We asked MusicLab fans this week: is newly-known singer Lana Del Rey a modern-day Nancy Sinatra?
The likeness, peddled by Del Rey’s management in a bout of canny PR, has been bandied about in music circles. We wanted to know whether their comparison of ‘Video Games’ singer Lana Del Rey to a “gangster Nancy Sinatra” really stood up in your view.
We got you listening to ‘Video Games’ by Lana Del Rey – the track that grabbed everyone’s attention on YouTube with its quirky, ‘homemade’ video – and Nancy Sinatra’s iconic version of ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)’ from 1966. Sinatra’s simpler video featured Frank’s daughter singing out in a pink dress, set against a black background.
Can you see the similarities between the singers, or do you just prefer to take them in isolation?
Join the discussion below
Here’s how you weighed them up:
1. Yes, I can see why Lana Del Rey has been compared to Nancy Sinatra ...
“They are both haunting”
“Both have unique husky voices”
“Same laid back singing style – like they're making no effort, but yet it still comes out good. Very flat tone. They also look quite similar in style – neither looks particularly happy; same eye make-up etc. Plus the retro feel to Lana's video really encourages that comparison to be drawn”
“Both are sultry, and all the more glamorous in the present day for their vintage image. The string arrangements in Lana Del Rey's songs are reminiscent of Nancy Sinatra, in particular ‘You Only Live Twice’”
“Both have an element of a provocateur about them”
“I think she has modelled herself on people like Nancy Sinatra, but has also made that style of music contemporary”
“They are both very attractive, with sultry voices. Of the two example songs, both sang songs that stand out from other music at the time”
“They have a similar tone and style in their voices. When I first heard Lana Del Rey I remember thinking she had a very sixties style of voice. The speeds at which they both sing are also very slow, but to somewhat fast music which gives an interesting effect”
“There's a link in the voices and the style, though Lana Del Rey is nowhere near as good a singer as Nancy Sinatra was. Behind that, there is the 'bad girl' image that Nancy Sinatra had for her time, something Lana Del Rey seems to be trying to cultivate”
“Both are clear and deliberate singers”
“Very similar in quality of voice and its timbre. Based on the two songs, I find Nancy's diction much better; Lana's diction is slightly slurred. However, this is a minor criticism”
“Both great artists, but Lana has a hell of a lot more potential, and will be iconic”
"Similar, particularly using those songs as an example but from vastly different generations and I doubt fans of either will cross over”
“Pitch of the voice is similar, and so is the same down-beat delivery in this song”
“The vocal range is very similar and the genre of music is equally the same as each other”
“They are both excellent singers, though Lana Del Rey has a less up-beat tone and sadder lyrics”
2. No, I just can’t see it…
“Lana Del Rey seems to me to be much more like Julie London, who isn't so well known now”
“Those two songs are quite similar, as is their style, but Nancy Sinatra was more consistent. I wouldn't say they were generally alike”
“Lana Del Ray is really impressive but is not in the same league as Nancy Sinatra – Nancy's a veritable legend as far as I'm concerned”
“I can see that in the tessitura and timbre of her voice the icon that Lana Del Rey can most immediately be compared to is Nancy Sinatra – but their music has really very little in common aside from that! As for the 'gangster' addition to the comparison, I don't get that at all. It all whiffs of carefully crafted and strategic marketing to me. Call me cynical, but I think a lot of the added-Sinatra styling to her voice might be thanks to careful editing and auto-tune”
“‘Bang Bang’ is almost an exception in Sinatra's (notable) catalogue, as much of her material is more up-tempo, positive songs, especially regarding her work in her prime with Lee Hazlewood. Del Rey's tracks mostly appear to be in a similar, more negative, vein”
“Give Lana 5 years and I'll get back to you. More modern soulless music masquerading as something it's not”
“Don't seem to have anything in common, other than they are female Americans”
“I do not think you can compare these two voices, and I do not think it has anything to do with the different decades that these records were released in. In my opinion Nancy Sinatra had an OK voice but nothing special. Lana Del Rey has got a rich unique style of singing, that I actually can't think of anyone to compare her voice to”
“Range and timbre are different. Nancy Sinatra is a standard cabaret-style singer with a more limited range and chose covers (like this one – more famously performed by Cher) Lana Del Rey is more original in her song choices and is more melodic”
“Lana Del Rey sounds a bit like Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac”
“Their voices are tonally different”
Can you see the similarities between the singers, or do you just prefer to take them in isolation?
Join the discussion below
