Lana Del Rey's SNL Appearance: A Mainstream Gambit

posted in: Music News • Pop • Rock

If you have a life outside of the Internet, then there’s a good chance that you haven’t heard of singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. In that case, consider yourself introduced.

Del Rey, the handle of one Lizzy Grant, has become a figure of infamy within the online music world with unprecedented speed. Between the highly stylized videos, the songs about video games, Diet Mountain Dew and shooting her boyfriend in the head, the accusations of her image being a well managed concoction, the hipster baiting and”most importantly” those lips, it’s hard not to have an opinion about her.

Regardless of how anyone might feel, view counts don’t lie. Del Rey is having a moment””Born To Die” (which you probably just watched) has net over 4 million views since it was posted two weeks ago. That, along with her other viral hits, the endless blog posts and the write-ups (like this one!) is enough to net her some mainstream attention. So much attention, in fact, that Del Rey is going to be making her television debut on Saturday Night Live on January 14th.

Why is that such a big deal, you might ask? Well, not only will the appearance be right on the heels of the release of her debut album Born To Die, but it will also be the first time most people will ever see Del Rey. Since her arrival earlier this year, Del Rey has performed live… a bit. Songkick lists sixteen prior shows that Del Rey has taken part in. It’s interesting to note that all but three of said shows have taken place in Europe and that two of her three stateside performances are not only her most high profile but also her most recent. This past month, Del Rey played at the Bowery Ballroom in New York and The Troubadour in LA. Both shows were scrutinized closely by the music media cognoscenti. And while there was nearly universal agreement that Del Rey’s technically as competent live as on record, there were some lingering questions about how well her image, “gangster Nancy Sinatra”, translates into a live setting. Onstage banter from Del Rey suggested some restlessness nerves, a certain unease in the face of the spotlight.

Now, Del Rey isn’t really an indie artist by any measure. Her closest antecedent might be Zooey Deschanel but Del Rey is really more Winehouse than Feist; songs like “Born to Die” and “Video Games” don’t really fit the “indie” mold circa 2011. Not to mention the major label big bucks that have buoyed her career so far (Del Rey is signed to Interscope). Besides, hipsters already hate her.

So, it all comes to a head on January 14th. Or really, the days right after January 14th. It would almost seem that Del Rey’s sound would translate better over television then in a straight live medium like the rock club where she has been before. Once the show is a wrap we’ll have to decide if the discussion of Lana Del Rey the indie rock star ends and conversation on Del Rey the pop star begins. Whether that shift in the dialogue really happens or not is up to Del Rey herself.