Blue Jeans (Lana Del Rey song)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"Blue Jeans"
Carmen"
ReleasedMarch 30, 2012 (2012-03-30)
Recorded2011
Genre
Length3:30
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Emile Haynie
Lana Del Rey singles chronology
"Born to Die"
(2011) 		"Blue Jeans"
(2012) 		"National Anthem"
(2012)
Music video
"Blue Jeans" on
YouTube

"Blue Jeans" is a song by American singer-songwriter

gothic pop over a balladic
production.

Charting across Europe and Asia, "Blue Jeans" reached the top 10 in Belgium, Poland, and Israel. Three music videos were created for the song. The first was self-produced and the second shows Del Rey stands at a microphone in a bland room, accompanied by an electric guitarist. The third, which is the official one, was shot and directed by Yoann Lemoine, featuring film noir elements and crocodiles. A controversial performance of the song on Saturday Night Live placed Del Rey under scrutiny and polarized opinion, though the song itself received acclaim from critics.

Background and composition

"Blue Jeans"
A 21 second sample of the song features Del Rey using lower vocals over a
hip-hop influenced beat.[1]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Originally put out as a

B-side to the title track and second single, "Born to Die". It was later released as the third official single from Born to Die. Official remixes of "Blue Jeans" include ones by D/R/U/G/S, Blood Orange, Kris Menace, and RAC.[2]

Critics described the genre of "Blue Jeans" as

surf rock guitar twangs following a basic chord progression of Fm-E♭-B♭,[6][7] Del Rey sings, "Love is mean, and love hurts / But I still remember that day we met in December". Low fidelity string instruments soar over the refrain, as Del Rey belts: "I will love you till the end of time."[2] Throughout the song, the instrumental includes a sampled audio clip of Rick James shouting "sing!".[8]

Critical reception

"Blue Jeans" received acclaim from critics. Robert Copsey of Digital Spy said "Blue Jeans" was "packed with vintage American grandeur as well as Del Rey's own menacing vocal as she holds out for her once-upon-a-time James Dean-esque lover - though we sincerely hope he hasn't met a similar end." MTV reviewer, Nicole James, compared the possible death in "Blue Jeans" to the drowning of Jack in Titanic, adding:

While we love LDR's whole "thing" she has going on, we're wondering when one of her videos is going to have a happy ending. How does she explain

fairy tales to the kids she babysits? "And then Prince Charming kissed Sleeping Beauty and they lived happily ever after... until he got lazy, stopped bathing regularly and became clinically obsessed with World of Warcraft.[9]

The Huffington Post noted that "Blue Jeans" was faithful to Del Rey's musical formula of nostalgia and realism, combined by artful and deep lyrics.[10]

Consequence of Sound said that "'Blue Jeans' and 'Video Games' inextricably link Del Rey's flaxen locks with starry-eyed classical instruments, providing the aural and visual irresistibility of a good montage".[18]

In June 2018, Rolling Stone magazine named "Blue Jeans" the 35th-best song of the century thus far.[4]

Music videos

Three music videos were directed and produced for the song. The first video was uploaded onto her YouTube account on September 9, 2011. Just like for the video for her single "Video Games", she gathered old archive clips from the internet and filmed herself in front of her webcam.[19][20] The opening scene of the self-produced video contains a snippet of Lawrence Ferlinghetti reading the Lord's Prayer from the film, The Last Waltz and features footage from Australian photographer Nirrimi Joy Firebrace's "tender-hearted" project.[21] Throughout the video, Del Rey splices vampy screencaps of herself mouthing the lyrics with clips from home videos and paparazzi footage she found on YouTube.[6][21] Among them are snippets of old cartoons, Las Vegas, gas stations, and Tupac Shakur.[6]

A second video titled "Blue Jeans (Live at the Premises)" was filmed and released online. In the video, Del Rey stands at a microphone in a bland room, accompanied by an electric guitarist.

The Huffington Post writer Mallika Rao commented on Del Rey's performance in the video, "Her voice is still surprisingly deep. She still catches it in her throat in studied vulnerability. Her lashes are still thick as wings, her lips still enormous. The implicit reference to Nancy Sinatra and her ancestral line of gloomy jazz, which fans find exciting, and critics call derivative, is still at work."[22]

A new official music video was directed by french artist Yoann Lemoine, who directed the video for the previous single "Born to Die". Bradley Soileau plays Del Rey's love interest in the video just as he did in the music video for "Born to Die".[23] Filmed in early March 2012,[9] and released on March 19,[24][unreliable source?] the video contains elements of film noir and is shot entirely in black and white. The video was compared to Nick Cave's murder ballads and the discography of Chris Isaak.[25] Set by a poolside of a 1950s Hollywood home, Del Rey and Soileau reunite for a tragic love story. Accompanied by slo-mo brooding and smoking scenes, there is a possible drowning and the appearance of a crocodile.[9] Critics called the video "moody" and "retro".[26]

Live performances and media usage

On January 14, 2012, Del Rey performed the song on American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show Saturday Night Live.[2] The performance received a strong media reaction, many calling scrutiny to Del Rey's potential as an artist.[27][28][29][30] She was later defended by Daniel Radcliffe and Saturday Night Live performer, Kristen Wiig, who later protected Del Rey by performing as her in a skit.[31][32] Embarrassed by the overwhelming amount of negative public reaction, Del Rey was forced to cancel her world tour.[33] Following the release of the high-budgeted secondary music video, Del Rey performed the song live on The Voice UK, where critics believe she redeemed the panned SNL performance.[34]

It also was performed at

first series of The Voice UK - with the performance airing the following day on BBC One.[36]

mix tape, Other People's Heartache.[37]

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of "Blue Jeans"[38]

Charts

Chart (2012–2013) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[44] 6
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[45] 4
Brazil
Hot 100 Airplay (Billboard)[46]
 94
Brazil Hot Pop Songs (Billboard)[47] 60
Denmark (Tracklisten)[48] 35
France (
SNEP)[49]
 16
Greece Digital Singles (Billboard)[50] 8
Israel (Media Forest)[51] 10
Italy (
FIMI)[52]
 49
Spain Physical Singles (PROMUSICAE)[53] 7
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[54] 39
UK Singles (OCC)[55]
 32
US
Rock Digital Songs (Billboard)[56]
 41

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[57] 2× Platinum 140,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[58] 3× Platinum 180,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[59] Gold 40,000*
Italy (FIMI)[60] Gold 15,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[61] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[62] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Awards

Year Awards ceremony Award Results Ref
2012 UK Music Video Awards Best Cinematography in a Video Nominated
Best Pop Video – International Nominated

Release history

Country Date Format Label(s) Ref.
Italy March 30, 2012 Radio airplay Universal Music Group [64]
Belgium April 8, 2012 Digital download [65]
Finland [66]
France [67]
Netherlands [68]
New Zealand [69]
Portugal [70]
Spain [71]
Sweden [39]
United Kingdom [72]
April 9, 2012
7-inch vinyl
 Polydor [73]
Australia May 1, 2012 Digital remixes EP
[74]
Belgium [75]
Brazil [76]
Canada [77]
Finland [78]
France [79]
Greece [80]
Japan [81]
Luxembourg [82]
Netherlands [83]
New Zealand [84]
Portugal [85]
Spain [86]
Sweden [87]
United States [88]
May 21, 2012 Adult album alternative
  • Interscope
  • Stranger
 [89]
France July 23, 2012 CD single Polydor [90]

References

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