Photo: WENN.com
It's safe to say that the past twelve months have been eventful for New Yorker Lana Del Rey, a star with the Marmite affect. 'Video Games' earned instant plaudits but the backlash hit just as quickly. That was then followed by a chart topping debut album and a high-profile set of fans that moved on quickly after negative reactions from tv performances and rumours of the stars authenticity.
Just when the singers year couldn't become anymore dramatic she becomes a fashion muse, the face of luxury cars and GQ's Women Of The Year, last night she was back on stage at the iTunes Festival.
The thing with Lana is that what she'd prefer to being known for, music, has taken the back seat. Right from the start, tales of her past over shadowed her YouTube views but since her album topped the charts, her singles have been less dominant and her popularity seemed to have wavered. She has stayed away from touring which has backfired to a degree but keeping cards close to her chest has kept demand high.
The pop princess followed her band onto the stage which was decked out in massive palm trees. Dressed in a jumper and trousers she was hardly the fashion icon we've come to know and her attire wasn't the only lazy thing about the performance, she was only on-stage for forty-five minutes.
With constant screams of 'I love you' from the crowd Lana appeared bashful, muttering 'thank yous', hidden by giggles but chat was kept to a minimum as she delivered her short set quickly - as if she had somewhere better to be. 'Blue Jeans' was powerful, brought to life by the string quartet and 'Video Games' was beautiful, her vocals filled the iconic venue with charm and elegance but 'Million Dollar Man' felt like an X Factor audition as she warbled through, needlessly dragging out every note. 'Summertime Sadness' on the other hand was much easier on the ear.
'National Anthem' concluded the evening, sounding huge, evoking a sing-a-long amongst the audience. But just things seemed the get into full flow, the singer said her goodbyes and no encore followed. An impressive, if brief and curious performance from the rising megastar.
