"Bel Air" is a song by American singer and songwriter

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent ...

. It appears on her third

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, ''

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

''. Featuring clips from the "

Summertime Sadness "Summertime Sadness" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from her second studio album, '' Born to Die'' (2012). The pop ballad was released on June 22, 2012, by Interscope Records as the fourth single of the album. In the sprin ...

" music video, a promotional video for "Bel Air" was released to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most vis ...

in early November 2012. The video has received much critical acclaim. After the release of ''Paradise'', the song charted in the United Kingdom and France.

Music video and composition

A promotional video for the closing track, "Bel Air", was released on 8 November 2012. Filmed by

Kyle Newman Kyle Newman (born March 16, 1976) is an American filmmaker, actor and New York Times bestselling author. He is known for directing ''Fanboys'', a Star Wars-themed comedy, ''Barely Lethal'' starring Hailee Steinfeld and Samuel L. Jackson for A ...

, the video featured outtakes from the "

" music video. Spinning amidst a smoky backdrop and flushed with monochromatic blues, greens, and violets, Del Rey is displayed as a celestial being. Although not depicted

lip-synch Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated thr ...

ing in the video, Del Rey is heard singing the line: "Roses, Bel Air, take me there/ I’ve been waiting to meet you/ Palm trees, in the light, I can see, late at night/ Darling I’m willing to greet you/ Come to me, baby." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cov ...

'' praised the shift in

persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatr ...

Del Rey exhibited in the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

's video, noting a significant difference from her usual Americana

lounge singer Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The rang ...

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...

Onassis-Kennedy, and biker chick

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different ...

s. ''PopCrush'' reviewer Amy Sciarretto called the video "snoozy", "an artform", and drew comparisons between Del Rey's work and

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating s ...

films.

AOL AOL (stylized as Aol., formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City. It is a brand marketed by the current incarnation of Yahoo! Inc. ...

Spinner Technology * Spinner (aeronautics), the aerodynamic cone at the hub of an aircraft propeller * Spinner (cell culture), laboratory equipment for cultivating plant or mammalian cells * Spinner (computing), a graphical widget in a GUI * Spinner (MIT Me ...

said: "Here's how we imagine the pitch meeting going for Lana Del Rey's new "Bel Air" video. Director: Lana, can you stand around in smoke for a little while and occasionally look at a camera? Lana: Yes. Director: Brilliant!"

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

pointed out the obvious parallels the song title gained with the television program ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...

''. Noting that Del Rey was "stunning" in the video for "Bel Air", ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production in ...

'' said it would "...definitely keep the Lana-obsessed occupied for a few hours." In the video description, Del Rey added a transcription. It read: "i lost my reputation, i forgot my truth. But i have my beauty and i have my youth. 'TROPICO' the film, coming next year". Spinner responded to the ambiguous afterthought with confusion, stating they were not aware of what it meant. As on November 21, 2012, the video for "Bel Air" has garnered over 3 million views on video-hosting website,

. The video has since been made private.

Usage in media

Alongside ''Paradise'', Del Rey launched a short film titled '' Tropico'' that features the songs "Body Electric", "Gods and Monsters", and "Bel Air". "Tropico" was filmed in late June 2013; it was directed by

Anthony Mandler Anthony Mandler (born April 18, 1973) is an American film director, music video director, television commercial director and photographer. As a music video director, his most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna. The two have worked on s ...

, who also directed Del Rey's previous music videos for "National Anthem" and "Ride". Via social media platforms, Del Rey released several promotional images for the film, one depicting Del Rey in a

wimple A wimple is a medieval form of female headcovering, formed of a large piece of cloth worn draped around the neck and chin, covering the top of the head; it was usually made from white linen or silk. Its use developed in early medieval Europe; i ...

reminiscent of

Mary, Mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and another with Del Rey holding a snake and posing as

Eve Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...

, the biblical wife of

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as ...

from

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

. In August 2013, Del announced on Twitter that the film would have two premieres: One at the

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles ...

in Los Angeles and one in an unspecified location in New York; she referred to the short film as a "farewell". Critics noted that this contradicted other claims by Del Rey that she would release a third studio album, with a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

of the song "Black Beauty" leaking online. It was later cleared that Del Rey meant a farewell to the Born to Die era before moving on to the follow-up, " Ultraviolence". On November 22, 2013, an official trailer for "Tropico" was released; at the end of the trailer, it was announced that the film will be uploaded to Del Rey's official VEVO account on December 5, 2013. On December 3, 2013, Del Rey announced on Facebook that "Tropico" will be screened at the

Cinerama Dome Pacific Theatres' Cinerama Dome is a movie theater located at 6360 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Designed to exhibit widescreen Cinerama films, it opened November 7, 1963. The original developer was William R. Forman, founder of P ...

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

on December 4, 2013 prior to its VEVO release.

Critical reception

Canada.com reviewer Leah Collins called "Bel Air" an

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

-channeled, eerie

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wal ...

. Conversely, ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' dismissed both "Bel Air" and " Yayo" as ''Paradise''s "filler tracks". Dissatisfied with other songs on ''Paradise'', ''

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes ...

'' said, on "Bel Air", Del Rey finally gets it right, calling the song "a snowy,

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...

-inspired

Charts

References

{{authority control 2010s ballads 2012 songs Lana Del Rey songs Pop ballads Songs about California Songs written by Lana Del Rey