Lana Del Rey is already such an internet sensation that its hard to believe that her debut single, Video Games, is released only this week. The singer is already performing sold out gigs and the single has received over 2 million hits on YouTube, been remixed by up-and-coming Pennsylvania producer Balam Acab, spawned an on-stage duet version with Woodkid and is already the single of the year on pre-release.  A previously unknown artist breaking into the music industry via internet hype is hardly news. However, where Lana Del Rey has infuriated and bemused many is that her subcultural edge, impoverished background and DIY videos may actually be entirely manufactured. Debate rages on over her indie street cred; that she looks too polished, too commercially attractive, to have just organically burst onto the scene, least of all to have once lived in a trailer park where she claims "I didn’t have enough money to buy Coco Puffs." Her credibility as an artist was called into question when it emerged Del Rey actually has the backing of a major label: Interscope, fuelling the belief that her image is merely a well constructed PR stunt. In fact the internet seems far too busy tweeting, blogging and generally dissecting her looks, credibility and image to have given a second thought to the fact that Lana Del Rey is actually a singer, and a very good one at that.  She made her TV debut on 'Later with Jools Holland' earlier last week, giving her first broadcast performance of Video Games. Her performance proves that, wherever she has sprung from, she is still one hell of a talent. Her voice is at once sultry and fragile and the song is a deserving contender for Single of the year. Her debut album, Born To Die, set for release early next year, should contain some musical delights if Video Games and her second single Blue Jeans are anything to go by.
Lana Del Rey's Video Games released this week after already securing    over 2 million YouTube hits.