No shade to Madonna, but I didn’t realize how much I liked “You Must Love Me” until I heard Lana del Rey sing it. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice wrote it for the 1996 film version of Evita, basically so something from the movie, which was otherwise full of preexisting music, could win Best Original Song at the Academy Awards (which it did in 1997). Though in the best voice of her career after training diligently for the role, Madonna’s performance was labored, especially in the vocal leap from the verses to the (pre-) chorus (she’s ailing at this point in the movie so her delivery at least jibed with the plot).
But wow, here comes Lana del Rey positively gliding over this, making it all sound effortless in her cover, which was recorded for the upcoming Andrew Lloyd Webber Unmasked: The Platinum Collection compilation. Her voice is clear and sweet, but not particularly affected—she isn’t even doing much of a moody, persona-led Lana del Rey schtick. She’s just singing a sad song well. Bring on that musical!
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