Whatcha Say: Lana Del Rey, Sky Ferreira and Iggy Azalea Got Our Readers Talking

Happy Friday, Idolator readers! This week’s been full of scandal, shade and celebration: From Lana Del Rey‘s “West Coast” premiere, to Sky Ferreira‘s “I Blame Myself” video (which resulted in some backlash), to the announcement of Ariana Grande‘s new single “Problem” with femcee Iggy Azalea, to Iggy’s own “Black Widow” with Rita Ora (which had some people hearing Katy Perry‘s “Dark Horse”) to Miley‘s sudden hospitalization. Get well soon, Mileybird!

Back at Idolator HQ, we got to thinking about Lana’s best lead singles in this week’s Ibrawlator. (Have you voted yet?) Plus, we’re giving away signed copies of Jason Derulo‘s new album, Talk Dirty. There’s still time to enter to win! We also premiered a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Coldplay‘s “Magic” music video and spoke with some exciting pop imports, including Route 94 and Kodaline. As always, you guys had plenty to say. Check out some of the week’s best comments below!

:: Lizzie was a bit perplexed about Ariana’s strategy on Ariana Grande’s New Single “Problem” Officially Features Iggy Azalea: See The Sexy Artwork: “She’s debuting a song with Iggy Azalea which has a single cover like this at the Radio Disney Awards? Something about that just seems wrong. Iggy at that awards show? A rapper who is known for a song like “Pu$$y?””

:: mdb enjoyed the Katy-penned Iggy-Rita collabo, but offered an even better idea on Iggy Azalea & Rita Ora’s “Black Widow” Sounds An Awful Lot Like Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse”: Listen: “Like this, though not really into rap/ hip hop exclusively. Would be cool to see all three ladies involved with this song perform it together live.”

:: Pablo found the outrage around Sky’s new video to be a quantifiable situation on Sky Ferreira Just Destroyed Everyone Who Said Her “I Blame Myself” Video Is Racist: “If she uses 0 dancers that happen to be black: “How is it that in a place that has a good amount of black people, not one of them is black?” If she uses 1 Dancer that happens to be black: “Why is their only one? They just put one so that she didn’t look racist.” If she uses mostly dancers, that are black.: “RACIST!””

:: While Sunny provided an in-depth analysis of what could be perceived as problematic: “Of course, it’s easy to sit on the internet behind the veil of a computer screen and look at her video and call her a racist without knowing her (or this author’s) upbringing. That is exactly why I don’t think she is a racist. But, I DO think she’s perpetuating stereotypes. When you have a video set in Compton, and it romanticizes gang culture, and your gang is played only by black men–a stereotype is being perpetuated. I have to say, I find it hard to believe that she couldn’t find AT LEAST one or two dancers of any other skin color that had the talent for which she was looking to fit the video.”

:: Daw J, however, saw Sky’s response as straight-up racist: “‘Don’t demean the actors & dancers in the video. They are more well spoken & aware than you and I will ever be.’ = racist. Why wouldn’t black people be well-spoken? I love Sky’s music, but she’s guilty of making the same assumptions about black people “from the ghetto” as her critics are.”

:: Matt M. was head over heels in Lana love on Lana Del Rey’s “West Coast”: Review Revue: “She is honestly one of the most talented artists of her generation and doesn’t sound like anyone else out there right now. Nice to see her getting some long overdue praise.”

:: As was Matt D., who was more than ready to ride down the coast: “A really beautiful song that see’s Lana evolving as an artist into a new (and very retro) style. This just makes her cooler than she already was, which was pretty cool anyway. I can definitely imagine myself driving along the Californian coastline blasting this tune, and I can’t wait to hear what else this chick has in store for us!”

:: Lizzie came prepared to school the casual fans on Lana Del Rey’s “West Coast”: Listen: “I feel like people who only know Lana through the Cedric Gervais remix of “Summertime Sadness” or even “Young and Beautiful,” don’t really understand Lana and her the music she’s trying to create. She’s not trying to make music for the masses. She’s not mainstream radio. That’s not her goal. She’s not going to be played alongside “#selfie” or “happy” or “pompeii” or whatever crap currently occupying the Top 10 songs in America.”

:: James was simply not feeling it on Lana Del Rey’s ‘Ultraviolence’: 8 Things We Know So Far: ““West Coast” is dire. It sounds like the Black Keys gave her a reject and decided to write a tuneless Chris Isaak song over it. This girl honestly has no identity.”

:: And finally, Sonja disagreed — with receipts to boot: “West Coast is consummately LDR: an atmospheric, swaying appropriation of Americana tropes; smoldering and hypnotic. 1,000,000 views on YouTube in less than a day and already the number 3 single on iTunes.”

Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator’s YouTube channel.