Midway through her headline set at London’s Hyde Park, Lana Del Rey abandoned the stage to embrace fans on the front row, posing for selfies as she went. Moments earlier, she’d been sitting under a fairy light-adorned tree, playing with the glittering confetti that rained down from above, and singing about cult leaders. That ability to stride between otherworldly excess and fierce relatability has always been an important part of Del Rey’s music and on Sunday night, it defined her 90-minute set.
Del Rey’s delicately beautiful songs of bone-scratching heartache, quiet fury and rose-tinted escapism aren’t typically suited for massive venues, and it had been six long years since she last played London. A 2020 arena tour was cancelled a week before it was set to kick off, and in the run-up to this Hyde Park gig, rumours swirled online that it was due to be pulled as well, after her Other Stage headline set at Glastonbury was abruptly cut short.
Still, if Del Rey had anything to prove, she didn’t let it show. “God damn, this is a big crowd,” she exclaimed after pulsating opening track A&W, while the lush Young & Beautiful saw her glancing around the mammoth venue and smirking whenever she saw a familiar face in the audience. By the time she sat down to get her hair redone by an onstage stylist while singing a soaring Bartender, Del Rey was clearly having a lot of fun. And she wasn’t the only one.
Previous tours have been understated affairs, but a lot of care and attention was poured into the slick, choreographed show. The stage was decked out in gold, and Del Rey was joined by a four-piece band, a trio of backing singers and an array of dancers. Some songs were shortened, others were extended, but they were all met with screams. Despite the theatrics, there was a giddy chaos to the gig, Del Rey clambering on top of the piano for the pained Candy Necklace . A spiky Chemtrails Over The Country Club came with new, barbed lyrics aimed at an ex.
Elsewhere, a mid-set run of Born To Die and Blue Jeans was a powerful reminder of just how much of a game-changer her breakthrough 2012 album was, while the title track to 2023’s ninth album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd was extended into a lush, gospel song. “Even if you get the power cut, it’s worth it,” she smirked, knowing another curfew was fast-approaching, but refusing to rush.
Del Rey’s always been seen as a cult concern but in recent months, she’s found a new audience on TikTok, while a collaboration with Taylor Swift on her Midnights album was so well-received, the pair went back into the studio to record an expanded version. As it stands, she’s the 31st most listened to artist on Spotify and it felt like all 60,000 people at Hyde Park were well-versed in her back catalogue.
Dusting herself off after Glasto-gate, Sunday night’s gig was an overdue victory lap, charged with playful defiance. Del Rey closed things out while gleefully sitting on a giant swing as she performed the aching Video Games. “It’s only up from here,” she promised, looking very comfortable indeed.
