By Benji Chapman, Music Editor
Like a force of nature, the ever-shining Lana Del Rey appears consistently able to evade mainstream cancellation with style and grace, despite a notable list of controversies that precedes her as she steps into the next stage of her musical career.
She has evidently remained jubilant in demeanour while commercially successful, as her 2025 arena tour kicks off.
Case in point in Del Rey's list of public contention was the fact that the other journalists next to at me at her first stop on the tour in Cardiff were jokingly already expecting a delayed start time, after her unruly vaping and lateness at Glastonbury 2023 that made headlines that year.
Perhaps this is one case study in understanding her cultural position. While some fans turned on her for being late - allegedly by her own doing - after the event, others were more willing to forgive her and, conversely, blamed festival management for prematurely ending the show.
It seems that Del Rey navigates a wider fanbase who are both willing to see her as deity-like and equally a victim of a music industry that belittles her and fails to understand her own 'mysterious' aura.
Where does the real truth lie in this balancing act? Probably in the fact that neither is true at the same time.
I myself am unqualified to pass a clear judgment. For me, Lana's show was an opportunity to see some timelessly incredible music and bag the bragging rights that come with it.
In this way, I also acknowledge the privilege of seeing her perform without having to buy a ticket: a fact that garnered irritation from the two full-price paying friends who joined me.
But with my largely fresh set of eyes, I'd like to think that my take on her performance is more unbiased as a result.
Further still, I was also motivated by seeing her opener, London Grammar, who I have been a fan of for much longer than Del Rey. They opened proceedings with elegance as fans trickled in.
The key takeaways from both the opening slot and the 90-minute headline show that followed were that the stadium's impressive sound engineering team did the performers a stellar service.
It's also clear that Lana is headed in a new direction with her country-inspired set design and a forthcoming album tease that bears a similar resemblance.
On the similar topic of the setlist, it was one dominated by the greatest hits: her highest streamed hits Ultraviolence', 'Summertime Sadness', 'Video Games', and 'Young And Beautiful' that unexpectedly appeared during the earlier half of proceedings rather than closing them.
Could it have been that, following Glastonbury 2023, Lana was expecting to be cut short again and was keen to satisfy the crowd with the most popular songs before the lights were suddenly dimmed and the microphone silenced?
While I am joking here, it was nonetheless clear that her setlist was something of a hodge-podge, which is not to say that the performance wasn't satisfying as a result.
Inevitably, the order of proceedings had led to a crowd sing-along that culminated with an a cappella version of 'Salvatore', aided by a fan at the front of the crowd who held up the lyrics on their phone for her to read.
The rest of the show was sung from an onstage set piece of a small shack, accompanied by a lake, willow tree, and digitised projections of the star herself.
There was an evident attempt with both the visual and sound cues to remind the audience of her Americana style, which seems to be the new frontier of the next album and the accompanying singles 'Henry Come On' and '57.5'.
In wait of her new album, I am excitedly waiting for a pop star who has evidently grown confidently comfortable among a wash of media static.
Featured Image: Joe OkpakoAre you excited for Lana's next album?
