Young and Beautiful (Lana Del Rey song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Young and Beautiful"
Young and Beautiful cover art.jpg
Single by Lana Del Rey
from the album The Great Gatsby: Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film
Released
  • 22 April 2013
  • 23 October 2013 (Cedric Gervais Remix)
Length
  • 4:00 (Album Version)
  • 3:50 (Cedric Gervais Remix)
  • 7:05 (Cedric Gervais Extended Remix)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Rick Nowels, Al Shux (original version)
Dan Heath (DH orchestral version)
Lana Del Rey singles chronology
"Dark Paradise"
(2013) 		"Young and Beautiful"
(2013) 		"Once Upon a Dream"
(2014)
Cedric Gervais singles chronology
"Summertime Sadness (Remix)"
(2013) 		"Young and Beautiful (Remix)"
(2013) 		"Adore You (Remix)"
(2014)
Music video
"Young and Beautiful" on YouTube

"Young and Beautiful" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey used for the soundtrack to the drama film The Great Gatsby.

Contemporary music critics lauded the single, calling it "haunting" and "somber". Lyrically, "Young and Beautiful" follows a young lover's apprehension about whether love can last. A music video, directed by Chris Sweeney and filmed by Sophie Muller, was released on May 10, 2013.

"Young and Beautiful" reached the top ten in Australia where it was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In May 2013, the song broke into the Billboard Hot 100; it peaked at 22 on the chart, making it Del Rey's highest peak since "Video Games" peaked at #91 in 2012. Shortly after, the song also peaked at 3 on the Hot Rock Songs chart.

Del Rey and Nowels received accolades for their songwriting from various music and film awards, including nominations for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, and Best Song at the 19th Critics' Choice Awards. They eventually won the Best Original Song at the 18th Satellite Awards. On January 26, 2014, "Young and Beautiful" was announced as number 7 on the annual Triple J's Hottest 100 in Australia.[1]

Background[]

Working with the film's director, co-writer, and co-producer Baz Luhrmann, Del Rey penned the original song "Young and Beautiful" for the soundtrack of the 2013 film adaptation of the novel The Great Gatsby, written from the perspective of Daisy Buchanan.[2]

In an interview with Catalunya Ràdio, Del Rey said she had three new songs for her third extended play, Paradise: "I Sing the Body Electric", "In the Land of Gods and Monsters" and "Will You Still Love Me When I'm No Longer Young and Beautiful." Del Rey sang the chorus of "Young and Beautiful" during the Catalunya Ràdio broadcast.[3]

Baz Luhrmann later gave an interview which contained a Skype chat with Del Rey, where Luhrmann said "we are very lucky that the song found a film",[4] implying the song had already been penned prior to the film.

Luhrmann changed some of the lyrics in the beginning of the second verse from the demo version of "Will You Still Love Me" to fit with the film.[5] It clearly was always intended for Paradise, which did get picked up by various media.[6]

The song was released to contemporary hit radio as a single and was used as the film's kickoff single.[7] A snippet of the track appeared in the official trailer for the film and played during the scene where the characters portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan express their romantic feelings for one another.[8] In October 2013, a remix by Cedric Gervais was commissioned for the record label Universal Germany. It was sent to Italian contemporary hit radio by Universal Music on January 10, 2014.[9]

Composition[]

With the lyrics "Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?", Del Rey adds a hint of desperation which parallels the idiosyncrasies faced by the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby.[10] Del Rey's dreamy vocals are draped over sedated strings and canned percussion.[10] The soft and dreary vocals, falling in line with Del Rey's retro affectation, fits the atmosphere of the 1920s when the novel is set.[11] The lyrics rotate around the themes of pleasing a lover, nostalgia, and the gloom of aging.[12] The Cedric Gervais remix of the song was released on October 11, 2013.

Music video[]

The music video for "Young and Beautiful" was set to be released on April 22, 2013,[13] but was officially released on 10 May 2013.[14] Directed by Chris Sweeney, the video's production was helmed by Adam Smith and Jacob Swan-Hyam, with Sophie Muller shooting the footage.[15] Flanked by a full-string orchestra, Del Rey sings Dan Heath's Orchestral version of her song in 1920s art deco fashion.[14] She is shown singing the song in a dark room with glittery diamond-tears on her cheek which look like tattoos.[16][17] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard magazine described the video as "somber" and the singer's look as "especially demure". Lipshutz concluded that "the clip ends without ever reaching any kind of conclusion -- much like the rhetorical question 'Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?' at the heart of the song."[16] Spin's Marc Hogan described it as "elegantly conceived, but succeed[s] only as much as the music does".[17]

An edit of the video set to the Cedric Gervais remix was published on 27 September 2013.[18]

Critical reception[]

Hip hop magazine Rap-Up called the single "haunting",[7] while MTV called it "somber-sounding".[8] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard called the ballad, "typically lush", paralleling the single with Del Rey's previous hits, "Video Games" and "Born to Die".[10] Canadian journal National Post said "Young and Beautiful" picks up where "Video Games" left off, stating the song was relevant to the book because of "...its obsession with decay and the fleeting nature of the good life certainly resonate."[19] The journal continued to call it an "artifact" of Del Rey's consistently dark tone, adding that by the second play-through "its bald directness becomes its appeal."[19] MTV commented that the track "falls very much in-line with what Lana Del Rey's fans have come to expect" from Del Rey.[11] Jeff Benjamin of Fuse said the track featured "a big, sweeping ballad with piano, violins and Lana's warbly delivery." He added that "if the single takes off, perhaps the songbird can finally scrub her image clean of that 'Girl that totally f-cked [sic] up her Saturday Night Live debut' tag."[20] Rolling Stone's Jody Rosen recognized "Young and Beautiful" as the album's centerpiece, calling it "inert" and "a drag" despite its symmetry with the album's entire theme.[21] Finding the track restrained in comparison to her earlier work, August Brown, writing for The Los Angeles Times, called the single "clean" and "classy".[22] "Young and Beautiful" was given a positive review by Stereogum's Tom Breihan, although he disapproved of the vapidity of the line: "make me wanna party".[23]

The song was nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.

Commercial performance[]

Debuting at number 89 on the United States' Billboard Hot 100, "Young and Beautiful" became Del Rey's second highest mark on that chart since her breakthrough single "Video Games" charted at 91 in 2012.[24] With 48,000 units in first-week sales, the song also entered the Hot Digital Songs chart at 36. The song later peaked at number 22, became Del Rey's highest charting song at the time.

The single was sampled by Flo Rida's artist iRome on his Radio hit "Homicide" where Del Rey's vocals are heard throughout the song.[25] "Young And Beautiful" became one of her best-selling singles in the United States, nearly on par with "Video Games", which is certified for 500,000 download and streaming units.[26][27] Later that year, "Young and Beautiful" was nominated for Best Original Song at the World Soundtrack Awards 2013.[28] It won the Best Original Song at the 18th Satellite Awards.[29]

Accolades[]

Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2014 Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Song Nominated [30]
Grammy Awards Best Song Written for Visual Media Nominated [31]
Satellite Awards Best Original Song Won [32]

Personnel[]

Credits adapted from the soundtrack's liner notes.[33]

Charts and certifications[]

Release history[]

Region Date Format Label
Germany[89] April 22, 2013 Digital download
United States[90] April 23, 2013
  • Water Tower
  • Interscope
Italy[91] April 26, 2013 Contemporary hit radio Universal
United States[92] May 21, 2013 Interscope

References[]

  1. ^ "The Countdown". ABC. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  2. ^ Brown, August (4 April 2013). "'Gatsby' soundtrack to feature Jay-Z, Lana del Rey, The xx and more". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 April 2013. (Note: This article asserts Baz Luhrmann co-wrote the song, but he is not credited as such in either the soundtrack's liner notes or the film's credits.)
  3. ^ "Lana del Rey, una de les estrelles del Sónar 2012, entrevistada a 'El matí'". 16 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Baz Luhrmann talks about working with Lana Del Rey for The Great Gatsby". June 2013 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ Brown, August (4 April 2013). "'Gatsby' soundtrack to feature Jay-Z, Lana del Rey, The xx and more". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Is Lana Del Rey's Oscar campaign being sabotaged?". The Guardian. 19 Dec 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Jay-Z Calls on Beyoncé, André 3000, Fergie, & Lana Del Rey for 'Great Gatsby' Soundtrack". Rap-Up. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  8. ^ a b Markman, Rob (4 April 2013). "'Great Gatsby' Soundtrack Boasts Big Names Jay-Z, Beyonce And Lana Del Rey: Fourteen-song soundtrack also includes the likes of Florence and the Machine, will.i.am and Gotye". MTV. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  9. ^ "LANA DEL REY - Young and Beautiful (Cedric Gervais Remix) (Polydor) - Radio Date 10/01/2014". Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
  10. ^ a b c Lipshutz, Jason (22 April 2013). "Lana Del Rey's 'Great Gatsby' Track 'Young & Beautiful' Hits The Web". Billboard. New York. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  11. ^ a b Sullivan, Kevin P. (22 April 2013). "Lana Del Rey's 'Young And Beautiful' From 'Great Gatsby' Soundtrack Online". MTV. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  12. ^ Orr, Gillian (22 April 2013). "Lana del Ray does doom, gloom and va-va voom for The Great Gatsby with new song 'Young and Beautiful'". The Independent. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  13. ^ Makarechi, Kia (4 April 2013). "'Great Gatsby' Soundtrack Tracklist Includes Jay-Z, Beyonce, Andre 3000, Florence, The XX & More". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  14. ^ a b Corner, Lewis (10 May 2013). "Lana Del Rey premieres 'Young and Beautiful' music video - watch". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  15. ^ "Lana Del Rey - Young and Beautiful". LanaDelReyVEVO. Retrieved 10 May 2013 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ a b Lipshutz, Jason (10 May 2013). "Lana Del Rey is 'Young and Beautiful' and Sad in New Video". Billboard. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  17. ^ a b Hogan, Marc (10 May 2013). "Lana Del Rey Serenades an Orchestra in 'Young and Beautiful' Video". Spin. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  18. ^ Lana Del Rey, Chris Sweeney (27 September 2013). Lana Del Rey vs Cedric Gervais - Young & Beautiful (Remix) [Official Music Video] (Music video).
  19. ^ a b Berry, David (22 April 2013). "First Impressions: Lana Del Rey's Young & Beautiful picks up where Video Games left off". National Post. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  20. ^ Benjamin, Jeff (April 22, 2013). "Lana Del Rey Releases 'Great Gatsby' Single "Young & Beautiful"". Fuse. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  21. ^ Rosen, Jody (3 May 2013). "Review: The Great Gatsby: Music From Baz Luhrmann's Film". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  22. ^ Brown, August (10 May 2013). "Lana Del Rey cuts video for 'Gatsby's' single 'Young and Beautiful'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  23. ^ Breihan, Tom (22 April 2013). "Lana Del Rey – "Young & Beautiful"". Stereogum. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  24. ^ Trust, Gary (5 May 2013). "Weekly Chart Notes: Steve Martin, Edie Brickell Blast Back; Lana Del Rey Debuts; Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj Get Hot (100)-Headed". Billboard. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  25. ^ Lamb, Bill. "Lana Del Rey's "Young and Beautiful" Crashes the iTunes Top 10 With the Release Of The Great Gatsby Film". About.com. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  26. ^ "American single certifications – Lana Del Rey – Video Games". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  27. ^ "RIAA Adds Digital Streams To Historic Gold & Platinum Awards". Recording Industry Association of America. May 9, 2013. Archived from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  28. ^ "BMI Congratulates the Nominees of the 2013 World Soundtrack Awards". BMI. 20 August 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  29. ^ "Current Nominees". Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  30. ^ "Critics Choice Awards Winners". Variety. January 15, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  31. ^ "Grammys 2014: Winners list". CNN. January 27, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  32. ^ Kilday, Gregg (February 23, 2014). "Satellite Awards: '12 Years a Slave' Wins Best Motion Picture". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  33. ^ The Great Gatsby: Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film (booklet). Interscope Records. 2013.
  34. ^ "Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  35. ^ "Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
  36. ^ "Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  37. ^ "Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  38. ^ "Lana Del Rey Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  39. ^ Lana Del Rey — Young and Beautiful. Tophit. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  40. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201645 into search. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  41. ^ "Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  42. ^ "Lana del Rey – Young and Beautiful" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  43. ^ "Digital Singles Charts - Greece". Billboard. 2 January 2013.
  44. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
  45. ^ "Lana Del Rey Chart History". RÚV. 8 April 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  46. ^ "Chart Track: Week 21, 2013". Irish Singles Chart.
  47. ^ "Media Forest Week 20, 2013". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
  48. ^ "Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful". Top Digital Download.
  49. ^ "The Official Lebanese Top 20 - Lana Del Rey". The official lebanese Top 20. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  50. ^ "Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  51. ^ "Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful". Top 40 Singles.
  52. ^ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  53. ^ "Russia Airplay Chart for 2014-01-20." Tophit. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  54. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  55. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201324 into search.
  56. ^ "Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful" Canciones Top 50.
  57. ^ "Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful". Singles Top 100.
  58. ^ "Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful". Swiss Singles Chart.
  59. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  60. ^ "Ukraine Airplay Chart for 2014-01-20." Tophit. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  61. ^ "Lana Del Rey Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  62. ^ "Lana Del Rey Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  63. ^ "Lana Del Rey Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  64. ^ "Lana Del Rey Chart History (Dance Mix/Show Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  65. ^ "Discography: Lana Del Rey". dutcharts.nl. NZ: RIANZ. 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
  66. ^ "ARIA End of Year Singles Chart 2013". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  67. ^ "Top de l'année Top Singles 2013" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  68. ^ "Russian Top Year-End Radio Hits (2013)". Tophit. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  69. ^ "Ukrainian Top Year-End Radio Hits (2013)". Tophit. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  70. ^ "UKChartsPlusEOY2013" (PDF).
  71. ^ "Alternative Digital Song Sales – Year-End 2013". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  72. ^ "Dance/Mix Show Songs – Year-End 2013". Billboard. 16 December 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  73. ^ "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2013". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  74. ^ "FIMI - Classifiche Annuali 2014 "TOP OF THE MUSIC" FIMI-GfK: un anno di musica italiana" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  75. ^ "Russian Top Year-End Radio Hits (2014)". Tophit. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  76. ^ "Ukrainian Top Year-End Radio Hits (2014)". Tophit. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  77. ^ "Alternative Digital Song Sales – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  78. ^ "Rock Digital Song Sales – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  79. ^ "Rock Digital Song Sales – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  80. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  81. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful". Music Canada.
  82. ^ "Danish single certifications – Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved Dec 17, 2020.
  83. ^ "Italian single certifications – Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Young and Beautiful" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  84. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  85. ^ "Sverigetopplistan – Lana Del Rey" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  86. ^ "British single certifications – Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  87. ^ Grein, Paul (November 27, 2013). "Chart Watch: Lorde Wins A Squeaker". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  88. ^ "American single certifications – Lana Del Rey – Young and Beautiful". Recording Industry Association of America.
  89. ^ "Young and Beautiful". Amazon.de. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  90. ^ "Young And Beautiful: Lana Del Rey: Official Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved April 14, 2013.
  91. ^ "Lana Del Rey – Young & Beautiful (Universal)" (in Italian). Radio Airplay SRL. Archived from the original on September 15, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  92. ^ "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013.
Retrieved from ""