[Album Discussion] Lana Del Rey- "Honeymoon" / Leona Lewis- "I Am"

Two of our Divas have released new albums in quick succession. When it rains it pours!

First we had Leona Lewis' I Am, which was released on the 11th of September. It didn't exactly make a big splash, charting not so great in the UK(#12) or the US (#38)- though she smartly remains pragmatic about this. Now this week sees Lana Del Rey's Honeymoon drop, with predicted sales of 100k and a Billboard album chart position of #2. Not bad!

Lana Del Rey Trys Out Trap With "High By The Beach"

Lana Del Rey is keeping up the musical push by releasing a new single from the soon to be released LP, Honeymoon.

High By The Beach is as dreamy as Lana's last release, the title track of the album. However, the Diva has injected a little street, and modernity, into this cut with an electronic trap(ish) beat.

Honestly, as beautiful as the song sounds, the beat wasn't needed- sounding unpolished, cheap and incongruous with the rest of the production. But hey, the track is about about getting high, so why not throw in an "urban" flavour, because, you know, that's not cliché at all.

Still, I'm liking what I've heard from Honeymoon so far.

Lana Del Rey Returns With Gorgeous Track, "Honeymoon"

A wild Lana Del Rey track has surfaced on the Diva's YouTube page and it is EVERYTHING!

Who even knew album number three was being recorded?! Or that it had already been titled Honeymoon and been produced with Mark Ronson?! (Real music bloggers, I'd imagine!)

Well, to all of the above, I was ig-nor-ant!! However, if this title track of spellbinding beauty is any indication of what is in store from this new LP, I'm not even ashamed of admitting to this idiotic oversight. The need of this album is all that matters now!!!

[Watch] Glastonbury 2014: Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Ray has started the festival circus, and what better place to showcase her rockier-tinged new album, Ultraviolence, than Glastonbury's main stage!

Fans of her old material fret not, though! The diva actually dedicated most of her (almost an) hour set to past hits and fan favourites.

But was it any good? watch and find out!

[Album Discussion Post] Lana Del Rey - "Ultraviolence"

The long awaited third LP from Lana Del Rey has arrived!

Released this week, Ultraviolence has been met with critical acclaim from those in the know, with many labeling it a more focused and cohesive album than Born To Die. I'm not sure I agree with those sentiments- Born To Die was pretty darn cohesive if you ask me- but this album does see Lana change her sound, ditching the lucious and grandiose production of her debute for  a rockier, rough and ready persona. 

I haven't had enough time with the album to give a proper opinion on it, but I thought I'd make a post for you guys to discuss it. I'll join the discussion after I've given it a few more spins.

[Music Video] Lana Del Rey Debuts "West Coast" Visuals

West Coast, the new Lana Del Rey video is here!

Shot mostly in black and white, the long awaited visuals find Lana frolicking on the beach with a grungy beau for the most part. However, during the song's tempo change, we are transported to a past (or future) life more in line with the sugar daddy-craving, ultra glam persona of the Born To Die era, as she gets cosy with an older man. By its end, both are consumed in the flames of desire as colour is finally added to the mix.

The visuals aren't anything exceptional to me, but watching the video has reminded me just how much I love the song. To say I'm excited for Ultraviolence is now officially an understatement.

Lana Del Rey Grunges Up Music With "West Coast"

Lana Del Rey has successfully allayed any fears that she can only deliver a certain style of music. Not that I'd personally complain if she continued giving us more of the same; it should be clear by now how much I love her particular style of sweeping strings and big beats.

The first single from Ultraviolence is a sexy little number that brings the Diva closer to the sound of previous persona, Lizzie Grant. Entitled West Coast, the Dan Auerbach produced cut immediately makes an impact with a killer chorus that plays with tempo and genre, giving us a drop in speed and inflections of psychedelia. It certainly sounds fresh to my ears.

I have a feeling Ultraviolence will be taking Lana down a grungier route, offering us a direct contrast to the highly polished and opulent sound of her debut. It could potentially turn off some fans, but the thought of Lana's voice over this new sonic landscape is giving me all sorts of goosebumps. Bring.It.On.

Take a listen!

[New Music] Lana Del Rey Covers "Once Upon A Dream" For Maleficent

I am a sucker for a Disney villainess! In fact, The Little Mermaid's Ursula and Sleeping Beauty's Maleficent made such an impression on me that, even as a child, I felt aggrieved when they met their untimely (and unfair) demises. I was especially annoyed with Ariel! She was the one who started the chain of events that *SPOILER* led to Ursula being popped like a giant cecaelia shaped balloon. That's manslaughter, man!

[Discussion] Lana Del Rey's "Tropico": A Work of Genius or Pretentious Pap?

Lana Del Rey's music and visuals have always been cinematic and dramatic in scope. And she's always worn her obsession for the Golden Age of Hollywood and Americana prominently on her sleeve. So is it any wonder that the singer-songwriter would take these passions a step further and release something more substantial than a four minute promo? Let me help you out: no it is not!  Everyone say "hello" to the Coney Island Queen's short film, Tropico.

But hold up! Before you take that leap into Lana's world, take a read of this Question and Answer session the director of Tropico, Anthony Mandler, had with Time. It should help prepare you for what you're going to see. Below is an extract from it explaining the process of collaborating with Lana and how the film is, at its heart, a love story (as if we couldn't figure that out ourselves!) :

TIME: There’s a lot going on in Tropico. How did Lana first explain the concept to you?
Anthony Mandler: Generally, when we work together, I get these long, written-out character breakdowns and story breakdowns. Some of it is very well-thought out, some of it is kind of stream-of-conscious. So my role has been to come in and shake the tree and realign things and make it do-able. Lana has these really wide, vast landscapes that she lays out, but she definitely has a very strong vision about the world she wants to fill out. It is a very collaborative process, especially on the front end.

Ultimately it’s a love story though, right?

Yes, I think it’s a love story between two people and a love story about loving yourself. It is that classic idea about breaking trust or breaking something sacred and how you find it again. Okay, so they are abolished from the Garden of Eden: now what? How do we push that forward through the modern lens? [We're looking] at this sort of modern hell on earth that people live in: working in a convenience store, stripping for money, not doing much of anything. There’s that moment — and I love it that [Shaun's character] Adam does it — where he goes, “It’s not always going to be this way.” The third act is about moving back to paradise and finding another Eden that’s not on Earth.

Source: Time.com

[New Music] Listen To Lana Del Rey's "Beautiful Player" And "Breaking My Heart"

Lana Del Rey must be the most productive singer out there! There doesn't seem to be a minute where the singer-songwriter isn't leaking material on to the net. Seriously, she must live in the studio! Still, it eases the transition (and the painful longing) between her début album and it's upcoming sophomore follow up, so I shan't complain.

First up is Beautiful Player which wears its Hip Hop influences on its sleeve, with a heavy beat and a male rapper/the song producer/ family friend (I don't know who he is) alibiing over the track and spitting a few bars after the song's bridge. Lana keeps the vocals sweet and light while she sings about her scumbag, but beautiful, boyfriend who keeps playing around. All-in-all, not a bad track.

[New Music] Lana Del Rey Slays Us All With Great Gatsby's "Young & Beautiful"!

Ergh, Lana Del Rey you are just too perfect! Just released is her Great Gatsby contribution Young and Beautiful, and it's everything you (and I) hoped it would be.

Moody, broody with a melody- particularly at the bridge- that can take a listener's breath away, this song has already established itself up there with other classics like Video Games and Born To Die- and that's just after one listen! I really don't understand how people can get her talent twisted when she keeps writing sumptuous songs like this. Lana, you've done it again!

Take a listen to Young and Beautiful, below.

[New Music ] Lana Del Rey "Summer Wine"

Lana Del Rey keeps on doing her own thing, putting out music randomly. But let's get real, ain't no one complainin' about that!

Her newest release is a cover of Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood's Summer Wine, which comes hot on the heels of last month's Chelsea Hotel No. 2. It's another vintage slice of musical pie from our lovely Lana, and should keep those of us who are dying for new (original) music ticking over until we can get our greedy hands on The Great Gatsby soundtrack! On a selfish note, it's also the perfect accompaniment to this beautiful spring day!

*Runs back outside to enjoy*

[Cover] Lana Del Rey Attempts A Leonard Cohen Song! *GASP*

I did not wake up today thinking I'd be hearing new music from Lana Del Rey, but that's just what's happened!! Sharing with us a little bit of her own musical tastes, Lana has just released a cover of Leonard Cohen's Chelsea Hotel No. 2. For what purpose (New album? For fun? Because she was bored?), Lana hasn't revealed yet; but new music is new music and I'm receiving it with open arms and fawning gratitude!

There's none of the sweeping production that has become almost synonomous with Lana's music, rather the backing mimics the original in it's simplicity, with just a guitar to accompany the vocal. It takes a brave individual to cover a Leonard Cohen song so faithfully- as the comparisons (and thus criticisms) are so much easier to draw- but I think Lana Del Rey might actually surprise a few people with this sensitive and expressive rendition.

[New Music Video] Lana Del Rey Teams Up With Jaguar In "Burning Desire" Video

Burning Desire, Lana Del Rey's Jaguar tie-in, has debuted on YouTube, and frankly I'm not as pumped about it as I have been with her previous releases. I suppose this moment was bound to come at some point, but I just didn't think it would be so soon.

Remember, That One Time, When Taylor Swift Tried To Be Lana Del Rey

So, I sat down to watch the new (I should really call it "latest" because its been out for two weeks) Taylor Swift video for "I Knew You Were Trouble". Having forgotten how the song sounded, the introspective spoken introduction, and the premise that the unusual (for Taylor) visuals were laying down were surprisingly intriguing. Then, after two minutes of reeling me in, the song actually started and I was like:

[Listen] Lana Del Rey's Original Demo Of Cheryl's " Ghetto Baby"

Now, I'm sure that Cheryl Cole- I just can't get used to the single moniker name she's going by now- can at least dance. But for some reason, her Rankin directed video for "Ghetto Baby" features the kind of camera angles and fast edits that seem to contest my surety.

So, either she was less rehearsed than usual with the choreography, leading to the less than polished routine, or Rankin isn't quite as adept a director as he is a photographer, and it's his fault. But since I don't really care either way, it's whatever it is.

[Watch] Lana Del Rey Performs "Ride" @ Langs de Leeuw.

Lana Del Rey delivered a spellbinding performance of new single Ride on Dutch show Langs de Leeuw.

[New Music Video] Lana Del Rey "Ride"

Lana Del Rey's fascination with the Hollywood of yesteryear continues on the ten minute extravaganza for new single Ride. Like a film, the video even has rolling credits at the end!

Opening with a lengthy monologue, the singer-songwriter reveals a rebellious but emotionally fragile character, recounting the time in her life where she felt most free. A time where she found safety in others (illustrated by the "unconventional" male leads), sang to get by, and lived on the road.

[Watch] Lana Del Rey Perform At Itunes Festival 2012

The itunes Festival continues and Tuesday (the 25th of September) saw Lana Del Rey tread the boards of the famous North London venue, the Roundhouse.

Dressed surprisingly casual-Note:FLATS(!)- the fawning crowd had Lana at ease from the moment she appeared on stage, and we all know that a comfortable Lana performs best. She rewarded their warmth during Video Games (around the 28 minute mark): posing for pictures, doling out kisses and looking genuinely moved by the interaction with her fans. Bless.

[Watch] Lana Del Rey Covers "Blue Velvet" For H&M

With Lana Del Rey's unique look and style it wasn't going to be long before she was snapped up to be a clotheshorse for one brand or another. I was just expecting it to be something a little more upmarket than High Street chain H&M. However, it's not the sponsor itself that we're concerned with here: it's the new music!!