“A gangsta Nancy Sinatra”.
No, I’m not talking about Amy Winehouse. That’s what Lana Del Rey’s publicists have labeled her in their world-wide attempt to make her a star, before her first album is released on January 30th.
Oh the irony that no one checked with Lana Del Rey to see if she even likes Nancy Sinatra before letting her talk to the media, let alone counts Nancy as one of her influences (aka: Who is Nancy Sinatra and name 2 songs she did, quick!). Turns out, she doesn’t. Maybe it’s because they asked her opinion while she still had her Clark Kent glasses on (her real name is Elizabeth Grant, her real face…who knows?).
I’m also confused as to when the “make-over” took place. Was it sitting in her mansion in NY developing her street-cred story of trailer park life in NJ, or was it in the trailer park in NJ dreaming of a better life in a mansion in NY? This approach worked so well for Milli Vanilli, and Vanilla-Ice, and so many others who were washed out after their debut album’s flash-in-the-pan success. Pretending to be someone you’re not always works out. Always! The American public is too stupid to sniff out posers! Actually, I’ll stop with the satirical comments, because I’m already losing that musical-snob argument. America has yet to sniff out Lady Gaga. I still don’t get that one. Lana’s 25. Guess who she named as one of her musical influences? The same person Lady Gaga did…Brittney Spears. Kill. me. now.
Lana Del Rey has a massive team of publicists and managers pushing her name everywhere. I know I’ve heard the name several times in the past few months, but figured she was an up and coming R&B (or some other genre) star that I’ve missed because I don’t dive in those musical pools regularly. Turns out, she, (she being “Lana” now) only appeared live on a few shows both here and abroad singing one of only two songs. Her team of “pushers” managed to book her as the musical guest on SNL this past Saturday, and that rocked the entire blogosphere, as she was ripped to shreds by music lovers…and NBC newscaster Brian Williams…and apparently anyone with ears. She was ripped for her performance, her stage presence, and most of all her being on the show in the first place when SNL has a long history of booking only the biggest and best acts of the day.
I watched the two clips from the show on Yahoo’s Music tonight, and let’s be real…plenty of acts have sounded worse than the performance she gave. But I was disturbed to see someone who has yet to make a name for herself in the industry because of her talent or her musical accomplishments get booked for one of the Top 5 coveted musical career pinnacles in America. So, I looked her up. She tried to release an album a few years ago under her actual name, Lizzy Grant. It didn’t really take. So daddy made iTunes take it down, and she had the controversial make-over, thanks to more of daddy’s money being thrown around. She’s the spawn of a millionaire, don’t ya know! I’m kind of confused as to why she went to college for a degree in Political Science if daddy was planning on buying her way into the music industry all along? The average rock-n-roller doesn’t usually hold a degree from a prestigious university in something that has nothing to do with his/her art. Perhaps her internship at a political non-profit or major news bureau before graduation didn’t go so well, so daddy said, “How about you hang up your business heels honey and try to be a pop star…like Paris Hilton?” Maybe the college degree story is also fake? Then again, it’s not every day trailer park residents in NJ get to attend boarding high schools in Connecticut.
I’ve always dreamed about how much easier it would be to develop a fan base by working as an independent artist (thanks to a hefty bank roll) until you’re so popular you can no longer be ignored by the powers that be (like MC Hammer did) than to have to scrounge around working every joint you can for little or no pay until you have enough saved to go pander to major record labels through their usual channels of performing in showcases, only to agree to sign on for development deals before radio, or the public ever gets to hear you sing. “If I won the lottery…” has certainly escaped my lips on more than one occasion. So, I don’t fault this young lady at all for having the chance to receive model looks via under the knife, plus snub the very industry whose rules I actually hate! But I’m extremely disappointed in NBC and SNL for lowering their talent standards to such a degree, legit musical entertainer by the industry’s standards or not. There are American Idol rejects who could’ve made better use of those two songs than Lana did. They just didn’t have a team of representatives stomping the path ahead down for them, thanks to daddy’s ATM card. Hence, why they subjected themselves to the humiliating national contest in the first place.
As for Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, and even Lady Gaga, I don’t think they have anything to lose sleep over, yet. I didn’t hear anything that a real artist like Tori Amos hasn’t already done…better.
