The Lana Del Rey phenomenon is a strange beast; part irresistible talent, part unstoppable PR machine. When I first encountered her breakthrough song ‘Video Games’ way back in May this year she was still virtually unknown and the song had only been heard by a few people. Fast forward six months and, now a household name, the hype that surrounds the release of her debut album is reaching fever pitch. In fact thinking back in recent times the only release that I can draw comparisons with is Arctic Monkeys’ debut offering when the everyone was swept along by ‘I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor’, along with the band’s D.I.Y approach to the industry.
Del Rey’s approach it’s fair to say is a lot more calculated. Even the name Lana Del Rey, an amalgamation of the actress Lana Turner and the Ford Del Rey (her birth name is Lizzy Grant), was put together by a team of management and PR people in order to reflect the genre of music she wished to embrace. So what can we expect from her follow up single and album title track ‘Born to Die’?
Well, with a string intro that would sound perfectly at home in any film of the 50′s, it seamlessly takes it place alongside ‘Video Games’, tapping in to the kind of ’50′s glamour pop that Del Rey effortlessly channels. Stylistically it’s also very similar to “Video Games’, all hazy vocals and strings with a vulnerability and melancholy that beguiles her twenty five years. The addition of a drum beat gives it a bit more of a punch and you can imagine it would be pretty easy to vamp it up to a bit of a rock number live.
Whatever you think of Lana Del Rey as a person, an image, an idea or a product she has released two songs that ensure that she deserves to be judged on the music first and foremost. I for one am looking forward to seeing what else the album has in store for us.
You cannot compare a huge campaign to launch somebody who is almost exactly the same as everything else out there to the Arctic Monkeys. The Monkeys brought a genuinely good rock sound back to the forefront and it’s not coincidence that nearly everyone liked them.
It wasn’t the Monkeys who were DIY, it was their mates doing it on their behalf.
I wouldn’t necessarily agree that she’s almost exactly the same as everything else. I think there is a level of uniqueness to her. A campaign can only do so much for you. It will get you noticed but if people don’t like the music they won’t buy it.
And I’m not really comparing the two release strategies, just comparing the resultant hype. All I was trying to say is that I genuinely cannot think of a debut album that has had this much hype around it since the Arctic Monkeys, regardless of how much campaigning it’s had around it.
Leona Lewis sold more.
And, as for hype around this album, I haven’t actually heard any at all.
Why are her singles not going in at number one?
And Susan Boyle sold more than Leona Lewis, but there wasn’t really a great deal of hype over those albums. They were the products of reality programmes and an album was the next step.
As for not hearing any hype around the album, she’s all over just about every music website out there.
To be fair she’s only had one single and it reached number 9 in the charts. You have to remember that when Arctic Monkeys reached number 1 back in 2006 it was a good time for guitar music. Take the best selling 15 albums of that year and you’ve got Snow Patrol, Scissor Sisters, Arctic Monkeys, The Kooks, Razorlight, Oasis, The Killers, Keane and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Look at the best selling 15 albums of last year and you’ve only really got Florence and the Machine, Mumford and Sons and Kings of Leon. The public’s musical taste has changed so while there may be plenty of hype around Lana Del Rey it’s not really the best moment musically for her to really dominate the charts.
I agree with Carlton P. But don’t overhyped acts make it to number one? I don’t understand how you can be sayin’ she’s really hyped when I haven’t heard about her at all.
“How you can be sayin’ she’s really hyped when I haven’t heard about her.”
The hype is always going to be focused at its specific audience. If you’re the sort that reads Guardian NBotD, Pitchfork, TLOBF, Fake DIY et al on a daily basis then chances are Lana will have crossed your path — regardless of your opinion.
I’m sure there’s a whole bunch of, say, trance DJs out there hyped to be the next big thing in 2012… but I don’t listen to or know anything about trance, so I’ve not heard of them.
As a side point, yet ANOTHER Lana remix is currently the most blogged track according to blog aggregation site Hype Machine.
No, not really. Look at someone like Justin Bieber. Insane amount of hype about him but he’s only had two top ten hits in the UK, neither of which went to number one.
Her new single is the most talked about song on Twitter at the moment. And she’s in the top 4 most blogged about artists at the moment. She’s all over NME and The Guardian for a start.
Just because you haven’t heard about her doesn’t mean she isn’t being hyped up. Then again, maybe I’m just visiting the few sites that have ever mentioned her, who knows.
See Geoff, he’s back-tracking already. Bieber is number one in poster sales, DVD sales and pre-teen jazz mags – nobody actually listens to him!
Hah. Don’t see how I’ve back-tracked but never mind. A few things….
Number one in DVD sales? You mean DVDs of his concerts? Aren’t they those things where he sings his songs that no-one listens to?
And his debut album reached number 3 in the charts I believe, with Florence & The Machine and Paulo Nutini ahead of him. It ended up being the 12th best selling album of last year shifting over half a million copies. Not bad for someone that no-one listens to. I don’t like the kid myself but fair play to him.