Beautiful People Beautiful Problems
"Beautiful People Beautiful Problems" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey from her fifth studio album, Lust for Life (2017). With an early in July 2014 demo recorded in 2014, the song was reworked to a form a new version featuring Stevie Nicks. The song was written by Del Rey, Nicks, Rick Nowels, and Justin Parker, while Nowels, Del Rey, Parker, Kieron Menzies, and Dean Reid handled production for the song.
| "Beautiful People Beautiful Problems" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Lana Del Rey featuring Stevie Nicks | |
| from the album Lust for Life | |
| Released | July 21, 2017 |
| Recorded | March 2017 |
| Studio | Electric Lady Studios (New York) Unknown (Los Angeles) |
| Length | 4:13 |
| Label | |
| Songwriter(s) |
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Background
The song was registered as "Beautiful People" with Justin Parker credited as a co-writer on APRA AMCOS during August 2015 along with "Wild One".[1] During a 2017 interview with Flaunt magazine, Del Rey stated that she "traded" verses with Stevie Nicks and both are featured on the song's chorus: "Consider 'Beautiful People,' where she trades verses and coalesces on the chorus with the one and only Stevie Nicks, of whom I refer to as a bonafide badass. "I didn't know what to expect or that I could even ask her, Del Rey remarks. "When I went through ideas of women that could really add something to the record, she was the one we kept coming back to. 'Bonafide badass' is a great phrase for her."[2]
In an interview with KRQQ Radio, Del Rey said how she wanted a woman on the record and decided on Nicks. Del Rey said that "they [Nowels and Nicks] actually started the track in New York at Electric Lady Studios, and then she flew back and finished it at our studio... she was amazing, she's just everything you hope she's gonna be. She loved the track and she added so much to it."[3]
Composition and lyrics
The song features a soft rock arrangement mainly featuring a soft piano, bass, and simple percussion. Lyrically the song discusses a range of topics from love and peace to problems of the world.
Original version
On March 22, 2018, Tyrannosaurus posted an article revealing that the song, along with a cover of "The Good Life," was from 2014 and intended for the Tim Burton film, Big Eyes. It also revealed that the original version of the song was much darker thematically, appearing to center on a toxic relationship.[4] The full lyrics to this version were leaked online in August 2018, with the song itself leaking in September. This version featured a much sparser arrangement, only featuring a piano and Del Rey's vocals.
The lyrics to this version appear to be partly inspired by initial criticism Del Rey received for her public persona and lyrical content. A particular source of inspiration seems to be an article written for The Guardian by Tim Jonze, which used an out-of-context quote by Del Rey, claiming she wished she were dead, as its headline.[5]
Charts
| Chart (2017) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Heatseekers (RMNZ)[6] | 5 |
| US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[7] | 29 |
References
- AMCOS, APRA. "Search". apraamcos.com.au.
- "Lana Del Rey". Flaunt Magazine.
- "Listen to Lana Del Rey's Backstage Interview Before Performance" – via www.youtube.com.
- https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jun/12/lana-del-rey-ultraviolence-album
- "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". THE OFFICIAL NZ MUSIC CHART.
- "Lana Del Rey Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 4, 2019.