Florida Kilos
"Florida Kilos" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from her second major-label studio album, Ultraviolence (2014). The track was written by Del Rey, Dan Auerbach, and Harmony Korine, with Auerbach also handling production for the track. The track was excluded from the standard packaging of the record, only being included as an iTunes bonus track and as a part of the international deluxe editions of the album.
"Florida Kilos" | |
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Song by Lana Del Rey | |
from the album Ultraviolence | |
Length | 4:12 |
Label | |
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Dan Auerbach |
Background
Lyrically, the song tells the story of Del Rey and a lover living together, taking and selling cocaine in the Florida Keys and Miami,[1] and was inspired by the drug documentary Cocaine Cowboys.
Critical reception
The song received mixed responses from various music critics. Sal Cinquemani pointed to the tone of Del Rey's vocals and its break of cohesion from the other tracks on Ultraviolence saying "The hook of the bonus track "Florida Kilos," co-written by Harmony Korine, is marred by Del Rey's Britney-grade vocal infantilism, and while that might make it the perfect theme song for the planned Spring Breakers sequel, the song's pop bounce doesn't jibe with the rest of the album's earthier qualities."
Justin Charity for Complex also described its more light hearted sound as "incongruous" with its parent album. Mike Wass wrote for Idolator describing the track as "an ambitious (but ultimately unconvincing) tale of love and drug smuggling in Miami". A review from The Fix by John Lavitt criticized the track for displaying "only a glorified nostalgia" of the cocaine scene in Miami in the 1970s and that combined "with the infantilized sexualization of Del Rey’s vocals", the track was "poised to attract controversy".
Promotion
Del Rey performed the song for the first time on the last show of the Endless Summer Tour in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre on June 16, 2015, in honor of her father's birthday and being in Florida.[2] On February 1 and 2, 2018 in Sunrise and Orlando, Florida respectively, the song was performed as part of the LA to the Moon Tour.[3] It was performed again on February 28 in Honolulu, Hawaii and March 23, 2018 in Bogotá, Colombia.
Credits and personnel
- Lana Del Rey — vocals, songwriting
- Dan Auerbach — songwriting, production, mixing, electric guitar, synthesizers, background vocals
- Harmony Korine — songwriting
- Collin Dupuis — engineering, mixing, drum programming
- Russ Pahl — electric guitar
- Leon Michaels — mellotron, synthesizers
- Nick Movshon — drums
- Seth Kaufman — background vocals
- John Davis — mastering
Charts
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
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UK Singles Chart | 194 |