Lana Del Rey's debut album proves she was born to be a star

Forget about Lady GaGa for a few minutes. Never has a new artist managed to create such an enigmatic persona, or such a great stir of controversy for it, as New Yorker Elizabeth Grant has. Under the psuedonym Lana Del Rey she rose to Internet fame with her first single “Video Games,” taken from her debut album “Born To Die,” and it’s accompanying video. The video became extremely popular in the blogosphere, garnering over 22 million views.

More recently, though, she’s created quite the buzz over her performance on “Saturday Night Live.” From “NBC Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams to “The Firm” actress Juliette Lewis, it seemed that everyone thought that Del Rey’s performance on “SNL” was embarrassingly bad. Because, quite frankly, it wasn’t the best performance ever given.

The thing about Del Rey’s music is that once somebody listens to her songs, the studio versions that is, it doesn’t matter just how amazing or disappointing she is live.

Pop Is A Bloodsport Introduces: Lana Del Rey

Meet Lana Del Rey


I know I hopped on the Lana train a little late...erm, very late...but I just had to share this with anyone who hasn't heard of her. Nevermind the fact that her father is a millionaire. Nevermind the fact that she's signed to Interscope Records. Nevermind that her real name is Elizabeth Grant. Nevermind anything you've heard about her, all you need to know is whatever she sings above.
Lana's voice is not anything special, per se, but her true talent lies in the blend of the elements of her music and the ambiance it creates. "Born To Die" is the latest single from her debut album of the same name. The song instantly has the feel of a dark Oh Land song, mixed in with the oldies-sampling savvy of Kanye West. "Feet, don't fail me now," she pleads in the song's first verse, almost emotionlessly. The song has an almost diluted instrumentation, as if it was being listened to through a bottle.