Lana Del Rey has become the poster child for buzz over the last few months. The relatively unknown singer’s debut album Born To Die is set to be released January 31, and she has already signed a modeling contract, been nominated for a Brit Award, and has graced the covers of magazines like Billboard, Interview (Russia), and Q. But perhaps the biggest coup for the young singer was scoring a gig as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, joining a short list of performers that includes Natalie Imbruglia and Jessie J.
“I don’t think they’ve ever had anyone perform who didn’t even have a record out, so I do appreciate it,” she told MTV News last week. “I’m a good musician. And I may not have a record out now, but I have been singing for a very long time, and I think that Lorne [Michaels] knows that, and everyone over there knows that. It’s not a fluke decision.”
Actually, Lana was wrong about SNL not having anyone perform without having a record out. The first one was Natalie Imbruglia, who became known for her single “Torn”.
Judging from the reaction online to Lana’s performances last night, it may not have been a fluke decision after all – merely a bad one. The criticisms range from pity to disgust from such folks as Juliette Lewis, Perez Hilton, and Eliza Dushku:
Juliette Lewis: “Wow watching this ‘singer’ on SNL is like watching a 12 year old in their bedroom when they’re pretending to sing and perform. #signofourtimes” (later deleted)
Perez Hilton: “Just watched SNL. Not only was @LanaDelRey vocally WAY off, but watching her utter lack of stage presence was cringe-worthy”
Eliza Dushku: “Who…..is…..this wack-a-doodle chick performing on #SNL..? Whaaaa?”
Comments from fans weren’t much better. But enough of what everyone else thought, here are the performance clips so you can judge for yourself.
Soooo… Do you think Lana Del Rey’s performance on SNL was the most cringe-worthy musical moment from the show since Ashley Simpson’s infamous lip-syncing fiasco?
UPDATE – I just ran across this Q&A from another MTV interview in which Lana says she will kill herself if her Saturday Night Live performance goes poorly. Uh oh.
So have you been practicing all week for SNL?
Well, no, I haven’t because I’ve been working. I don’t even know what I’m singing! I know it’s “Video Games” and I think “Blue Jeans,” but I thought it was supposed to be “Born to Die,” so I have to go figure that out. I better f***ing figure that out! [Laughs] There’s a lot going on so there’s a lot of catching up to do.
Are you excited?
Yeah … I’m excited if it goes well. If it doesn’t, I’m gonna kill myself! But yeah, what an honor. And who knows why, but it’s really nice for me.
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