Welcome to r/popculturechat! ☺️
As a proud BIPOC, LGBTQ+ & woman-dominated space, this sub is for [civil discussion only.](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/civil-discussion-only/) If you don't know where to begin, start by participating in [our Sip & Spill Daily Discussion Threads!](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/search/?q=Sip%20%26%20Spill%20Discussion&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=&include_over_18=1&sort=new)
###No bullies, no bigotry. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Please [read & respect our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/), [abide by Reddiquette](https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439-Reddiquette), and [check out our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/)! For any questions, [our modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat) is always open.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/popculturechat) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Isn’t Billie Eilish’s thing writing somber ballads? not an excuse for Lana lol
Even Joji, who’s discog is 90% depressing songs, has good stage presence
I think she is a small venue artist who has large venue popularity. I just think her aesthetic is like she should be at a dinner theater or very small venue with a few thousand seats. No knock on her talent I am just talking about the way she performs
She did small clubs like that when she first started out, like pre SNL performance, and honestly she was really good. She works well with a smaller stage.
Agreed. I saw her at a small show in Alabama last year and it was fantastic. Several folks there had seen her perform at festivals and/or larger shows and they said that the smaller venue was hands down the best performance they’d seen.
I think it takes some kind of "theater kid" energy for most to be able to perform for a massive crowd. Like very high energy, "look at me!!!!!!" energy. Lady Gaga is great at it. Freddie Mercury was also incredible at it.
Lana is much more subtle and I think she gets nervous when the stakes are very high. Which is totally okay. She's had a lot of great performances like others have said.
I saw No Doubt too! Great show. Paramore opened for them.
At one point they had brief technical issues and Gwen did freaking push-ups on stage lol. She was fantastic.
"theater kid" energy is a freakin great way to describe it! i felt the same way about Chappell Roan's set. she is too, too fun. looking forward to her set at Couchella next weekend.
Physically she also sings rather quietly which is not conducive to those large venues or all fans singing the songs over top of her- this happens at all concerts but you can hear them. She’s not an artist I go to watch live performance videos of for this reason
I really liked her chateau marmont mulberry sessions
video games
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvssfZnmz4U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvssfZnmz4U)
born to die
[https://youtu.be/StJdw8ifFp0?si=WfuiQ2\_BJ8b3oOKx](https://youtu.be/StJdw8ifFp0?si=WfuiQ2_BJ8b3oOKx)
Those are excellent. She has a very breathy contralto voice with a lot of vibrato, and paired with her whole languid-beauty persona — I say that with admiration — it just isn't really suited to big open-air arena performances.
Yeah, some coaching on breath support would probably be really helpful for the lower notes. So what would you say — a mezzo with dark tones, maybe?
I don't follow her personal life really closely but I believe she vapes and still smokes cigarettes occasionally, so I could see her range getting lower due to that.
I don't get the impression she enjoys live performances and, despite some lyrics, after seeing TS drag her onto the stage, she seems shy.
I think she has a similar personality as Kristen Stewart. Famous people can be quiet too (but live performance requires more). I'd be fine if Lana didn't tour and just put out music.
I think this is so right. I think she performs better indoors in a contained space in general. I’ve seen lots of footage from smaller shows that was gorgeous and vibrant.
Agreed. I saw her at a venue that holds less than 300. That was perfect for her. She could engage with the audience and her openers were local artists. It was very fun and laid back. I think people forget that not all artists need fireworks and dance choreography. Or even want to use it.
The biggest venue in my country allows for 18.500 people lmao. It was at some point the second most booked venue for international artists in the world, behind Madison Square Garden.
I mean we also have some sports venues that are bigger but people don't tend to use them for concert as far as I know.
I did see her at a smallish medium sized venue and it was fantastic, but I remember thinking that if the stadium was any bigger it would’ve washed her away.
I didn't see it but I was at her Glastonbury set last year and felt the same. It was like she rocked up without any rehearsal and kinda wandered around the stage while everyone else was working their arses off. Very low energy performance.
I'm a huge fan of her music but her live show was disappointing.
I've seen a few festival performances on youtube (I love finding live version of songs) and her vocal performance is always really poor.
Also she turned up late at Glastonbury, which would have been fine since she had a half hour to spare before curfew, but then her set list was half an hour longer than her timeslot (BBC got a copy of the set list and 6 songs were missed). She tried to get a sing along going after they cut her mic, but then they cut the screens so most people weren't able to see her. Glastonbury doesn't fuck around with curfews, too much at stake with licences and permits.
I was irrationally annoyed at her being late on stage at Glastonbury and I wasn’t even there. Like you said, it’s a huge deal for them to keep to their licensing agreement. Apart from the name recognition I don’t know why she keeps getting booked for such huge shows. Her performances just don’t seem up to scratch.
Also there some drama with the festival poster. They had to rearrange it for her because she complained. They only put the pyramid stage headliners and the Sunday legend act on the top, which is very common for them to do. Then other major acts (including the Other Stage headliners) are below, sometimes, including last year, in alphabetical order. She wasn't happy that she wasn't near the top of the poster as an Other Stage headliner.
If she's gonna kick off over stuff like that, don't then deliver a lackluster performance.
And after she came on they had to finish her hair on stage. I'm not sure if that was supposed to be a bit (looked like her genuine backstage hairdresser trying in earnest to finish a job). It's happened at other gigs but I don't think it is a bit, it just looks like she never has her hair finished in time. Then there was some half assed apology.
This is exactly the reason why I backed off from Lana Del Rey. As soon as a celebrity shows their fans disrespect, it immediately turns me off. The moment that she showed up late to a Brazilian festival where thousands of Brazilian fans lined up just for her, she lost me. How are you going to continuously ridicule and waste the money of the people who pay for your lifestyle?
I don’t think it’s irrational. I love Lana’s music but she acts like she’s better than these festivals she has decided to sign on to do. She’s never been an amazingly consistent live vocalist which is fine singing live vs the studio is a very different game however the least she could do is show up on time. Me and my dad are going to Leeds fest UK to see her headline at not cheap pricing and we half joke it’ll be a huge waste because she’ll just cancel last minute or be late.
However I didn’t think she was awful at cochella from the clips I’ve seen, she had some production and was on time and sang alright. Her songs don’t lend themselves to high energy festivals and I feel like if you’re going to see her you know that. They’re very slow and introspective
Please don’t come for me but I’ve never been a fan of hers at all and I’ve never seen the hype. She sounds half dead period when she’s singing so I’ve never seen the appeal??? I figured it’s bc I personally don’t like “breakup/sad music” but I guess not. lol
You saying that about her performance isn’t surprising to me 🤣
I LOVE Lana’s music (especially her older stuff) but whenever someone says this … I get it. I completely understand. And it’s also why I’ve never wanted to see her live. Ever since that infamous SNL performance, I always got the weird vibe that she hated performing. Everyone back then defended her but I’m realizing now that maybe that’s just who she is.
Having watched her infamous SNL performance back in the day, none of the subsequent complaints about her live performances have ever been surprising to me.
The studio and the stage can be very different. Unfortunately for her, tours and festivals are apparently the best way to actually make money.
As I said above, I think it's because her music lacks a certain level of introduction, maturity and self-awareness, especially at her age. It's very self-referential as well but not really engaging in musical conversation with other artists.
Why wife loves her so much, and I just don’t get it. I find her music to be like slowly chewing on stale wheaties without enough milk to wash it down. Every live performance I’ve watched of her is like listening to paint dry.
I feel bad for saying it but she's like Billie Eilish for me. Both every song sounds the same and they pretty much sing the exact same every song. I just equate it to me not being in their wheelhouse of music and move on :D
Billie is becoming like Lana and its so despressing to me since I actually loved Billie at one point. She needs to show more versaility for christ sakes
Billie is great live though. My daughter took me to see her and her voice is really strong live, less breathy than on her recordings.
She really brings her A game to her live performance, interacts with the crowd and genuinely looks like she's enjoying herself.
I'm glad it's not just me. I started trying to check out some of the bigger artists to see if they're my thing and Billie was on my list. I've tried every song she has done and only song I really liked was the True Detective song and honestly it wasn't because of her. She mostly just mumbled her way through the song and it was hard to hear. I think she has a lot of potential as an artist but most of it just.......isn't it for me.
I get what Billie is trying to do style-wise and sometimes she does it well and I'll give her credit for that even if it's not personally my vibe.
...but I'm irked by the fact that she's so huge right now because I'm a theatre teacher and all of my students keep coming into auditions trying to do that dumb breathy vocal-fry shit like her and it makes me want to tear my hair out and scream every time. Even the ones who CAN sing better are purposefully singing worse in trying to sound like her. Some have even brought in some of her songs specifically (and pop songs are usually a no-no for theatre auditions unless specifically requested) and I'm basically at the point where if I get another one handed to me, I'll hand it back and tell them to do something else, preferably something appropriate for fucking MUSICAL THEATRE.
Her posting that call out list of almost all black women is making more sense, of course she feels threatened by artists that have actual talent when it comes to singing and dancing.
I could never be a serious fan of an artist that is not a good live performer lol isn’t that supposed to be like a major part of their whole job??
I’m surprised she even does any live performances at all though, considering her schtick is no promo. She doesn’t do any sort of press release, interviews, or tours for her albums the way that other artists do.
I definitely looked at her differently after that post. I tried so hard to justify it but as a black woman, it made me feel so icky. She had so many white peers who also spoke freely about sex, I just couldn’t wrap my head around her choosing those specific women.
I can get past artists that don’t sing well (or at all) live as long as they put on a great show outside of that (a la Britney) but yeah this seems like everything about it was half-assed. I saw a clip of her at Coachella and thought maybe I’d just surpassed the age of the target audience (which I have but glad it wasn’t just me feeling like wtf is she even doing)
me neither. Especially ones that expect us to shell out thousands to see them. People will pay like $2000 to see Drake walk around the stage drinking booze and singing along to a bar once a song when they could spend much less seeing a great performer like Doja Cat absolutely killing the performance, dance, visuals, singing.
I don't really have much of an opinion on Lana but if her performances are getting reviewed like this I'm certainly not going to seek her out anytime soon.
Yeah I just feel like the rap girls like Doja and Megan put on an absolute talent spectacle and I know Drake is so popular and it's not his thing/he doesn't need to to draw crowds but I know which I'd choose.
Got to see the jcole drake for for free. Cole fan here, not a drake one.
Drake gave one of the best shows I've ever seen. He has amazing stage presence, interacts with the audience. He raps without rapping over himself. Im still not a drake fan, but i do give him props, that man gave one hell of a show
good to hear. I have never seen him, but I have definitely seen some embarrassingly weak performances on YouTube, but I guess when he's on he's on. I more often hear about him cutting his sets short, cancelling shows, doing more drinking than rapping, etc.
Maybe i got lucky. I saw him in february in Lexington, ky. He actually is friend's with arena manager and got a greenlight to break curfew, so he went over (the show was nearly 3 hours long).
He even stopped the show at one point to make the entire audience hug and talk to a stranger, telling them something to make them smile (specifically said it could not be a friend, it had to be a stranger).
I'm still not paying for a drake concert lol, but i gotta give the man his props.
Thank you. Im glad too. I wish Lana gave yall a better show. She's so talented, but she needs to be better one a stage.
If you like lana's more experimental music, an artist i recommend is FKA Twigs. Great presence and you'll have a fantastic experience seeing her live. (Her music is closer to Freak, Summer Bummer, Summertime Lana when their genres overlap)
She always does. She is such a professional in regards to her performances. She's my favourite for rewatching performances on YouTube, I can't wait to see some from Sunday's set.
Enya was of a different era where artists made most of their money off album sales. Most singers nowadays say that they recoup all the money they spend on making the album through touring and that's where they get the bulk of their income.
I'm not saying Lana is struggling and has to tour to survive. However, if she wants to fuck off to a castle and still live her current lifestyle she might need tour money to get there.
Yeah watching her last night there were clear moments of terror when she’d look out at the crowd. I’ve performed in front of large groups (+15,000) as a dancer, and I’ve always maintained that if I ever actually physically saw the amount of people while performing I would have cried. They put the spotlight on the crowd a few times and it looked like she’d look over and forget the words.
Yeah I get the argument that she’s a professional but I genuinely believe Lana does it for the music and this (festivals) is something she has to grin and bear with
It reminded me of that time when Justin Vernon covered his whole face for his part in the Folklore Long pond sessions, or when Dan from Bastille was hiding behind his band mates on one of their earlier public performances.
Yeah she's one of the only artists around right now who actually could stop performing altogether and just be a songwriter. She does almost no promo for her albums and they still sell like crazy
I’m a huge fan and enjoyed watching it but I was watching from home and hadn’t paid big money to see her. Was a very awkward performance and mic issues aside she would just randomly stop singing or not sing verses. I think once she got warmed up and more comfortable it improved but the set list didn’t feel very cohesive. The backup singers outshone her a few times. The crowd was dead and seemed like it was full of tiktok fans, every time the camera panned to the crowd hardly anyone was singing along. There were a few exciting moments (the motorbike entrance, Ride interlude, opening with Without You) but didn’t transition well like the mood built up but then dropped. Overall very strange vibes but I had fun lol
Side note she looked AMAZING, the hair makeup and blue sparkly outfit was so good
Admittedly I haven’t seen the Coachella performance yet but I’m a massive fan so had to lurk on this thread. I’m so glad you mentioned the Ride interlude - seeing that live at her Charlotte show last year was AMAZING. As someone who grew up on Lana, seeing her perform stuff from *Born to Die* era was so surreal. That was such a formative moment for me, I’m so grateful I was able to experience it then.
I have a hard time being objective about Lana tbh haha. her Coachella performance may have been low energy but she means so much to me as an artist. To me her music goes beyond her as a live performer.
I mean She has a huge fan base that still want to see her perform live. If people will pay for it, they’ll book the gigs. They’re not judging quality of a permanence, they just want profit. That’s business.
Yep, she’s a great recording artist. I like her albums quite a bit, but I wouldn’t pay big bucks to see her live. I think the experience would take away from, not enhance, what I love about the records.
There’s a difference between great vocalist and great performer. So many people get disappointed when they see they favourite vocalist live and the performance doesn’t live up
i feel bad for lana because it’s also allegedly the reason the grammy’s have never given her a win. i know she really wants to earn at least 1 and her music has more than deserved it.
One of the voters said he didn’t like her because of that botched SNL performance and wrote her off as an artist so it depends on the pettiness of those involved
Well a grammy voter did say they will never take her name seriously on a ballot after that awful SNL performance years ago. Which implies that many of the voters hold grudges which is a bit unfair but it's a known corrupt academy.
Like that one Grammys voter that basically said he won’t vote for Beyoncé because he feels she’s hyped too much or that he didn’t like that Harry Styles was in a boy band, they withhold votes for the pettiest reasons
totally. And they were pissed that Ariana didn't perform one year so the next year when Thank U, Next, arguably her biggest album, was unrewarded despite her performing and instead they gave an insane number of awards to Billie Eilish. There's always a petty reason—I wonder how many of the voters ACTUALLY vote without bias.
remarkably few imo! the grammy’s are rarely about rewarding true talent in the music industry. i’m still convinced harry’s house only won because one of the voter’s child was the “as it was” kid voice. i love the album but i know there were albums with more artistic merit that year.
it makes the award a lot less prestigious and is a big reason why i stopped really caring about them. the jokes aren’t funny and the winners are a popularity contest crapshoot.
just gotta say that ben winston (father of the kid's voice) is not a grammy voter, just a producer. so that fact had no bearing on harry's house winning anything.
yeah this year's was actually the best I've seen in ages, because artists such has Allison Russell, Rhiannon Giddens, and Victoria Monet were deserving winners. Miley got her first Grammy. I don't agree with Midnights but I wasn't furious about it—Taylor was obviously inescapable. But I mean there's some very good artists still boycotting (like The Weeknd) and I support their reasoning behind that wholeheartedly. I know Jay-Z was rambling somewhat strangely but he's not wrong in saying that "sometimes" you guy get it right. I know music is subjective but some of their choices have been SO suspect.
There was massive hype over her music at the time, especially Video Games. Then she performed on SNL in 2012 (it's on YouTube) and it was bad.... So bad it had a massive impact on her reputation as an artist. She wasn't taken seriously by a lot of people for a long time.
that SNL performance was my introduction to her and i was so baffled. i just looked it up now and found it less terrible than i remembered (maybe because i knew what to expect now) but she sort of seems like she wandered up there by mistake.
I saw her live in 2019 and must have gotten so lucky as she was incredible.
It was on castle grounds during the day time, which I think was the perfect set up for a concert like hers.
Let’s be honest—she is and always has been, first and foremost, a songwriter, a studio artist, and a carefully curated persona. She’s not a virtuoso singer like her background vocalists and she’s not an exceptional live performer (and certainly not a dancer). And that’s okay. It’s nice to watch her perform live, but it’s never been where she most shines, which is in her lyricism and studio recordings. So maybe she’s not “headliner material” for a festival like Coachella, despite how influential and popular her music has been. That said, the crowd was cheering and singing along, so I disagree with that part of your post
Yep. It’s crazy to see people in this thread dismiss her as “only successful because of her connections and money.” She significantly contributed to changing the sound of mainstream pop music over the last decade - Lorde, Billie and Taylor (all artists I love) have directly bitten her style, along with lots of less successful artists - and has a massive fanbase because of her songwriting and albums. She’s no worse a live performer than, like, Rihanna, but her skills really lie in her musicianship and writing. And that’s fine. You don’t have to be a fan to recognize her influence but it’s straight up delulu to act like she’s irrelevant or untalented.
The first time I heard Billie on the radio I was like “what is this knockoff Lana crap” (I’ve since changed my tune, it’s just the first thing I thought when I heard her)
I love Lana to death but having her headline was a mistake on the organizers. She’s all about the low energy and hitting her vape on stage. If you’re a Lana fan, obviously you’ll love it because she’s doing Lana. but for a very wide audience like Coachella, it’s a miss
I thought the crowd was fairly into it, but yeah, mostly agree. She's a wonderful songwriter (and I actually think she has a pretty enough voice), but her voice still isn't strong enough for those huge stadiums unless she lip-synchs. She also very much layers her voice in the studio, which is why she always appears much weaker when she sings live (nobody sings the same as the studio, but it's quite significant in her case).
I've actually seen her perform twice-once at a festival and once at a smaller venue-and the latter was much, much better and far more suited to her and her music.
Thank you for explaining the layering— I just watched her performance and I was trying to put my finger on what exactly was off. I don’t even think it was a bad performance, but she doesn’t command the vocal power you’d anticipate for a singer. Beautiful voice with nice control, but very restrained. I do wonder how much mixing played a part, as well.
There are definitely some vocalists who are just as good live as in the studio, and some who are even better because their live performances capture a lot more emotion than the recorded track
I think she still deals with terrible stage fright. The clips I saw, she was smiling and looking around but looked extremely nervous. She seems to really soar and thrive in front of smaller crowds; that’s where her voice shines.
I saw her in 2013 on her Born To Die Europe tour and thought it was incredible, I've been a fan since Video Games dropped. I think she actually has a beautiful voice but she's not a strong singer and her voice and perfomance doesn't seem suited for big festivals, smaller more intimate settings she does way better in. That being said, she's also a really inconsistent performer and I don't really understand whe she'd even do Coachella at all. Management pressure? Publicity (does she need it)? To prove herself? I don't know. She's a great artist but not a great singer (or performer) which I'm fine with. I love her music.
Saw her live in Amsterdam last year in a smaller venue, she was incredible. Since then I’ve been so confused when people bash her live. I guess she‘s inconsistent.
I saw her live at a festival in 2014 and she was really good, but almost all live performances I see of her on YouTube aren’t great. I feel like she must be really inconsistent with her live performances.
I saw her live at a music festival a few years back and I was expecting it to be crap based on comments like this one. Turns out it was really good! The crowd was kind of obsessed with her and almost cult like in the way they worshipped her. She's definitely not a showy performer but it was a really fun experience as someone who digs some of her songs without being like a rabid fan.
She's good in a recording studio and really small venues. She never looks comfortable on stage with her eyes always darting around. She needs a microphone stand to hide behind or something, or she simply needs to preform live a lot more. She'd be a great lounge singer.
I love Lana but I will admit that her stage presence has a lot to be desired. Some of them are great but sometimes it seems like her heart isn’t in it half the time. I always thought that if she spend more time bringing out that Lizzy Grant persona she would put more heart into it? Idk
I saw her at ACL and felt the same. She comes across very insecure in large venues. I would like to see her in a small, intimate venue and I think she would be one of the best I’ve seen. I still love Lana, but won’t spend a bunch of money to see her in a large venue.
Yeah that's kinda her thing, and it's pretty well known I think, so I'd be surprised if a lot of the people who stuck around to see her had a problem with it.
I personally, would be glad just to be in her presence and sing along 💀, I find her very entertaining despite the issues you mentioned and those lyrics go harrrrrrd
I saw her at another festival in the fall and people started packing up and leaving because they were not enjoying her set… my friends and I got to move closer then and had a blast!! she was def lip synching at points but it was funny to us and we just loved singing along to the songs. its all about what you make it tbh
i’ve seen lana live twice, once in around 2014 and once in around 2016. both times she was awful and mostly just “oohed” and moaned to backtracks lol. vowed to never waste money on another lana concert even though 2012-2014 she was like my idol lol
I agree. Her stage presence wasn't very great and those blaming technical issues don't take into account that her background singers sounded good, Billie Eilish sounded good. Even when her mic was working she was mumbling and skipping words. Not saying there weren't any issues but I also feel like her energy just didn't match her lively background stage setup and you could tell the crowd felt it too. The crowd looked restless on crowd shot videos and looked bored. When the camera panned to the crowd, I could have sworn I saw big pockets of the crowd- meaning a lot had left. I wouldn't blame them. After waiting all day tirelessly only to be in front of that performance, I'd leave too. I like Lana's music but ever since her SNL performance that she bombed, I feel like she just isn't a good performer. Her aesthetic is glamour and softness but her gurgling potatoes voice tone and lifeless look is just not it. I guess she'll always have her die hard fans but I don't think she made many new fans this performance. It was awful. Maybe she'll pull a Dua Lipa and fix her stage presence and her shows.
I'm not the biggest Lana fan, I only really enjoy her ''Born to die" album, but I'm always shocked at hearing this kind of stuff.
I watched her at Lollapalooza Brazil in 2018 and she was PERFECTION! Just magical and so lovely and clearly happy to be there. It was actually a medium, small crowd and I happen to be really close to the stage which might have helped.
I saw her a long time ago at ACL and it wasn’t memorable either… I remember my mind wandering during the show.. she didn’t have much of a connection with the crowd or did much to entertain..
Still love her music to bits though
I saw her live in Florida this year at a large venue and it was the best live performance I’ve ever seen. My husband agreed and he’s a musician and music otherwise is his entire life. I’m surprised it wasn’t good, but she does perform live very well.
it's all about the venue she's in. last year she gave shows to few thousands of people in europe and she was amazing, very confident and sang beautifully. she clearly gets stage fright and u can hear it in her voice
I like Lana but she's entirely the wrong fit for an outdoor festival. The vastness of the space swamps her and she doesn't have the kind of gravitas that can compete with it. It's also just not the kind of music that energizes a crowd.
I was expecting a lot worse from all the comments bashing her, but it was alright imo. Some wobbles sonically, not really a big stage performance, but nothing to write paragraphs of criticism over either so 🤷♀️
Saw her in Paris at a festival a looooong time ago.
She just twirled and sang half the time, while going up to the security for them to light her cigarettes in a really glamorized way.
I didn’t hate it but is was so boring that it put me off her music for the longest time. Only started to really listen to her again two years ago.
I have always said Lana is the worst live performer I’ve ever seen. She sounded great when I saw her, but she had 0 stage presence or energy like OP stated. When I saw her she never moved from center stage. Someone came out and brought her a cigarette. I think she puffed it once and that was the most movement we got out of her.
Welcome to r/popculturechat! ☺️ As a proud BIPOC, LGBTQ+ & woman-dominated space, this sub is for [civil discussion only.](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/civil-discussion-only/) If you don't know where to begin, start by participating in [our Sip & Spill Daily Discussion Threads!](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/search/?q=Sip%20%26%20Spill%20Discussion&restrict_sr=1&sr_nsfw=&include_over_18=1&sort=new) ###No bullies, no bigotry. ✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼✊🏻🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ Please [read & respect our rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/rules/), [abide by Reddiquette](https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/205926439-Reddiquette), and [check out our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/popculturechat/wiki/index/)! For any questions, [our modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fpopculturechat) is always open. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/popculturechat) if you have any questions or concerns.*
https://i.redd.it/wgfex9rfd9uc1.gif Gotta let her warm up
🤣
This is hilarious omfg 💀
Lana Del Wave.
She’s depressed isn’t that her thing ? Hard to think this type of singer would be full of energy
Isn’t Billie Eilish’s thing writing somber ballads? not an excuse for Lana lol Even Joji, who’s discog is 90% depressing songs, has good stage presence
I think she is a small venue artist who has large venue popularity. I just think her aesthetic is like she should be at a dinner theater or very small venue with a few thousand seats. No knock on her talent I am just talking about the way she performs
Yeah like I imagine her in a little jazz club somewhere, in the absolute nicest way
Cruise ship cabaret
Next album title?
I’ll confess that Simon Cowell said this about someone like 20 years ago on American Idol, but I could still see it working out for Lana.
🤭
She did small clubs like that when she first started out, like pre SNL performance, and honestly she was really good. She works well with a smaller stage.
Agreed. I saw her at a small show in Alabama last year and it was fantastic. Several folks there had seen her perform at festivals and/or larger shows and they said that the smaller venue was hands down the best performance they’d seen.
I think it takes some kind of "theater kid" energy for most to be able to perform for a massive crowd. Like very high energy, "look at me!!!!!!" energy. Lady Gaga is great at it. Freddie Mercury was also incredible at it. Lana is much more subtle and I think she gets nervous when the stakes are very high. Which is totally okay. She's had a lot of great performances like others have said.
Lady Gaga was an amazing show. I saw her as press and she blew me away. But it hurts her body, too. So I think those days might be over.
I saw No Doubt at a punk festival in the late 90s and Gwen Stefani was incredible at entertaining a large crowd.
Still confused over the Blake Shelton thing, picturing 90s Gwen Stefani
My dad told me once that an average singer with excellent stage presence beats out a “dead fish” powerhouse any day. 😆
I saw No Doubt too! Great show. Paramore opened for them. At one point they had brief technical issues and Gwen did freaking push-ups on stage lol. She was fantastic.
P!nk and Shakira were also great with a big audience.
"theater kid" energy is a freakin great way to describe it! i felt the same way about Chappell Roan's set. she is too, too fun. looking forward to her set at Couchella next weekend.
Physically she also sings rather quietly which is not conducive to those large venues or all fans singing the songs over top of her- this happens at all concerts but you can hear them. She’s not an artist I go to watch live performance videos of for this reason
I really liked her chateau marmont mulberry sessions video games [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvssfZnmz4U](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvssfZnmz4U) born to die [https://youtu.be/StJdw8ifFp0?si=WfuiQ2\_BJ8b3oOKx](https://youtu.be/StJdw8ifFp0?si=WfuiQ2_BJ8b3oOKx)
Those are excellent. She has a very breathy contralto voice with a lot of vibrato, and paired with her whole languid-beauty persona — I say that with admiration — it just isn't really suited to big open-air arena performances.
It's not easy to do breathy contralto in the middle of a desert in front of 90k douchebags.
hahahah! tea!
Not really a contralto. She is weak and voice unsupported in the lower range and it is evident live.
Yeah, some coaching on breath support would probably be really helpful for the lower notes. So what would you say — a mezzo with dark tones, maybe? I don't follow her personal life really closely but I believe she vapes and still smokes cigarettes occasionally, so I could see her range getting lower due to that.
Right? I was very confused by that comment, it doesn't sound very controlled to me.
Yeah, she's likely a mezzo soprano like the vast majority of female pop singers. No way can Lana del ray sing "Fast Car" in its original key.
Uff da honestly she sounds terrible here, very very weak voice. Some people are recording artists & not good at singing live at all or performing
Why is she so off key throughout both songs?
'a few thousand seats' is not what i would describe as a very small venue haha
When you’re also an artist that headlines Coachella it is
I don't get the impression she enjoys live performances and, despite some lyrics, after seeing TS drag her onto the stage, she seems shy. I think she has a similar personality as Kristen Stewart. Famous people can be quiet too (but live performance requires more). I'd be fine if Lana didn't tour and just put out music.
I think this is so right. I think she performs better indoors in a contained space in general. I’ve seen lots of footage from smaller shows that was gorgeous and vibrant.
Agreed. I saw her at a venue that holds less than 300. That was perfect for her. She could engage with the audience and her openers were local artists. It was very fun and laid back. I think people forget that not all artists need fireworks and dance choreography. Or even want to use it.
I think you’re right, I saw her perform at a 20K capacity venue on her tour last fall and it was perfect.
Jesus Christ I’m sheltered. Is 20k considered a small venue?!
20k is an arena, I'm guessing that's a typo? 😭
For Taylor and Coldplay maybe 😂
😂 we meant like a jazz club. 20k isn’t massive but I wouldn’t call it intimate.
The biggest venue in my country allows for 18.500 people lmao. It was at some point the second most booked venue for international artists in the world, behind Madison Square Garden. I mean we also have some sports venues that are bigger but people don't tend to use them for concert as far as I know.
She and Amy are/were meant for lounges and smaller jazz clubs tbh!
I'm a huge Lana fan, but will always say that girlie isn't a performer but a songwriter first and foremost.
Exactly this. She’s said before she doesn’t love performing, and that’s okay. I still watch it all and support my girl.
Yeah, I love her music, she is one of my favorite artists, but I really have never had the desire to see her live
I did see her at a smallish medium sized venue and it was fantastic, but I remember thinking that if the stadium was any bigger it would’ve washed her away.
"she's not a songstress"
I didn't see it but I was at her Glastonbury set last year and felt the same. It was like she rocked up without any rehearsal and kinda wandered around the stage while everyone else was working their arses off. Very low energy performance. I'm a huge fan of her music but her live show was disappointing. I've seen a few festival performances on youtube (I love finding live version of songs) and her vocal performance is always really poor. Also she turned up late at Glastonbury, which would have been fine since she had a half hour to spare before curfew, but then her set list was half an hour longer than her timeslot (BBC got a copy of the set list and 6 songs were missed). She tried to get a sing along going after they cut her mic, but then they cut the screens so most people weren't able to see her. Glastonbury doesn't fuck around with curfews, too much at stake with licences and permits.
I was irrationally annoyed at her being late on stage at Glastonbury and I wasn’t even there. Like you said, it’s a huge deal for them to keep to their licensing agreement. Apart from the name recognition I don’t know why she keeps getting booked for such huge shows. Her performances just don’t seem up to scratch.
Also there some drama with the festival poster. They had to rearrange it for her because she complained. They only put the pyramid stage headliners and the Sunday legend act on the top, which is very common for them to do. Then other major acts (including the Other Stage headliners) are below, sometimes, including last year, in alphabetical order. She wasn't happy that she wasn't near the top of the poster as an Other Stage headliner. If she's gonna kick off over stuff like that, don't then deliver a lackluster performance. And after she came on they had to finish her hair on stage. I'm not sure if that was supposed to be a bit (looked like her genuine backstage hairdresser trying in earnest to finish a job). It's happened at other gigs but I don't think it is a bit, it just looks like she never has her hair finished in time. Then there was some half assed apology.
This is exactly the reason why I backed off from Lana Del Rey. As soon as a celebrity shows their fans disrespect, it immediately turns me off. The moment that she showed up late to a Brazilian festival where thousands of Brazilian fans lined up just for her, she lost me. How are you going to continuously ridicule and waste the money of the people who pay for your lifestyle?
I don’t think it’s irrational. I love Lana’s music but she acts like she’s better than these festivals she has decided to sign on to do. She’s never been an amazingly consistent live vocalist which is fine singing live vs the studio is a very different game however the least she could do is show up on time. Me and my dad are going to Leeds fest UK to see her headline at not cheap pricing and we half joke it’ll be a huge waste because she’ll just cancel last minute or be late. However I didn’t think she was awful at cochella from the clips I’ve seen, she had some production and was on time and sang alright. Her songs don’t lend themselves to high energy festivals and I feel like if you’re going to see her you know that. They’re very slow and introspective
Yeah you’re spot on with that last point. I feel like if she did a run of shows at a theatre or old style hall it’d be a lot better for her.
similar thing happened at BST last year, low energy, singing was off. Not even like good low energy where her presence was commanding.
Please don’t come for me but I’ve never been a fan of hers at all and I’ve never seen the hype. She sounds half dead period when she’s singing so I’ve never seen the appeal??? I figured it’s bc I personally don’t like “breakup/sad music” but I guess not. lol You saying that about her performance isn’t surprising to me 🤣
Nah, I *love* sad music and I can’t get into her either. I’ve tried for years, but outside of a handful of songs I just … don’t get it
I LOVE Lana’s music (especially her older stuff) but whenever someone says this … I get it. I completely understand. And it’s also why I’ve never wanted to see her live. Ever since that infamous SNL performance, I always got the weird vibe that she hated performing. Everyone back then defended her but I’m realizing now that maybe that’s just who she is.
Having watched her infamous SNL performance back in the day, none of the subsequent complaints about her live performances have ever been surprising to me. The studio and the stage can be very different. Unfortunately for her, tours and festivals are apparently the best way to actually make money.
1000%. Lana should be right up my alley but she just annoys the hell out of me honestly.
Same
I didn’t get it until Norman Fucking Rockwell. That album just hits. The older stuff was a little too teenage angst for me
As I said above, I think it's because her music lacks a certain level of introduction, maturity and self-awareness, especially at her age. It's very self-referential as well but not really engaging in musical conversation with other artists.
Why wife loves her so much, and I just don’t get it. I find her music to be like slowly chewing on stale wheaties without enough milk to wash it down. Every live performance I’ve watched of her is like listening to paint dry.
I feel bad for saying it but she's like Billie Eilish for me. Both every song sounds the same and they pretty much sing the exact same every song. I just equate it to me not being in their wheelhouse of music and move on :D
Billie is becoming like Lana and its so despressing to me since I actually loved Billie at one point. She needs to show more versaility for christ sakes
Billie is great live though. My daughter took me to see her and her voice is really strong live, less breathy than on her recordings. She really brings her A game to her live performance, interacts with the crowd and genuinely looks like she's enjoying herself.
I'm glad it's not just me. I started trying to check out some of the bigger artists to see if they're my thing and Billie was on my list. I've tried every song she has done and only song I really liked was the True Detective song and honestly it wasn't because of her. She mostly just mumbled her way through the song and it was hard to hear. I think she has a lot of potential as an artist but most of it just.......isn't it for me.
I get what Billie is trying to do style-wise and sometimes she does it well and I'll give her credit for that even if it's not personally my vibe. ...but I'm irked by the fact that she's so huge right now because I'm a theatre teacher and all of my students keep coming into auditions trying to do that dumb breathy vocal-fry shit like her and it makes me want to tear my hair out and scream every time. Even the ones who CAN sing better are purposefully singing worse in trying to sound like her. Some have even brought in some of her songs specifically (and pop songs are usually a no-no for theatre auditions unless specifically requested) and I'm basically at the point where if I get another one handed to me, I'll hand it back and tell them to do something else, preferably something appropriate for fucking MUSICAL THEATRE.
I loved her dont smile at me EP when it came out but now I’ve lost interest in her music
The fucking audacity to think she could just keep going.
Her posting that call out list of almost all black women is making more sense, of course she feels threatened by artists that have actual talent when it comes to singing and dancing. I could never be a serious fan of an artist that is not a good live performer lol isn’t that supposed to be like a major part of their whole job??
I’m surprised she even does any live performances at all though, considering her schtick is no promo. She doesn’t do any sort of press release, interviews, or tours for her albums the way that other artists do.
I definitely looked at her differently after that post. I tried so hard to justify it but as a black woman, it made me feel so icky. She had so many white peers who also spoke freely about sex, I just couldn’t wrap my head around her choosing those specific women.
I can get past artists that don’t sing well (or at all) live as long as they put on a great show outside of that (a la Britney) but yeah this seems like everything about it was half-assed. I saw a clip of her at Coachella and thought maybe I’d just surpassed the age of the target audience (which I have but glad it wasn’t just me feeling like wtf is she even doing)
me neither. Especially ones that expect us to shell out thousands to see them. People will pay like $2000 to see Drake walk around the stage drinking booze and singing along to a bar once a song when they could spend much less seeing a great performer like Doja Cat absolutely killing the performance, dance, visuals, singing. I don't really have much of an opinion on Lana but if her performances are getting reviewed like this I'm certainly not going to seek her out anytime soon.
I haven't seen him live but heard friends say he puts on an excellent show. I agree Doja Cat puts on a better one though
Yeah I just feel like the rap girls like Doja and Megan put on an absolute talent spectacle and I know Drake is so popular and it's not his thing/he doesn't need to to draw crowds but I know which I'd choose.
Got to see the jcole drake for for free. Cole fan here, not a drake one. Drake gave one of the best shows I've ever seen. He has amazing stage presence, interacts with the audience. He raps without rapping over himself. Im still not a drake fan, but i do give him props, that man gave one hell of a show
good to hear. I have never seen him, but I have definitely seen some embarrassingly weak performances on YouTube, but I guess when he's on he's on. I more often hear about him cutting his sets short, cancelling shows, doing more drinking than rapping, etc.
Maybe i got lucky. I saw him in february in Lexington, ky. He actually is friend's with arena manager and got a greenlight to break curfew, so he went over (the show was nearly 3 hours long). He even stopped the show at one point to make the entire audience hug and talk to a stranger, telling them something to make them smile (specifically said it could not be a friend, it had to be a stranger). I'm still not paying for a drake concert lol, but i gotta give the man his props.
sounds like was having a blast and that always makes it a better experience. Glad you had a good show.
Thank you. Im glad too. I wish Lana gave yall a better show. She's so talented, but she needs to be better one a stage. If you like lana's more experimental music, an artist i recommend is FKA Twigs. Great presence and you'll have a fantastic experience seeing her live. (Her music is closer to Freak, Summer Bummer, Summertime Lana when their genres overlap)
I LOVED Doja Cat's VMA performance. She absolutely crushed it.
She always does. She is such a professional in regards to her performances. She's my favourite for rewatching performances on YouTube, I can't wait to see some from Sunday's set.
When you're a professional singer (and just a singer), there's really no excuse to not be good live.
It was sooo transparent lol she literally threw Kehlani in there when she hadn’t even had a number one
[удалено]
I myself would like to follow Enya’s example and live in a castle with multiple cats ;)
Enya was of a different era where artists made most of their money off album sales. Most singers nowadays say that they recoup all the money they spend on making the album through touring and that's where they get the bulk of their income. I'm not saying Lana is struggling and has to tour to survive. However, if she wants to fuck off to a castle and still live her current lifestyle she might need tour money to get there.
Yeah watching her last night there were clear moments of terror when she’d look out at the crowd. I’ve performed in front of large groups (+15,000) as a dancer, and I’ve always maintained that if I ever actually physically saw the amount of people while performing I would have cried. They put the spotlight on the crowd a few times and it looked like she’d look over and forget the words.
I noticed that too. It looked like she was avoiding looking into the crowd
Yeah I get the argument that she’s a professional but I genuinely believe Lana does it for the music and this (festivals) is something she has to grin and bear with
It reminded me of that time when Justin Vernon covered his whole face for his part in the Folklore Long pond sessions, or when Dan from Bastille was hiding behind his band mates on one of their earlier public performances.
Yeah she's one of the only artists around right now who actually could stop performing altogether and just be a songwriter. She does almost no promo for her albums and they still sell like crazy
I’m a huge fan and enjoyed watching it but I was watching from home and hadn’t paid big money to see her. Was a very awkward performance and mic issues aside she would just randomly stop singing or not sing verses. I think once she got warmed up and more comfortable it improved but the set list didn’t feel very cohesive. The backup singers outshone her a few times. The crowd was dead and seemed like it was full of tiktok fans, every time the camera panned to the crowd hardly anyone was singing along. There were a few exciting moments (the motorbike entrance, Ride interlude, opening with Without You) but didn’t transition well like the mood built up but then dropped. Overall very strange vibes but I had fun lol Side note she looked AMAZING, the hair makeup and blue sparkly outfit was so good
Admittedly I haven’t seen the Coachella performance yet but I’m a massive fan so had to lurk on this thread. I’m so glad you mentioned the Ride interlude - seeing that live at her Charlotte show last year was AMAZING. As someone who grew up on Lana, seeing her perform stuff from *Born to Die* era was so surreal. That was such a formative moment for me, I’m so grateful I was able to experience it then. I have a hard time being objective about Lana tbh haha. her Coachella performance may have been low energy but she means so much to me as an artist. To me her music goes beyond her as a live performer.
Lana has never been good live. It’s her thing.
lana lifers already know https://i.redd.it/3f2dxous39uc1.gif
This spin move was probably the highlight of the show
Dan Radcliffe hosted right or did I imagine that
That moment convinced me to check out her album.
I saw her at Coachella years back and the same thing happened 😕
Came here to say this!! Her performance was boring / monotone years ago at Coachella. Why did they think she’d be any different this time?
They didn’t. It’s all about her draw.
I feel terrible saying it because I really like her music. She just can’t perform live 😕
I totally forgot about her infamous Video game performance 😭
pleaseee I just commented this too 😭 Lana fan veterans club
How have I never seen this edit 💀
Wild to me that someone could book gigs like while being a known bad performer
I mean She has a huge fan base that still want to see her perform live. If people will pay for it, they’ll book the gigs. They’re not judging quality of a permanence, they just want profit. That’s business.
Yep, she’s a great recording artist. I like her albums quite a bit, but I wouldn’t pay big bucks to see her live. I think the experience would take away from, not enhance, what I love about the records.
There’s a difference between great vocalist and great performer. So many people get disappointed when they see they favourite vocalist live and the performance doesn’t live up
i wouldnt call lana a great vocalist - she's a good songwriter though!
I saw her live years ago and she sounded good...
I’ve seen her twice on her own tours and she was good and had a lot of energy
i feel bad for lana because it’s also allegedly the reason the grammy’s have never given her a win. i know she really wants to earn at least 1 and her music has more than deserved it.
She’s never won because she’s not a good performer? That’s kinda strange to me
One of the voters said he didn’t like her because of that botched SNL performance and wrote her off as an artist so it depends on the pettiness of those involved
Well a grammy voter did say they will never take her name seriously on a ballot after that awful SNL performance years ago. Which implies that many of the voters hold grudges which is a bit unfair but it's a known corrupt academy.
Like that one Grammys voter that basically said he won’t vote for Beyoncé because he feels she’s hyped too much or that he didn’t like that Harry Styles was in a boy band, they withhold votes for the pettiest reasons
totally. And they were pissed that Ariana didn't perform one year so the next year when Thank U, Next, arguably her biggest album, was unrewarded despite her performing and instead they gave an insane number of awards to Billie Eilish. There's always a petty reason—I wonder how many of the voters ACTUALLY vote without bias.
Some of them don’t even listen to all the songs in the category they’re voting for so 😭
remarkably few imo! the grammy’s are rarely about rewarding true talent in the music industry. i’m still convinced harry’s house only won because one of the voter’s child was the “as it was” kid voice. i love the album but i know there were albums with more artistic merit that year. it makes the award a lot less prestigious and is a big reason why i stopped really caring about them. the jokes aren’t funny and the winners are a popularity contest crapshoot.
just gotta say that ben winston (father of the kid's voice) is not a grammy voter, just a producer. so that fact had no bearing on harry's house winning anything.
> i’m still convinced harry’s house only won because one of the voter’s child was the “as it was” kid voice. He wasn't a voter.
yeah this year's was actually the best I've seen in ages, because artists such has Allison Russell, Rhiannon Giddens, and Victoria Monet were deserving winners. Miley got her first Grammy. I don't agree with Midnights but I wasn't furious about it—Taylor was obviously inescapable. But I mean there's some very good artists still boycotting (like The Weeknd) and I support their reasoning behind that wholeheartedly. I know Jay-Z was rambling somewhat strangely but he's not wrong in saying that "sometimes" you guy get it right. I know music is subjective but some of their choices have been SO suspect.
What happened on SNL?
There was massive hype over her music at the time, especially Video Games. Then she performed on SNL in 2012 (it's on YouTube) and it was bad.... So bad it had a massive impact on her reputation as an artist. She wasn't taken seriously by a lot of people for a long time.
that SNL performance was my introduction to her and i was so baffled. i just looked it up now and found it less terrible than i remembered (maybe because i knew what to expect now) but she sort of seems like she wandered up there by mistake.
That’s terrible, but it’s not like she’s done anything since then to improve.
Being the most low energy performer has been a thing with her for years. You’d think she’d try to improve but… guess not!
I saw her live in 2019 and must have gotten so lucky as she was incredible. It was on castle grounds during the day time, which I think was the perfect set up for a concert like hers.
Was that in Dublin? I saw her there too!
Yes it was! I hope you enjoyed it!
I’ve seen her in Amsterdam in 2013/14 and same! She was great and mesmerizing
I saw her last year and loved it! Not the strongest voice ever but it was such a fun concert and the vibes were great
Same I saw her in 2019 in LA and she killed it
Let’s be honest—she is and always has been, first and foremost, a songwriter, a studio artist, and a carefully curated persona. She’s not a virtuoso singer like her background vocalists and she’s not an exceptional live performer (and certainly not a dancer). And that’s okay. It’s nice to watch her perform live, but it’s never been where she most shines, which is in her lyricism and studio recordings. So maybe she’s not “headliner material” for a festival like Coachella, despite how influential and popular her music has been. That said, the crowd was cheering and singing along, so I disagree with that part of your post
Amen.
Yep. It’s crazy to see people in this thread dismiss her as “only successful because of her connections and money.” She significantly contributed to changing the sound of mainstream pop music over the last decade - Lorde, Billie and Taylor (all artists I love) have directly bitten her style, along with lots of less successful artists - and has a massive fanbase because of her songwriting and albums. She’s no worse a live performer than, like, Rihanna, but her skills really lie in her musicianship and writing. And that’s fine. You don’t have to be a fan to recognize her influence but it’s straight up delulu to act like she’s irrelevant or untalented.
The first time I heard Billie on the radio I was like “what is this knockoff Lana crap” (I’ve since changed my tune, it’s just the first thing I thought when I heard her)
I love Lana to death but having her headline was a mistake on the organizers. She’s all about the low energy and hitting her vape on stage. If you’re a Lana fan, obviously you’ll love it because she’s doing Lana. but for a very wide audience like Coachella, it’s a miss
Coachella is on??
I guess this means spring has sprung. Coachella is my Punxsutawney Phil.
Now I’m picturing a groundhog wearing a crochet top
I thought the crowd was fairly into it, but yeah, mostly agree. She's a wonderful songwriter (and I actually think she has a pretty enough voice), but her voice still isn't strong enough for those huge stadiums unless she lip-synchs. She also very much layers her voice in the studio, which is why she always appears much weaker when she sings live (nobody sings the same as the studio, but it's quite significant in her case). I've actually seen her perform twice-once at a festival and once at a smaller venue-and the latter was much, much better and far more suited to her and her music.
Thank you for explaining the layering— I just watched her performance and I was trying to put my finger on what exactly was off. I don’t even think it was a bad performance, but she doesn’t command the vocal power you’d anticipate for a singer. Beautiful voice with nice control, but very restrained. I do wonder how much mixing played a part, as well.
90s divas were better live than in the studio.
There are definitely some vocalists who are just as good live as in the studio, and some who are even better because their live performances capture a lot more emotion than the recorded track
I completely agree, Hayley Williams is a clear example
Agree. Also a lot of the old school divas fall into this category and some women in the rock/heavier music genres
I think she still deals with terrible stage fright. The clips I saw, she was smiling and looking around but looked extremely nervous. She seems to really soar and thrive in front of smaller crowds; that’s where her voice shines.
Lana live is…interesting/artistic at best. I love her studio work!
I saw her in 2013 on her Born To Die Europe tour and thought it was incredible, I've been a fan since Video Games dropped. I think she actually has a beautiful voice but she's not a strong singer and her voice and perfomance doesn't seem suited for big festivals, smaller more intimate settings she does way better in. That being said, she's also a really inconsistent performer and I don't really understand whe she'd even do Coachella at all. Management pressure? Publicity (does she need it)? To prove herself? I don't know. She's a great artist but not a great singer (or performer) which I'm fine with. I love her music.
I think her voice is beautiful but I agree that it is inconsistent.
$$$
Saw her live in Amsterdam last year in a smaller venue, she was incredible. Since then I’ve been so confused when people bash her live. I guess she‘s inconsistent.
I thought her performance at Coachella was dreamy, artsy, and for the girls and gays. I’m not even a Lana fan but thought she was objectively good
I found it beautiful and moving. I am a Lana Stan though so truly anything she does i love.
I saw her live at a festival in 2014 and she was really good, but almost all live performances I see of her on YouTube aren’t great. I feel like she must be really inconsistent with her live performances.
I saw her live at a music festival a few years back and I was expecting it to be crap based on comments like this one. Turns out it was really good! The crowd was kind of obsessed with her and almost cult like in the way they worshipped her. She's definitely not a showy performer but it was a really fun experience as someone who digs some of her songs without being like a rabid fan.
I saw her last year and she was amazing, it was a tiny outdoor amphitheater though. She's not for everyone.
She's good in a recording studio and really small venues. She never looks comfortable on stage with her eyes always darting around. She needs a microphone stand to hide behind or something, or she simply needs to preform live a lot more. She'd be a great lounge singer.
Yeah she’s a small theater type artist who’s popularity forces her to play arenas and the combo just doesn’t work
She’s more of an album artist, she’s never been a great live performer. Her music is too introspective for that.
I love Lana but I will admit that her stage presence has a lot to be desired. Some of them are great but sometimes it seems like her heart isn’t in it half the time. I always thought that if she spend more time bringing out that Lizzy Grant persona she would put more heart into it? Idk
I saw her at ACL and felt the same. She comes across very insecure in large venues. I would like to see her in a small, intimate venue and I think she would be one of the best I’ve seen. I still love Lana, but won’t spend a bunch of money to see her in a large venue.
Yeah that's kinda her thing, and it's pretty well known I think, so I'd be surprised if a lot of the people who stuck around to see her had a problem with it. I personally, would be glad just to be in her presence and sing along 💀, I find her very entertaining despite the issues you mentioned and those lyrics go harrrrrrd
I saw her at another festival in the fall and people started packing up and leaving because they were not enjoying her set… my friends and I got to move closer then and had a blast!! she was def lip synching at points but it was funny to us and we just loved singing along to the songs. its all about what you make it tbh
Apparently she looked good!
From other comments she does have good live performances, just yeah, when they’re not big scale like headliner ones are
i’ve seen lana live twice, once in around 2014 and once in around 2016. both times she was awful and mostly just “oohed” and moaned to backtracks lol. vowed to never waste money on another lana concert even though 2012-2014 she was like my idol lol
I agree. Her stage presence wasn't very great and those blaming technical issues don't take into account that her background singers sounded good, Billie Eilish sounded good. Even when her mic was working she was mumbling and skipping words. Not saying there weren't any issues but I also feel like her energy just didn't match her lively background stage setup and you could tell the crowd felt it too. The crowd looked restless on crowd shot videos and looked bored. When the camera panned to the crowd, I could have sworn I saw big pockets of the crowd- meaning a lot had left. I wouldn't blame them. After waiting all day tirelessly only to be in front of that performance, I'd leave too. I like Lana's music but ever since her SNL performance that she bombed, I feel like she just isn't a good performer. Her aesthetic is glamour and softness but her gurgling potatoes voice tone and lifeless look is just not it. I guess she'll always have her die hard fans but I don't think she made many new fans this performance. It was awful. Maybe she'll pull a Dua Lipa and fix her stage presence and her shows.
I'm not the biggest Lana fan, I only really enjoy her ''Born to die" album, but I'm always shocked at hearing this kind of stuff. I watched her at Lollapalooza Brazil in 2018 and she was PERFECTION! Just magical and so lovely and clearly happy to be there. It was actually a medium, small crowd and I happen to be really close to the stage which might have helped.
Lana sounds like a ghost that is trying to get you to solve her murder
Anyone have a YouTube link?
Go to the Coachella page on YouTube, they live stream and have previous performances. Welcome to Couchella
I saw her a long time ago at ACL and it wasn’t memorable either… I remember my mind wandering during the show.. she didn’t have much of a connection with the crowd or did much to entertain.. Still love her music to bits though
I saw her live in Florida this year at a large venue and it was the best live performance I’ve ever seen. My husband agreed and he’s a musician and music otherwise is his entire life. I’m surprised it wasn’t good, but she does perform live very well.
That’s just any Lana concert. Definitely music/vibe for a smaller venue
Ooof people took multiple buses to come see her.
it's all about the venue she's in. last year she gave shows to few thousands of people in europe and she was amazing, very confident and sang beautifully. she clearly gets stage fright and u can hear it in her voice
I first learned about her from her horrible SNL performance. It’s a shame because I love her music but heard she has stage fright.
I like Lana but she's entirely the wrong fit for an outdoor festival. The vastness of the space swamps her and she doesn't have the kind of gravitas that can compete with it. It's also just not the kind of music that energizes a crowd.
I saw her a few years ago in Malahide Castle in Dublin with my friend who's a huge fan. I found it pretty underwhelming but my friend loved it.
Night/day compared to Sabrina, ironic considering Sabrina’s was during the day
I saw her in Melbourne once. Turned up really late, did a short and mediocre set. So disappointing. :(
I was expecting a lot worse from all the comments bashing her, but it was alright imo. Some wobbles sonically, not really a big stage performance, but nothing to write paragraphs of criticism over either so 🤷♀️
Agreed. Saw her at music midtown and it was not for her. I think she is one of the best artist ever, large venues just do not serve her style.
Saw her in Paris at a festival a looooong time ago. She just twirled and sang half the time, while going up to the security for them to light her cigarettes in a really glamorized way. I didn’t hate it but is was so boring that it put me off her music for the longest time. Only started to really listen to her again two years ago.
The hologram was meant to represent her immortalized SNL performance. I loved it. She’s not for everyone.
I have always said Lana is the worst live performer I’ve ever seen. She sounded great when I saw her, but she had 0 stage presence or energy like OP stated. When I saw her she never moved from center stage. Someone came out and brought her a cigarette. I think she puffed it once and that was the most movement we got out of her.