BLOG: RADIO 1 HACKNEY WEEKEND 2012

Expanding their annual Big Weekend festivities and bringing the action to the heart of East London, Hackney Weekend certainly lived up to its expectations with quite a stunning array of performances. My highlights have got to be Lana Del Rey, because I think I'm in love with her obviously, and headline act JAY Z plus super special surprise guests, who set the place on fire with an awesome hour or so of pure entertainment.

This was the first time I'd seen Lana Del Rey do a proper set, having been teased with the odd TV appearances and having missed Lovebox last week. And damn did she kill it! Performing my favourite hits from her amazing debut album, and unveiling a new track in "Body Electric", she exuded her class, style and moreover her beautiful voice, which has a unique tone of depth and sexiness that I just can't get enough of. I need to go see her live! I've attached the clip of "Video Games", and you can watch the rest of the set in full right here.

As for Jay-Z, he rocked on stage 45 minutes late, but treated us with guests in Rihanna, M.I.A. and lastly his partner in crime Kanye West, giving us a spectacle of the truly spectacular Throne. This was in fact the first pro shot of the two doing Watch The Throne live. I was there at their tour date and saw it in full, but this was just as incredible, aided by the surprise factor of Yeezy even turning up. I was going crazy in my living room on my own! You can catch the entire set over on BBC iPlayer in full HD.