Yayo (Lana Del Rey song)

"Yayo" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey. It appears on her first extended play, Kill Kill, her self-titled debut album, and her third EP, Paradise. After the release of her third EP, the song charted in France. Before signing to a major record label, Del Rey released a self-produced music video for "Yayo". Ubiquitously, the song garnered acclaim, many reviewers saying the song was one of the best songs Del Rey has ever written and praising Del Rey's voice. Appearing on three of Del Rey's albums to date, the song is one of few that was authored solely by her. The original version of the song was released through 5 Point Records and produced by David Kahne, later being remastered by Emile Haynie and Dan Heath.

"Yayo"
Song by Lana Del Rey
from the album Lana Del Ray and the EPs Kill Kill and Paradise
Released
  • October 21, 2008[1][2]
  • January 4, 2010
  • November 9, 2012
Recorded
  • 2008 (Lana Del Ray/Kill Kill version)
  • 2012 (Paradise version)
Length
  • 5:45 (Lana Del Ray/Kill Kill version)
  • 5:21 (Paradise version)
Label
Songwriter(s)Lana Del Rey
Producer(s)

Critical reception

The Huffington Post dismissed both "Bel Air" and "Yayo" as "filler tracks".[3] Disagreeing with this position, Carl Williot of Idolator wrote that "Yayo" should have been a single and was the best song on the EP.[4] Calling the song Del Rey's most interesting song to date, Williot compared the narration on "Yayo" to the plight of Anna Nicole Smith and said it was "woozy" and "burlesque".[4] Digital Spy said: "She treads close to being kooky for the sake of kooky on 'Yayo'."[5] Pinpointing "Yayo" one of Del Rey's typical "bad girl" songs, Lancaster Online cited "Yayo" as one of the best Del Rey songs ever written, acquiescing the statement with: "I do not feel that I am exaggerating one bit by making this praise."[6] Indie music journal Drowned in Sound highlighted the change of tempo "Yayo" brought to Paradise. Praising it, Drowned in Sound called "Yayo", "shimmeringly beautiful...shot through with uncertainty, 4am bloodshot-eyed regret and a sense of everything only a heartbeat away from collapse."[7] Slant Magazine said: "Yayo' is a thin bundle of Lolita imprecations and sun-baked poolside sexuality, wrapped in wispy string production. It coasts on the same kind of rhythmic repetition that crops up on tracks like "American" and "Body Electric," all of them leaning too heavily on a pre-established atmospheric skeleton."[8] Initially saying "we can live without 'Yayo'," So So Gay gave credit to the song for having, "great appeal in terms of the jazzy feel it brings to the album, but loses it with a series of vocal displays that make the track, quite frankly, a bit of warble...," finalizing their review by adding that it, "certainly has nothing on the closing track, 'Bel Air'."[9]

Music video

Before signing with a major label, Del Rey produced a video for "Yayo". Pop music reviewer Amy Sciarretto said the video featured many shots of the singer herself in Super 8 granulation, juxtaposed with low, somber vocals.[10] "The result is like a noir short film where nothing is clear and everything is left to the imagination," the reviewer added. Finalizing her review, Sciarretto said:

"But given the lyrical content, the distinguished gentleman in the footage is likely her father or at least a father figure of some sort. The singer does a dance in a bikini top and short shorts, asking her daddy to put on a show for him. A bit icky? On the surface, yes. But we get the sentiment and that it's not like "that." A lot of the shots feel looped and repeated over the course of six minutes, and there’s no clear linear narrative, either. It does impart a message of distance and loss via the found footage and first person perspective. You are left to sift through the footage and piece together your own perception of the source material and to fill in the gaps, which makes it a video that you can’t watch only once."[10]

Charts
Chart (2012) Peak
position
scope="row"France (SNEP)[11] 120
gollark: Admittedly I can't see the screen on this very well on direct sunlight.
gollark: It looks the same.
gollark: It's a pen. It seems fine.
gollark: No.
gollark: You hardly *need* both.

References
  1. Tremblay, Brea. "Lizzy Grant, 2008". Index Magazine. Index Worldwide. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  2. "Lana Del Rey On World Cafe". NPR. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  3. Watson, Sian (12 November 2012). "Lana Del Rey's 'Paradise' Sees Singer Working Through Same Themes". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  4. Williot, Carl. "Lana Del Rey's 'Paradise': Album Review". Idolator. Buzz Media. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
  5. Copsey, Robert (13 November 2012). "Lana Del Rey: 'Paradise' - EP review". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  6. Houghton, Alison. "It's not 'Paradise' for Lana Del Rey's latest". Lancaster Online. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  7. Edwards, David. "88002 Lana Del Rey Born to Die - The Paradise Edition". Drowned in Sound. Silentway. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  8. Cataldo, Jesse. "Lana Del Rey Paradise". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  9. B, Jon. "Album Review: Lana Del Rey - Born to Die (The Paradise Edition)". So So Gay. So So Gay Ltd. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  10. Sciarretto, Amy (8 October 2012). "Lana Del Rey Is Super 8 Style in 'Yayo' Video". PopCrush. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  11. "Lescharts.com – Lana Del Rey – Yayo" (in French). Les classement single.
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