10 Most Infamous SNL Musical Guests
7. Lana Del Rey
It's not like a bunch of prep time doesn't go into making each musical segment what it is. Oftentimes, bands have to go on for tireless hours before actually getting into good enough shape to perform on the show. Whether or not the songs are even meant for the live stage at all is a totally different story.
At the start of the 2010s Lana Del Rey seemed like a perfect choice for the SNL stage, considering her snideness and way with lyrics sent her to the top of the charts with Born to Die. By the time that she was introduced by Daniel Radcliffe though, things started to go south pretty quickly. Compared to the more extravagant flameouts on the show, Lana's performance is not technically the worst, with the song being performed halfway decently. No, the thing holding this one back is her actual performance behavior.
Though most of her tunes of the time were a bit more downtempo, you can tell that Lana is nervous in this situation, which does her no favors when she's trying to sell that apathetic attitude in her songs. The rest of the songs play out more like someone at an open mic, doing their best but not really getting anywhere by the end. For as much as Lana has turned her career around since this event, this one lackluster show feels more like a blip than anything else.