Do you know Lana Del Rey? Well, you should because she is the next big thing. She is an American singer and song writer. You probably know her first big hit called Video Games. Since october 2011, her album Born to Die became a big hit in more than 7 countries including the US.
Her real name is Elisabeth Woolridge Grant,she was born in New York and grew up in Lake Placid, NY. She has chose this name because she wanted to create an universe that she would be able to create music around. She also has lots of friends in Miami with whom she speaks often spanish.
After some slow start with her career, she got a huge big hit last summer with her song Video Games. In deed, this song was released first digitally in August 2011 as the album would be ready of release only in October.
The video from this song was viewed more than 32,000,000 times and it is 56 out of the top 100 youtube videos. It got viral and viral. Lana Del Rey explains that she did herself the editing by cut and pasting other people’s videos from youtube. See the video here:
This song revealed the “Lana Del Rey” style to the world. She has a beautiful almost hypnotic contralto vocal range that gives a lot of sexiness and nostalgia to her voice. Her musical influences goes from Elvis Presley towards Britney Spears up to Kurt Cobain… what a blend! She has described herself as a “self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra”.
The album Born to Die became a big hit in several countries and now a world tour is in preparation. I got the album and have been listening to it all day. I find it quite intimate, personal and autobiographical. Her voice is amazing. She is a contralto, which is the deepest female singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. This brings a very emotional and nostalgic feeling into Lana Del Rey songs. She created an amazing universe filled from typical Middle-America references with a “Miami twist”.
My preferred song is by far Summertime sadness. It is a beautiful story-telling song:
(…)
Kiss me hard before you go
Summertime sadness
I just wanted you to know
That baby you’re the best
I got my red dress on tonight
Dancing in the dark in the pale moonlight
Got my hair up real big beauty queen style
High heels off, I’m feeling alive
(…)
So, do not hesitate, if you are looking for a “do-me-good” music, this is it. So let’s hope now that the world tour will start soon.
For more information, please check the artist official website: http://www.lanadelrey.com
Here is one of the live performances from a french show, called Taratata, one of the few “open-mics” in Europe.
Seduced? I am.
LA
Info sourced at the artist official website and wikipedia. All images copyrighted with no reproduction rights available.
