Live...With Jools Holland: The Stepping Stone For Chart Success?

On October 11, American songstress and internet sensation Lana Del Rey performed the song 'Video Games' on British television's staple music showcase 'Live... with Jools Holland'. Fast-forward to this past weekend, only a week and a half later than that career-shaping performance, and the song that divided the web to polar extremes shoots into the Top Ten at the number 9 slot. A mere coincidence? We think not.

The track had been bubbling under the surface for a while, with its amateur-seeming accompanying video being posted on Youtube with little fanfare back on July 1 before capturing the attention of online indie music taste-makers Pitchfork in early August.

But despite Facebook's success anti-X Factor campaign a few years back, resulting in Rage Against The Machine's 'Killing In The Name' re-charting at number 1 to stop winner Joe McElderry from the much-coveted Christmas number one slot, the internet hasn't yet the unrivalled power to mobilise the masses alone. If this was indeed the case then by just one glance of your Twitter feed around election-time last year, you'd assume Nick Clegg would be our PM right now -  instead of being resigned to playing the role of a political pantomime villain.

No, there must have been another catalyst to her chart success – apart from the sheer strength of the song along. While the internet does influence music listeners worldwide, it seems likely that if you had heard Lana Del Rey right back at the beginning of the summer then you would be assumed to have either downloaded it illegally already, be completely satisfied with the Youtube video alone or be likely to have grown so sick of the song that buying the track, along with b-side 'Blue Jeans', in CD or vinyl would be the last thing you'd be spurred to do. And if you think about it, terrestrial television viewers do seem all the more likely to purchase music traditionally than, say, those scrolling through the blogs.

It's interesting that following speculation of Lana Del Rey tipped to top the BBC Sound of 2012 poll when it’s announced in the coming months, her new major-label management at Interscope have decided to release the single when they have. The rules of the poll mean that you can't be nominated if you have a top 20 release to your name, and now the artist formerly known as Lizzy Grant has a #9 single to be proud of. Obviously the label thought Lana Del Rey had been publicised enough.

Instead it seems that Jools has had that Midas effect once again. The influence of the former Squeeze man cannot be understated, attracting an audience of around 78,000 of per episode. And while Jonathan Ross' former BBC show did much to help bands, his influence and viewership has dwindled since the format's move to ITV. Even Channel 4's pop shows keep spawning and dying just as quickly, leaving Jools a sole pioneer on our sets.

American television, on the other hand, could not be more saturated - to the delight of new bands and up and coming acts. In the states, every channel has its own late-night talk show and most follow the same criteria of ending the programme with a live band. The undoubted indie champion of US TV is definitely Jimmy Fallon, who gave Odd Future a chance before even most of the internet knew them. Then you also have the likes of Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O'Brien and David Letterman, whose CBS show recently featured a breath-taking performance from the brilliant indie band Girls. What if, with the upcoming BBC cuts, 'Later... with Jools' was ever to be cancelled? What shows on TV would there be to promote left-field music?

So far, this series – the show's 39th  since its original run in 1992 – has contained a now-signature eclectic billing including The Horrors, Laura Marling and Bon Iver, with Coldplay set to perform next week. With Ed Sheeran's album shooting up in the charts just weeks after his initial Jools appearance, who will be next to experience the Jools factor? We can only wait, watch and see.