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 number one in the Commonwealth of Independent States as well as the top 10 in Australia, Hungary, Israel, and Italy. In May 2013, the song broke into the Billboard Hot 100; it peaked at 22 on the chart, making it Del Rey's second highest peak up to that point. Shortly after, the song also peaked at 3 on the Hot Rock Songs chart. The song is certified nine-times Platinum in Australia, five-times Platinum in the US, and Platinum or Double Platinum in seven additional countries.
In an interview with Catalunya Ràdio, Del Rey said she had three new songs for 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 written before 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] Clearly, it always was 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 this 30 second sample of the ballad, "Young and Beautiful", the lyrics, "Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?" that embody the refrain can be heard.
Problems playing this file? See media help.
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]
Music videoedit
The music video for "Young and Beautiful" was set to be released on April 22, 2013,[13] but was officially released on May 10, 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 September 27, 2013.[18]
Critical receptionedit
Critical reception of "Young and Beautiful" has been fairly positive. 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 wrote "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] Nathan Ellis, writing for Far Out Magazine, praised the track for the "silky vocals" and "dulcet [24] tones."[25]
Debuting at number 89 on the United States' Billboard Hot 100, "Young and Beautiful" became Del Rey's second highest mark up to that point.[28] With 48,000 units in first-week sales, the song also entered the Hot Digital Songschart 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.[29] "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.[30][31]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
^"The Countdown". ABC. September 10, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
^Brown, August (April 4, 2013). "'Gatsby' soundtrack to feature Jay-Z, Lana del Rey, The xx and more". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 6, 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.)
^"Lana del Rey, una de les estrelles del Sónar 2012, entrevistada a 'El matí'". June 16, 2012.[permanent dead link]
^"Baz Luhrmann talks about working with Lana Del Rey for The Great Gatsby". June 2013 – via YouTube.
^Brown, August (April 4, 2013). "'Gatsby' soundtrack to feature Jay-Z, Lana del Rey, The xx and more". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
^"Is Lana Del Rey's Oscar campaign being sabotaged?". The Guardian. December 19, 2013.
^ ab"Jay-Z Calls on Beyoncé, André 3000, Fergie, & Lana Del Rey for 'Great Gatsby' Soundtrack". Rap-Up. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
^ abMarkman, Rob (April 4, 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 April 6, 2013.
^"LANA DEL REY - Young and Beautiful (Cedric Gervais Remix) (Polydor) - Radio Date January 10, 2014". Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
^ abcLipshutz, Jason (April 22, 2013). "Lana Del Rey's 'Great Gatsby' Track 'Young & Beautiful' Hits The Web". Billboard. New York. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
^ abSullivan, Kevin P. (April 22, 2013). "Lana Del Rey's 'Young And Beautiful' From 'Great Gatsby' Soundtrack Online". MTV. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
^Orr, Gillian (April 22, 2013). "Lana del Ray does doom, gloom and va-va voom for The Great Gatsby with new song 'Young and Beautiful'". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
^Makarechi, Kia (April 4, 2013). "'Great Gatsby' Soundtrack Tracklist Includes Jay-Z, Beyonce, Andre 3000, Florence, The XX & More". The Huffington Post. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
^ abCorner, Lewis (May 10, 2013). "Lana Del Rey premieres 'Young and Beautiful' music video - watch". Digital Spy. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
^"Lana Del Rey - Young and Beautiful". LanaDelReyVEVO. Retrieved May 10, 2013 – via YouTube.
^ abLipshutz, Jason (May 10, 2013). "Lana Del Rey is 'Young and Beautiful' and Sad in New Video". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
^ abHogan, Marc (May 10, 2013). "Lana Del Rey Serenades an Orchestra in 'Young and Beautiful' Video". Spin. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
^Lana Del Rey, Chris Sweeney (September 27, 2013). Lana Del Rey vs Cedric Gervais - Young & Beautiful (Remix) [Official Music Video] (Music video).
^ abBerry, David (April 22, 2013). "First Impressions: Lana Del Rey's Young & Beautiful picks up where Video Games left off". National Post. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
^Benjamin, Jeff (April 22, 2013). "Lana Del Rey Releases 'Great Gatsby' Single "Young & Beautiful"". Fuse. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
^Rosen, Jody (May 3, 2013). "Review: The Great Gatsby: Music From Baz Luhrmann's Film". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
^Brown, August (May 10, 2013). "Lana Del Rey cuts video for 'Gatsby's' single 'Young and Beautiful'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
^Breihan, Tom (April 22, 2013). "Lana Del Rey – "Young & Beautiful"". Stereogum. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
^Trust, Gary (May 5, 2013). "Weekly Chart Notes: Steve Martin, Edie Brickell Blast Back; Lana Del Rey Debuts; Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj Get Hot (100)-Headed". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
^Lamb, Bill. "Lana Del Rey's "Young and Beautiful" Crashes the iTunes Top 10 With the Release Of The Great Gatsby Film". About.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
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^Kilday, Gregg (February 23, 2014). "Satellite Awards: '12 Years a Slave' Wins Best Motion Picture". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
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^"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".
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