Lana Del Rey has spoken about why she rarely performs live on TV, revealing that she doesn’t “feel confident” enough.
During a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the singer-songwriter was asked why she has only sung on a television show once since 2012, when she appeared on Saturday Night Live and David Letterman.
Del Rey played two songs – ‘Video Games’ and ‘Blue Jeans’ – on that episode of SNL. But her performance was widely criticised at the time, with Hollywood actor Juliette Lewis accusing the artist of “pretending to sing”.
“I think I’ve done two [TV performances]? Maybe that’s something else I’ll grow into more, like touring,” Del Rey told THR. “And don’t get me wrong. I toured for nine years of my life. It was nonstop. It was tough.
“But you know in your heart when it’s the right time. And it’s never been the right time [for TV]. Maybe now, even if I didn’t feel confident, I would do it anyway. But there was a reason not to feel confident.”
When asked what the reason was, Del Rey replied: “I didn’t know if it would be received well. But there’s a lot of weirdos out there now, so, we’re fine. We’re in good company.”
She continued: “I started at a time when things were very much one way. Little by little, there’s a lot more room for storytelling and saying different stuff. You’re seeing a lot more good girl songwriters, too. Well, who am I to say that? I like a lot of the singers out right now.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the star explained the recent viral clip of her working in a Waffle House and discussed being an inspiration to Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish.
Lana Del Rey is currently on tour in the US in support of her ninth and most recent studio album, ‘Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd’. Over the summer, she played at BST Hyde Park in London and Glastonbury 2023.
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