Lana Del Rey stuns audience in opening show

On January 5 Lana Del Rey kicked off her Lust for Life tour in Minneapolis. The Target Center sold-out show drew thousands of fans for her first Minnesota performance.

“Having her start the tour in Minneapolis was a shock, but probably the best concert I have gone to” senior Mara Holm said.

Having her start the tour in Minneapolis was a shock, but probably the best concert I have gone to

— Mara Holm

The show was opened with R&B artist  Jhene Aiko. Aiko gave a beautiful 30-minute performance singing five of her top songs. The Worst and While We’re Young were among a few of the songs she sang.

Aiko looked stunning in a beautiful chain jumpsuit and a big gold jacket. She gave an amazing performance and was full of energy. Much of the crowd had not heard of her before but was stunned by her talent and amazing vocals.

The people in charge of the show did an excellent job of making sure the show started on time and Lana Del Rey came out fairly quickly after Aiko had finished her set. This was something that is very important to someone who is standing in the general admission pit.

Lana Del Rey opened with her song 13 beaches off her new album Lust for Life. Her stage was made to look like rainforest and even included two lounge chairs. She wore a beautiful short, white, lace dress with the same gold boots as the band and background vocalist.

The lighting in paired perfectly with the mood of the show, the stage lighting was mainly a mix of blue, pink and purple. The ambiance was very natural and not to over the top.

Throughout the concert, Lana sang a mix of songs from her new album and some from her previous albums. Having a good mix of upbeat and romantic songs. Even though there was a setlist for the show she didn’t use it most of the time she chose to sing songs that matched the feel of the concert at that moment.

She gave an amazing performance and was very interactive with the audience. When she didn’t know what to sing next she asked the crowd what they wanted to hear. Two different times throughout the show she walked down into the front row and took pictures and signed autographs.

The concert had just the perfect amount of choreography, the background dancers were choreographed but Lana herself was not. She danced around the stage in a way that was organic.

Her vocals were amazing in each song, many of the people at the concert were even saying that she was better live than on her albums. She pushed herself to have an original sound for the audience one of the songs she even sang laying down because it gave her voice a sound that paired perfectly with the song.     

The show had everyone on their feet singing along to every song.