That nostalgic tinge, the old-world glamorous presence, That sensual deep voice, the melancholic strain in her music...
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (aka Lana Del Rey) has successfully enticed millions worldwide with her inimitable vocal prowess and distinctive melodies. And to date, the Norman F****ng Rockwell songstress continues to stir the hearts of younglings, adult men, and women alike, fueling fertile imaginations with longing for unrequited love, getting high on the beach, older men et al.
Unsurprisingly, like any shape-shifting artiste (think Lady Gaga, Madonna) Rey, 34, has attracted polarizing sects— one side representing the devout fans and the other entailing those who’ve dissected everything she’s done, calling her out for her past actions and present behavior.
But what is it about the Blue Jeans singer that makes her such a disruptive, divisive icon of the pop era? Why, as a Guardian report pointed out, are more people joining the ‘Lana Del Ray-bashing bandwagon’, hammering her reputation and unmistakable musical talent in the name of authenticity and other what not’s? Is there any truth in the arguments dished out against her?
Is Lana Del Rey actually, seriously problematic? Why do people hate Lana Del Ray?
When Authenticity Went Missing & Fans Felt Cheated
Interestingly, since 2005, there existed numerous Rey aliases that were songwriting and singing for success—May Jailer, Sparkle Jump Rope Queen, Phenomena, and Lizzy Grant before Lana Del Rey tasted victory. In 2011, she appeared with the self-produced Video Games that left indie aficionados swooning over her unforgettable, haunting voice supported by grainy, raw clips picked from Hollywood and home videos, catapulting Grant to viral stardom.
2012 became the IT year for Rey as her (Interscope Record's album Born To Die was released—a stark contrast from her seemingly innocent Lake Placid native's sweet image to an enigmatic, smouldering mid-60’s inspired pin-up persona that left many of her indie fans befuddled.
But Rey dismissed the chorus of accusations. “I’m always being myself. They don’t know what authenticity is. If you think of all the music that came out until 2013, it was super straight and shiny. If that’s authentic to you, this is going to look like the opposite,” Rey revealed in an interview with Pitchfork. “I think that shi*'s stylized. Just because I do my hair big, does not mean I am a product. Music was in a super weird place when I became known, and I didn’t like any of it.”
Few Rey detractors opined that her journey to Lana Del Rey, the 'non de plume' of Grant, was a well-designed plan, her exotic new alias being carefully created and curated by her new management. Speculation was rife that all her earlier work was erased from the world-wide-web, as part of the label’s marketing acumen to present the new Rey to the world. “She’s putting on a show. She’s here to entertain us. There are a lot of things that don’t seem organic about it,” news editor Steven Horowitz wrote for Billboard.
It didn’t help that she claimed her nose and lips were not cosmetic-ally enhanced.
Single-handedly, the cosmetic procedure denial isn't a reason to spew hate for Rey (or for any star in the glamour industry.) In this case, it's an amalgamation of other authenticity contentions, including the 'struggling-to-make-it-big' act (her father had supported her career moves) that built up against Rey.
Live Performances V/S Glossy Videos
The hipster’s 2012 Saturday Night Live performance did not help her cause either. Dubbed as the ‘worst musical performance in the history of SNL’, it raised questions about whether she could sing at all. Keeping the SNL and the Bowery Ballroom performance aside (which could be attributed to stage fright), Rey’s trademark swaying, noticeable slurring in few live acts, has raised eyebrows in the past. Few steps to the left, then right, eyes shut and her arms stretching assiduously—does Rey channel the hurt, sad soul vibe from the deep confines of a tormented heart or is always stoned to cover up her nervousness and lack of preparedness? Again, authenticity doubts rear their head, leaving listeners either frustrated by her listless performance or (somehow) even more attracted to the 'sadcore'- inspired visual imagery Rey personifies.
From the feminist perspective, her lyrics (He hit me and it felt like a kiss. He hurt me but it felt like true love) made the Summertime Sadness singer's case even weaker. Forget feminism, a large chunk of Rey’s fan base consists of impressionable, teenage girls and heartbroken adults, many of whom (on many Reddit threads), claimed to have found solace in the lyrics of Ultraviolence and other albums. While there’s nothing inherently wrong in weaving the unity thread for the broken-hearted against a tapestry of her infamous masochism and longing, it does lead to a bruised self-esteem and deep fissures in the self-image of listeners.
In all fairness, the authenticity argument in Hollywood or the music industry is over-hyped. As Chuck Eddy, author of Rock and Roll Always Forgets and columnist for Rolling Stone and Spin elucidated for the Daily Beast. “Stupid people judge musical acts if they write their songs. Incredibly low-life idiots do judge music that way. Smart people judge music by the music. You know pop-acts for decades and lots of rock acts haven't written their songs, so are they good or not? It doesn’t mean anything. It just doesn’t. It just seems so dumb, I’m amazed that people are still arguing about it,” he stated.
Let’s get real: it takes more than talent, hair-color, facial transformations, and enticing (manufactured or authentic) intrigue to carve a solid, comfortable space in the music industry. Like Billboard’s Editorial Director Bill Werde pointed out, “there’s a lot of curiosity around Rey because of this perception, where people don’t understand the story, they don’t know why there’s a Lizzy Grant and why there’s a Lana Del Rey now. And that adds a bit of intrigue around this, which helps get people’s attention for maybe that split second that’s required to get them back to click on a video and to listen to a song.
And if her albums continue to rake in the money and continue to occupy top spots across charts worldwide, the joke’s on each person that’s arguing about her ‘authenticity’ and wringing her image. Like Werde explained, “If, at the end of the day, if you find yourself at a point where everyone is rabidly searching for information about your past, then you’ve already won the game.”