As the featured performer at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on Friday night, Lana Del Rey wowed the crowd with her ethereal and dreamy song stylings. To start things off, though, she made an incredible entrance.

“Jealous Girl” was blaring on the speakers as she and her backing singers and dancers arrived at the scene while she stood atop a motorcycle. The best festival entrance you’ve ever made? In our opinion, yeah. When she opened the event with “Without You,” the singer was, understandably, beaming.

The singer is practically linked with the well-known festival; in fact, she has a song named “Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind.” She is well-known for her dreamy, seductive, and sorrowful compositions. But this is her first year playing the main stage; she last performed on the Outdoor Theatre stage at Coachella in 2014, exactly ten years ago.

The singer looked stunning on stage in a sparkling blue outfit, her hair blowing in the breeze the entire night. Videos from her career as well as images of palm palms and crashing waves were displayed on the screen, alternating between black and white and color.
She sang to the audience from two balconies, a winding staircase on the side, and three tall white columns on her platform, all of which were not very visible to those in the rear.

With nine albums in her repertoire, it’s difficult to count the number of hits that Del Rey has had. Her set served as a constant reminder of them all, featuring songs like “Born to Die,” “Cherry,” “Summertime Sadness,” and “Pretty When You Cry.” Both ardent followers and casual listeners were still moving throughout the evening, despite the songs not being the typical hard-hitting, bass-heavy, flamboyant ones that most Coachella shows offer.

The vocalist appeared more assured on stage as her performance lasted longer. Despite how wonderful she sounded, she would frequently restrict the amount of music she sang, choosing instead to hold the microphone out for the audience to sing along with her during particular verses. She still managed to provide the lovely vocals her fans had been waiting for. During the chorus of “Ride,” she maintained the line “I just ride,” which made her voice particularly remarkable. Before taking over the rest of the song, she even performed a harmony duet with backup vocalists at the beginning of “The Grants.”

She was occasionally overwhelmed by her support vocalists, particularly on “Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.” They got a well-earned round of applause from the audience.

She even sang a rendition of Sublime’s “Doin’ Time,” from her album “Norman F—— Rockwell!” in honor of another Coachella performer.

Special guests peppered Del Rey’s set. She started by welcoming Jon Batiste to the stage so they could perform their joint song, “Candy Necklace.” Before she began spinning on a pole and sent the audience into a frenzy, she sang while seated on top of his piano. Eventually, Del Rey gave Batiste full reins on the song, and they began improvising the lyrics.

The lead singer declared, “There are times when you just need someone else’s soul to move with you, and that’s always going to be Jon Batiste.”

It was unnecessary to introduce her next distinguished guest: Headliner of Coachella 2022 Billie Eilish took the stage to perform her smash song “Ocean Eyes” alongside Del Rey. They went on to a duet of “Video Games,” which was the ideal music to complement their angelic voices.

Eilish has long been a great fan of Del Rey’s, even if they don’t have a song together. In 2023, Eilish revealed in an interview with Interview magazine that Rey was her first phone’s lock screen and that she had performed the songs of the headliners at a talent event.

Lana Del Rey referred to the two-time Oscar winner as “the voice of our generation.”

It was Eilish’s third consecutive year at Coachella; she had been the festival’s headlining act in 2022 and had appeared as a special guest on stage with Labrinth during his 2023 concert.

For “Hope is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have,” producer and songwriting buddy Jack Antonoff also took the stage.

Along with a spectacular fireworks show, she concluded her performance with her classic song “Young and Beautiful” from the movie “The Great Gatsby.”

Lana Del Rey’s 2024 is shaping up to be very interesting.

In September, she will release her 10th studio album, “Lasso,” in addition to playing the main stage at Coachella both weekends.

 

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