If Lana was a singer in a rock band...

[Wilde_child]

Like she intended to be, instead of being a solo artist, do you think she would have such a big cult following?

Would she be as successful?

Since LDR is a brilliant songwriter and behind everything conceptually, I'd say yes.

What are your thoughts on this?

[Thunder Revenant]

She's too dominant, would be "the band around Lizzy Grant" very soon and she'd start a solo thing ...

[ednafrau]

personally, i think she would be successful, but less high profile, and without all of the attention (good and bad) solely on her, she'd be happier, in my opinion.

[Creyk]

She would easily outshine the others unless she hid from the cameras all the time

[QueenofAlchemy]

personally, i think she would be successful, but less high profile, and without all of the attention (good and bad) solely on her, she'd be happier, in my opinion.

Agreed about the happiness, she'd have alot more support, and feel less lonely (I guess) because a group of people would be going through it all with her- especially like the SNL performance wouldnt have hit her as hard, or maybe she would have done better- meaning she wouldnt be as reluctant to do Live performances [on tv].

 

 

I would love more songs like Is It Wrong though

[Anthem]

I don't really think she would have done well in a band (personally, not successfully). I think there's a reason it didn't work out for her before and she stopped trying, especially by the way Dan described working with her - that she had to be in complete control all of the time during the artistic process. I think she gets visions for how she wants things to be and if her hypothetical bandmates didn't agree or see her vision the way she did, she'd get frustrated and feel criticized (her ego is kind of fragile). She's just too independent and her music is too personal for her to tolerate anyone trying to tamper with it. I mean, could you image what would happen if she tried to make something like Tropico while being in a band? the Born to Die music video (any of her videos really)? If the bandmates have no say in the process then why would it be different than it is now since she said she still plays with the same paid musicians that she has from the start (at least live)?

 

She *did* collab with Blake on Flipside, Cruel World, and PWYC, so it could be possible. Obviously it would be great, too, since those songs were all amazing. But I still feel like, even though she did collab with him, it was still all about her and her vision and he just happened to produce something she deemed worthy. It still took years of him playing for her before she let him have those small influences on her album.

 

I agree that it would have helped her emotionally to have other people to take some of the focus off of her, but I think as her band would have amassed fame the attention would have turned to her anyways because of her personality, how intriguing she is, and the crazy things she says in interviews. It'd be toned down some though obviously. However, I think she values her artistic independence over having a few people to deal with the emotional stress because she can get that from other outlets and her connection with the music is what its all about to her. I do think it would help her stay inspired and creative to be around other people, because they would have ideas of their own that she could work with and they'd maybe draw her out of singing about the same thing over and over. She's just too independent for it though in reality.

 

IF she could have made it work, then yeah I think she'd be just as successful in terms of quality of music. I don't know if she'd be as famous. I think her band would have a cult following but not just her by herself though she'd be the central focus (but honestly that's typical of most singers in bands these days).

[Trash Magic]

Weird! I was just thinking yesterday I could imagine Lana Del Rey becoming a band after how she felt recording live with Dan. But really it would make no difference, it would just be having the same people playing with her every time. 

[Rebel]

She'd be like Florence & The Machine, or like Marina and the Diamonds! 

[Honeymooner]

But really it would make no difference, it would just be having the same people playing with her every time.

 

For the most part, she already does have the same people playing with her every time. She has the same pianist (Byron), guitarist (Blake), keyboardist and drummer pretty much all the time. I think she gets different string players, depending on where she is. For most of her European performances whose videos I've seen, it's been the same string group, but then there were different ones here in the US.

[Wilde_child]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I agree Lana would feel less pressure being in a band. But I think she would sort of be like Jim Morrison, the poetic/conceptual leader of her band.

[Honeymooner]

There would be less focus on her as an individual if she were part of a band, I suppose.  When I think of Guns 'n' Roses, I don't think of only Axl Rose.  When I think of The Doors, I don't think of just Jim Morrison.  Anyone who thinks of The Beatles wouldn't be thinking of only John Lennon or only Paul McCartney.  Perhaps if she hadn't been a solo artist, she would never have adopted the moniker Lana Del Rey, and would be known as Lizzy Grant, the lead singer of blah-blah-blah.

[trayertrash]

She could've been in The Cranberries 2.0 and dominated the rock scene. Why didn't this happen? 

[Thunder Revenant]

She'd be like Florence & The Machine, or like Marina and the Diamonds! 

She'd be a band or a solo artist ... interesting statemen

[Creyk]

She could've been in The Cranberries 2.0 and dominated the rock scene. Why didn't this happen? 

Because she grew up on hip-hop 

[Limelight]

She'd def have more support but it would work for the reasons stated somewhere above. And I do think she has people who support her. I mean, she's been playing with the same people for a while now. 

[technicolor]

Didn't she say she wanted to be a band (precisely because the attention/spotlight would be divided and not just on her) but Interscope insisted she's a solo artist? She kind of has a band now though, she's collaborated with her current band for many years now (ok except for the new guitarist/backing singer that came out of nowhere and I still have no idea who he is). I think she kind of has the best of both worlds, a solo artist with a rather permanent live band.

[lflflflflflflflflflf]

Just change 'Lana Del Rey' into a band name and add her tour band to the lineup. I'm 100% up for more pics of Blake 

[strange weather]

i think it would have been a fantastic idea, had she found those musical soulmates she was desperately searching for in her early days. i love her as a solo artist but i think with the right people lana could have been next level, not crushed by critics...who knows now, though? i'm just glad we have her in any form. 

[Wilde_child]

Yes, I read about it somewhere...

 

Didn't she say she wanted to be a band (precisely because the attention/spotlight would be divided and not just on her) but Interscope insisted she's a solo artist? She kind of has a band now though, she's collaborated with her current band for many years now (ok except for the new guitarist/backing singer that came out of nowhere and I still have no idea who he is). I think she kind of has the best of both worlds, a solo artist with a rather permanent live band.

[erink4te]

Ooh I was just thinking about this today

I can envision this

I imagine she could almost be the female equivalent to Brandon Flowers of the killers

I think she would still have a following, she'd be an amazing front woman

 

But her music is very, very personal, so I don't know how that would work with a band

 

Lana del rey >>>>>>