Jan. 14, 2012: the “Saturday Night Live” performance heard around the world. At this time, Lana Del Rey was simply an emerging singer-songwriter armed only with a viral woozy ballad and intriguing Old Hollywood mystique. She took the hallowed stage at 30 Rockefeller Plaza and changed the trajectory of her career — for the worse.
Del Rey sang “Video Games” and “Blue Jeans” off her forthcoming LP “Born To Die.” However, she chose to sing about an octave lower than the recorded versions, straining to hit the notes as she awkwardly fumbled her way across the stage. The backlash was practically immediate. Brian Williams of NBC referred to it as one of the worst performances in SNL history. The internet erupted with think pieces about Del Rey’s authenticity, questioning her talent, artistry and rise to mainstream prominence. Critics seized on Del Rey’s previous efforts to succeed in the industry under her real name, Elizabeth Grant, proposing she had developed the new persona to start fresh. Two weeks later, “Born To Die” dropped, earning a mediocre 62/100 on Metacritic. Rolling Stone gave the record two stars, describing it as dull and dreary. Evan Rytlewski, panning the LP for the A.V. Club, said it was “Shallow and overwrought, with periodic echoes of Ke$ha’s Valley Girl aloofness, the album lives down to the harshest preconceptions against pop music.”
Lindsay Zoladz scored the work at a 5.5/10 for Pitchfork, calling it both out of touch and a collection with no fire. Randall Roberts for the Los Angeles Times said Rey’s singing was unrefined, while The Independent’s Andy Gill characterized the album as both irritating and morally objectionable with a two-star review.
But what did “Born To Die” mean for the average listener? Perhaps, to fully understand the album, the everyday audience should know that Del Rey operates in a highly stylized, aesthetics-driven space. Nowadays, I will often see an object, picture or social media post and think, “That is so Lana Del Rey” — there are not many artists with that level of aesthetic prominence or cultural integration. On “Born To Die,” Del Rey channels the imagery of 1960s Americana and Old Hollywood glamor. She sings about morbidly codependent relationships on “Off To The Races” and “Video Games,” old money political dynasties on “National Anthem,” glamorized sadness on “Dark Paradise” and “Carmen” and salacious teenage romps on “This Is What Makes Us Girls.” There’s no shortage of U.S. cultural references in these lyrics. The production is eclectic, pairing lush string sections with hip-hop beats; critics have described the sound as somewhere between baroque pop and trip-hop. There was truly nothing like it on the market at the time or even today.
Despite the initial controversy, the LP debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 200, with first-week sales reaching up to 77,000 units. It topped the United Kingdom album charts with a monstrous 116,000 units; on the single charts, Del Rey saw top 10 placements for singles “Video Games” and the album’s title track. And its popularity persists; as of last week’s Billboard chart, “Born To Die” still sits in the top 100, having charted for 573 weeks. As of 2024, the LP had sold seven million copies worldwide and racked up nearly nine billion streams on Spotify. Despite the negativity of critics, the record struck a chord with audiences.
As Del Rey continued making music, reviewers came around to her brand, style and vibe. As the quality of each successive release slowly won critics over, they reconsidered the harsh initial reaction to Del Rey’s debut. While reviewing Del Rey’s 2017 LP “Lust For Life” for Vulture, Craig Jenkins claimed the album came from nowhere but still pulled off a fully formed aesthetic that was perhaps ahead of its time. In 2021, No Majesty writer Angelina Fay characterized the album as a classic, timeless piece of art. Pitchfork readjusted its score in October 2021, raising it from 5.5/10 to 7.8/10 with the remark that it should be a sign of things to come.
I agree that “Born To Die” was certainly ahead of its time. In an era where EDM club-focused bangers dominated the radio, Del Rey’s sadcore, alternative pop felt out of place. Nevertheless, Del Rey has gone on to inspire artists from Billie Eilish to Taylor Swift to Courtney Love. She has always held steadfast that the woman who created “Born To Die” was not simply a persona, but a true reflection of herself. Her enigmatic aura may have confused audiences in 2012, but as she continues to captivate fans and critics alike, Del Rey remains committed to expressing herself in genuine and unexpected ways.
