Del Rey of Sunshine

With films like "The Artist" and acts like Mayer Hawthorne gaining popularity in 2012, it's fairly clear that we are craving a restoration of our artistic roots. Perhaps it's the simplicity of former eras that entices us to revisit the past; perhaps it's the glamour that accompanies a time classified by its stars rather than its celebrities. When it comes to Lana Del Rey, I'd venture to say both play a part, yet the intrigue and wonderment she produces may be most aptly attributed to her rare and simultaneous embodiment of beauty and fear, as well as her honesty when penning her personal heartaches into her music.

Having said herself post-SNL (a fiasco we'll graze over, just this once), she is not a "natural performer." Whether due to a case of nerves or her lack of experience as some have speculated (her millionaire father is partially responsible for her speedy success), her voice posesses a quality that is so pure and pretty, it's almost haunting. And the fact that she writes her own music is something I always admire and aim to boast. I can also appreciate that her videos all look homemade because they are, as she spent months editing clips she found on YouTube to create makeshift music videos in an effort to broadcast her sound.

Take a listen to "Video Games," the unintentional first single off her second album entitled Born to Die, to be released worldwide at the end of this month, as well as the title track. Don't miss "Blue Jeans," "This is What Makes Us Girls," and "Diet Mtn Dew."

For the record, she claims that her lips are real and that she's just "pouty" when she sings.