'You've softened the effects of even the harshest reviews': Lana Del Rey thanks fans as album tops the charts across the globe

Her album was dubbed dreary and slated by critics.

But it seems Lana Del Rey has support in her fans - and plenty of it - after Born To Die topped the charts in 14 countries.

The 25-year-old American singer took to Twitter to thanks her supporters after the LP hit No.1 on iTunes charts across the globe today.

'Thank you for making the record #1 in 11 countries,' she wrote earlier today.

Weak: The singer's recent performance on Saturday Night Live was widely panned by critics

She went on to tell her followers: 'Your sweet words have softened the effect of even the harshest reviews. I adore you.'

Lana was spotted leaving her hotel in Paris today, where she greeted fans and happily signed autographs.

In its review, music bible Rolling Stone describes Del Rey as 'just another aspiring singer who wasn't ready to make an album yet. Given her chic image, it's surprising how dull, dreary and pop-starved Born to Die is.'

However, the Los Angeles Times gives the 25-year-old singer praise for an 'impressive gambit' but goes on to say the record 'ultimately rings hollow because of a weak performance by the actor/singer Elizabeth Grant.'

The newspaper is referring to Del Rey's real name, under which she has previously released music.

The name change has contributed to mutterings among the Internet community that the singer is not completely authentic.

Her critics claim she has had the support of a major record label, Interscope, all along, and there have even been suggestions, denied by Del Rey, that those pouting lips are not entirely natural.

The Washington Post reports that the 'central failure of Born to Die isn’t Del Rey’s lack of vocal agility - it’s that her music doesn’t communicate actual feeling.'

The newspaper also attempts to offer an explanation as to why Del Rey reached the dizzy heights of fame so quickly.

'When our thirst for next big things becomes so unquenchable that it prematurely pushes new artists onto national television, we have only ourselves to blame when they whiff,' muses writer Chris Richards.

'These increasingly violent micro-cycles of hype and backlash are bad for young artists and exhausting for the rest of us.'

The Boston Globe's review is equally damning, adding that the album 'is a staggering disappointment that's more of a sketch than a statement.'

'Ms Del Rey has an idea about her presentation, which counts for something...but her singing still sounds like a road test,' adds The New York Times. 'Born to Die doesn't solve Ms Del Rey's problems because it isn't aware of them; it's a multiple choice test with every answer scanned "C."'

MTV, however, cut the singer some slack. 'No matter how you view her, you've got to give Del Rey and her team credit for creating an album that fills the room and the headphones.

'It is a record that is positively brimming with atmospherics...all of which imbue it with a truly epic scope.'
The singer, who was born and raised in the small, rural town of Lake Placid, started singing in a church choir.
It was when she moved to Brooklyn as an 18-year-old student that she began to take her music seriously.
Influenced by Elvis Presley and Jeff Buckley, she wrote a few songs, played a few club gigs as Lizzy Grant and released an independent album under her real name.

Last year's hit Video Games became an online hit, catapulting Del Rey to fame - it has now been viewed 20 million times on YouTube.

Stunning: Lana's sultry shoot appaears in Interview magazine
However, her performance on Saturday Night Live did little to placate her critics.
Actress and musician Juliette Lewis tweeted: 'Watching this "singer" is like watching a 12-year-old in their bedroom when they're pretending to perform.'

However, Del Rey says her music is inspired by events in her own life and she has complete control over her work.

'If you consider the definition of authenticity, it's saying something and actually doing it,' she recently told Complex magazine.

'I write my own songs. I made my own videos. I pick my producers. Nothing goes out without my permission. It's all authentic.'


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