt dew”, or “kinda outta luck”, etc which are more glamorous for that setting, interscope pushing internet hits is all too predictable, but this is live and ballads are notoriously hard to deliver  live on national tv , especially in registers a half-step too low with stage-fright breathlessness, and make no mistake…she’s a great songwriter, and she’s great in the studio, but she’s wet- behind- the- ears live, and her management should know better

  • Barbudo

    Good god, Lana Del Rey is the last person that needs you to defend her from cyberbullies. Just, this whole post is whack.