Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey is known for having one of the most enigmatic personalities in modern pop, which has garnered her one of the most devoted fan bases of the 2010s.— Billboard

Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), more commonly known by her stage name, Lana Del Rey, is an icon in modern alternative singing and songwriting.

At 18, Lana began performing in clubs around Brooklyn, NY, using different monikers including Lizzy Grant, May Jailer, and Sparkle Jump Rope Queen. Simultaneously, she attended Fordham University in The Bronx, majoring in philosophy with a focus on metaphysics.

I was interested in God and how technology could bring us closer to understanding where we came from and why

She explained about her degree when asked. The theme of God and science consistently emerges in her music. In addition to her college major, some of her song themes were influenced by her time attending a Christian high school.

In 2007, she signed her first recording contract with 5 Points Records, and her first digital album, Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant, was released in January 2010.

Traces of this period can still be found online, but it was ultimately left behind in favor of the Lana Del Rey rebranding.

In 2011, a homemade music video for “Video Games” appeared on Lana’s YouTube channel. The track became a viral hit, sparking widespread interest in the artist, leading to her signing with Interscope/Polydor in October of that year. In the acknowledgements for her fifth studio album, Lust for Life, she wrote,

Abel, I still think of the day u posted video games on your Tumblr. Grateful for u.

Here, she is referring to the R&B-Hip-Hop singer and frequent collaborator, The Weeknd. Their friendship eventually led to collaborations on the album's title track and “Stargirl Interlude” from The Weeknd’s album Starboy.

Since then, Lana has fostered a unique style that stands apart from other artists of her generation, acclaimed for its cinematic sound and references to various elements of pop culture, particularly the 1950s and 1960s Americana.

After many studio releases were removed from streaming platforms to pave the way for her rebrand, Lana explained the meaning behind her stage name, influenced by her time in Florida during college.

I wanted a name I could shape the music towards. I was going to Miami quite a lot at the time, speaking a lot of Spanish with my Cuban friends – Lana Del Rey reminded us of the glamour of the seaside. It sounded beautiful off the tip of the tongue.

Before settling on Del Rey, she initially used the alternate spelling Lana Del Ray and released an album under that name, ultimately choosing the former moving forward.

On January 27, 2012, Lana’s first major-label project, Born to Die, was released. Despite mixed reviews, it became the second-longest charting album on the Billboard 200 by a female artist, featuring her well-known hit “Summertime Sadness”.

Later that year, the Grammy-nominated EP Paradise was released, paired with the reissue of Born to Die.

Two years later, the atmospheric album Ultraviolence was released, presenting a slightly darker sound and theme. The term comes from the Anthony Burgess novel, A Clockwork Orange, referring to excessive or unjustified violence.

2015 saw the release of Honeymoon, which Lana described as “a tribute to Los Angeles”. The album received significant critical acclaim, considered by some as her best work to date.

Her fifth studio album Lust For Life came out in 2017, featuring high-profile collaborations with artists like The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, and Stevie Nicks. Billboard called it a “new-age folk” record, and it was listed among the Top 50 Best Album of the Year lists by several prominent music publications.

After much anticipation, teasing, and at least one delayed release date, Norman Fucking Rockwell! debuted on August 30, 2019. This album earned her Grammy nominations and featured in year-end lists, propelling her further into the spotlight.

Only days after NFR!’s release, in a The Times interview, Lana confirmed a new project titled Chemtrails Over the Country Club (initially called White Hot Forever) was underway, aiming for a 2020 release. Near the end of 2019, Lana announced a spoken word poetry album release on January 4th, 2020, as the book itself was taking longer to hand-bind.

In a similar fashion to the announcement of Chemtrails Over The Country Club, Lana took to Instagram after the release of Chemtrails to announce a follow-up eighth studio album called Blue Banisters (originally intended to be called ‘Rock Candy Sweet’) expected for July 4th, 2021, but delayed to October 22nd of that year. Three singles from Blue Banisters were released on May 20th, 2021.

After over a year without new music, on November 30, 2022, Lana released a statement detailing an upcoming announcement regarding music. A week's wait later, she announced the album's release date, titled Did you know that there’s a tunnel under the Ocean Blvd: March 10th, 2023. She then revealed she would push the release date back two weeks to March 24th of the same year. The reason, initially undisclosed, was soon discovered to be in response to Miley Cyrus' album release coinciding with her original date, causing her to reschedule to avoid drama.

A visual artist in addition to performing, Del Rey has released many music videos, including a short music film she wrote, directed, and starred in, titled Tropico. The film features dark undertones and haunting vintage technicolor scenes.

Lana’s lyrics delve into a wide range of intricate topics such as love and relationships, famous figures and idols, her personal experiences with fame, pop culture, religion, patriotism, and nostalgia. She uniquely blends magic, glamour, and beauty with grit, destruction, and sadness. In a Vogue UK interview published in late 2011, she referred to her musical artistry as “Hollywood sadcore”.

Lana’s body of work doesn't consist of constant mainstream radio hits, maintaining a distinct style in both writing and singing, showing little resemblance to any other artist in modern pop or alternative music.