Three words have recently begun to create completely divisive reactions in the world of pop culture. When spoken, these words have the power to elicit the largest of cheers and the loudest of boos. Of course, I’m referring to Lana Del Rey.
Depending on whom you ask, Lana Del Rey is either the epitome of everything that’s wrong about the music industry or one of the greatest young talents to emerge in the past few years.
I, on the other hand, seem to be one of the few people that really don’t have an opinion either way. Sure, she’s a pretty great lyricist and her music features some haunting and sweeping melodies, but I don’t really think Del Rey is here to stay. Yes, that rhyme was intentional.
She might have some extremely vocal haters, but I believe the person holding back Del Rey the most is herself. Soon after her now-infamous performance on “Saturday Night Live,” Del Rey announced that her debut album, “Born to Die” might in fact be her last as well. There have also been rumors (which have been denied) that an upcoming tour might be scrapped completely.
Much of her criticism stems from the fact that she isn’t that great at singing live. When has that ever been an issue for stars such as Katy Perry, Britney Spears or even Madonna? Sure, Del Rey’s style is much less traditionally pop than these performers, but she is still a _recording_ artist, as long as she sounds great on a recording, her minimal vocal range shouldn’t even matter in today’s musical climate.
Other critics have called to attention Del Rey’s rather privileged lifestyle. So what if her dad is a successful domain investor? Reality shows like “American Idol” and “The Voice” have caused our society to believe that only artists with sob stories and an underdog status deserve to have success in the music industry. I applaud Del Rey for having a dream and using her resources to make it happen.
Many press outlets have also criticized Del Rey for using a pseudonym. Born Lizzie Grant, she had originally released an album under her birth name, which is no longer in circulation. It’s been suggested that she deliberately blocked the album to stir up publicity for “Born To Die.” Again, I say, so? Even if it was just a marketing technique, it worked. “Born to Die” opened at No. 2 on the Billboard charts last week.
But as for her singles, I really don’t see any of them making a giant impact. Her most well-known song, “Video Games,” has only peaked at No. 91 on the Billboard Hot 100. She simply can’t compete against the dance-heavy, catchy pop songs that are currently saturating the charts.
That isn’t to say there isn’t a market for her music: Del Rey just needs to build her confidence and learn to not listen to her haters. She’s beautiful, rich and definitely talented, a.k.a she has what it takes to make it in any industry she wishes to enter.
If she can’t handle the first world problems that bring her down, maybe “Born To Die” won’t just be Lana Del Rey’s one and only album, it could be a summation of her entire music career.
