I keep hearing a lot of people's thoughts about Lana Del Rey, and to tell the truth, I've barely heard her music except for, of course, the two singles, "Video Games" and "Born To Die". Her popularity has manifested really quickly and I don't know how to feel about this, something I'm definitely not alone in.
Personally, I really like the above song and I think she has a beautiful voice, but still I don't understand all of the hype about her, and I also don't understand why we're so obsessed with talking about her looks. In Youtube videos of her singing, at least one in five of the comments below mention how much make-up she wears, her clothes and, of course, whether or not she’s had surgery on her lips, all of this being commented on as a bad thing.
I read an article a few days ago comparing her to Adele - both have very thick, strong voices with a wide vocal range, and make music that's played on TV and mainstream radio stations. But there's one significant difference between them: whilst Adele constantly states she wants the focus to be on her music and not her looks: she's very down-to-earth, she isn't stick thin, she doesn't wear revealing outfits, and this is all, of course, a great impression to give – music is, of course, only audial and in a perfect society our judgement of music and the people who make it should be down to sound only.
Lana Del Rey is different from Adele. Whilst her music is world away from mainstream pop, there are still her red lipstick and the heavy eyeliner, and the perfect, plump, are-they-or-aren’t-they-real lips – a complete contrast to her singing these deep and thoughtful song lyrics that we wouldn’t expect from someone who presents herself in this over-made-up way.
I don’t think anyone really knows how to feel about this, and maybe this is because of our essential need to categorize. There are a lot of celebrated women making pop music who are focused on their physical image – we never see Britney Spears without make-up, Madonna’s had cosmetic surgery and so much of Lady Gaga’s persona depends on her theatrical make-up and costumes, arguably more than her music itself. And these sorts of musicians aren’t regarded as serious musicians, but women who aren’t just singers or instrumentalists, but dancers and performers. Then we have the second category, where we count Adele, and other more alternative musicians that you can still find in the iTunes chart like Bon Iver, Laura Marling and to a certain extent Ed Sheeran, though I guess that’s another debate.
And the thing is, Lana Del Rey fits into both of those categories and maybe we find that confusing – normally we can say that pop music is backup dancers and outfits and BBC Radio 1, and that “real” music, that isn’t so much stereotypically about image.
But when I think about it, that’s completely questionable too. Because lots of musicians who are considered “authentic” have a persona that they put on, an iconic way that they dress – I’m thinking of Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, and more recently Florence Welch. All three have appearance’s that are a part of the way they present themselves on stage.
We say that we want to agree with Adele, that music is about what it sounds like and not what it looks like, that weight doesn’t matter. But if we really practise what we preach, surely it should swing both ways, and if someone chooses to present themselves in a way that perhaps isn’t so laid back and natural, that’s okay too.
Music is expression, and call Lana Del Rey “fake” as much as you want to but if she is, then so is everyone else. Because, really, whenever someone sings a song they’re somehow lying within its lyrics, or maybe “acting” is a better word. Musicians are presenting to us a version of themselves that suits their career. And this isn’t phoney or dishonest. It’s like a book or a film. It’s art, and like everything we read or hear or see, has been presented to us in a way that’s been edited and tweaked to meet, essentially, predictions of our own expectations and needs.
