Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally asLana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter.Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of glamor and romance, with frequent references to pop culture and 1950s–1970s Americana.[2] She is the recipient ofvarious accolades, including anMTV Video Music Award, threeMTV Europe Music Awards, twoBrit Awards, twoBillboard Women in Music awards and aSatellite Award, in addition to nominations for elevenGrammy Awards and aGolden Globe Award.[3]Variety honored her at theirHitmakers Awards for being "one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century". In 2023,Rolling Stone placed Del Rey on their list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time", while their sister publicationRolling Stone UK named her as the "greatest American songwriter of the 21st century".[4][5]
Raised in upstate New York, Del Rey moved to New York City in 2005 to pursue a music career. Del Rey's breakthrough came in 2011 with the viral success of her single "Video Games", leading to a recording contract withPolydor andInterscope.[6] She achieved critical and commercial success with her second album,Born to Die (2012), which featured a moody,hip hop-inflected sound and spawned thesleeper hit "Summertime Sadness". The album topped numerous national charts around the world, and holds the record for thelongest charting album by a woman in the history of the USBillboard 200. She subsequently topped the US charts with the albumsUltraviolence (2014) andLust for Life (2017).
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant was born on June 21, 1985,[13] in Manhattan, New York City,[14] to Robert England Grant Jr., a copywriter atGrey Group, and Patricia Ann "Pat" Grant (née Hill), an account executive at the same organization.[15][16][17] She has a younger sister, Caroline "Chuck" Grant,[18] and a younger brother, Charlie Grant.[19][20] She was raisedCatholic[21] and is of Scottish and English descent.[22] When she was a year old, the family moved toLake Placid, New York.[23] In Lake Placid, her father worked for a furniture company before becoming an entrepreneurialdomain investor;[24] her mother worked as a schoolteacher.[25] There, she attended St. Agnes School in her elementary years[20] and began singing in her church choir, where she was thecantor.[20][26]
She attended the high school where her mother taught for a year,[25] but when she was 14[27] or 15,[14][25][28] her parents sent her toKent School,[28] anEpiscopal boarding school in Connecticut, to get sober from alcoholism. Alcoholism, along with drugs, had been a problem that started in her teenage years and had become so serious that her entire family, including Grant herself, was worried. Grant shared in an interview: "That's really why I got sent to boarding school aged 14—to get sober."[27] Her uncle, an admissions officer at the school, secured her financial aid to attend.[24][29] According to Grant, she had trouble making friends during much of her teenage and early adult years.[30][31] She has said she was preoccupied with death from a young age, and its role in her feelings of anxiety and alienation:
When I was very young I was sort of floored by the fact that my mother and my father and everyone I knew was going to die one day, and myself too. I had a sort of a philosophical crisis. I couldn't believe that we were mortal. For some reason that knowledge sort of overshadowed my experience. I was unhappy for some time. I got into a lot of trouble. I used to drink a lot. That was a hard time in my life.[32]
Grant later dropped out of school to go to rehab; she has been sober since 2003.[27] She spent a year living onLong Island with her aunt and uncle and working as a waitress.[24] During this time, Grant's uncle taught her to play guitar and she "realized [that she] could probably write a million songs with those sixchords".[33] Shortly after, she began writing songs and performing in nightclubs around the city under various names such as "Sparkle Jump Rope Queen" and "Lizzy Grant and the Phenomena".[33] "I was always singing, but didn't plan on pursuing it seriously", she said:
When I got to New York City when I was eighteen, I started playing in clubs in Brooklyn—I have good friends and devoted fans on the underground scene, but we were playing for each other at that point—and that was it.[14]
She originally attendedState University of New York at Geneseo, but dropped out to take a gap year.[34] In fall 2004, at age 19, Grant enrolled atFordham University inthe Bronx, New York City, where she majored in philosophy, with an emphasis on metaphysics.[14] She has said she chose to study the subject because it "bridged the gap between God and science... I was interested in God and how technology could bring us closer to finding out where we came from and why."[14]
Lana Turner, a film actress who inspired Del Rey's stage name
In spring 2005, while still in college, Del Rey registered a seven-track extended play with theUnited States Copyright Office; the application title wasRock Me Stable with another title,Young Like Me, also listed.[35] A second extended play,From the End, was also recorded under Del Rey's stage name at the time, May Jailer.[36] Between 2005 and 2006, she recorded an acoustic album,Sirens, under the May Jailer project,[36] which leaked on the internet in mid-2012.[37][38][39]
I wanted to be part of a high-class scene of musicians. It was half-inspired because I didn't have many friends, and I was hoping that I would meet people and fall in love and start a community around me, the way they used to do in the '60s.
—Del Rey explaining why she went into the music industry.[31]
At her first public performance in 2006 for the Williamsburg Live Songwriting Competition, Del Rey met Van Wilson, an A&R representative for 5 Points Records,[40][41] anindependent label owned byDavid Nichtern.[41] In 2007, while a senior at Fordham, she submitted a demo tape of acoustic tracks,No Kung Fu, to 5 Points,[36] which offered her a recording contract for $10,000.[36] She used the money to relocate to Manhattan Mobile Home Park, a trailer park inNorth Bergen, New Jersey,[14][28] and began working with producerDavid Kahne.[41] Nichtern recalled: "Our plan was to get it all organized and have a record to go and she'd be touring right after she graduated from college. Like a lot of artists, she morphed. When she first came to us, she was playing plunky little acoustic guitar, [had] sort of straight blonde hair, very cute young woman. A little bit dark, but very intelligent. We heard that. But she very quickly kept evolving."[41]
Del Rey graduated from Fordham with aBachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 2008[28] after which she released a three-trackEP,Kill Kill, as Lizzy Grant, featuring production by Kahne.[42] She explained: "David asked to work with me only a day after he got my demo. He is known as a producer with a lot of integrity and who had an interest in making music that wasn't just pop."[43] Meanwhile, Del Rey was doing community outreach work for homeless individuals and drug addicts;[14] she had become interested in community service work in college, when she "took a road trip across the country to paint and rebuild houses on a Native American reservation".[20][44]
Of choosing a stage name for her feature debut album, she said: "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 friends from Cuba—Lana Del Rey reminded us of the glamour of the seaside. It sounded gorgeous coming off the tip of the tongue."[45] The name was also inspired by actressLana Turner and theFord Del Rey sedan, produced and sold in Brazil in the 1980s.[46] Initially she used the alternate spelling Lana DelRay, the name under which herself-titled debut album was released in January 2010.[41] Her father helped with the marketing of the album,[47] which was available for purchase oniTunes for a brief period before being withdrawn in April 2010.[41] Kahne and Nichtern both said that Del Rey bought the rights back from 5 Points, as she wanted it out of circulation to "stifle future opportunities to distribute it—an echo of rumors the action was part of a calculated strategy".[41][48]
Del Rey met her managers, Ben Mawson and Ed Millett, three months afterLana Del Ray was released, and they helped her get out of her contract with 5 Points Records, where, in her opinion, "nothing was happening". Shortly after, she moved to London, and moved in with Mawson "for a few years".[20] On September 1, 2010, Del Rey was featured byMando Diao in itsMTV Unplugged concert at Union Film-Studios in Berlin.[49] The same year, she acted in a short film,Poolside, which she made with several friends.[50]
2011–2013: Breakthrough withBorn to Die andParadise
In 2011, Del Rey uploaded self-made music videos for her songs "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans" to YouTube, featuring vintage footage interspersed with shots of her singing on her webcam.[51] The "Video Games" music video became a viral internet sensation,[2] which led to Del Rey being signed by Stranger Records to release the song as her debut single.[52] She toldThe Observer: "I just put that song online a few months ago because it was my favorite. To be honest, it wasn't going to be the single but people have really responded to it."[14] The song earned her aQ award for "Next Big Thing" in October 2011[53] and anIvor Novello for "Best Contemporary Song" in 2012.[54] In the same month, she signed a joint deal withInterscope Records andPolydor to release her second studio albumBorn to Die.[48][55] She started dating Scottish singerBarrie-James O'Neill in the same year. The couple split in 2014 after three years together.[56] Del Rey performed two songs from the album onSaturday Night Live on January 14, 2012, and received a negative response from various critics and the general public, who deemed the performance uneven and vocally shaky.[57][58] She had earlier defended her spot on the program, saying: "I'm a good musician ... I have been singing for a long time, and I think that [SNL creator]Lorne Michaels knows that ... it's not a fluke decision."[57]
Born to Die was released worldwide on January 31, 2012, to commercial success, charting at number one in 11 countries and debuting at number two on the USBillboard 200 album chart, although critics at the time were divided.[59][60] The same week, she announced she had bought back the rights to her 2010 debut album and had plans to re-release it in the summer of 2012 under Interscope Records and Polydor.[33] Contrary to Del Rey's press statement, her previous record label and producer David Kahne have both stated that she bought the rights to the album when she and the label parted company, due to the offer of a new deal, in April 2010.[48]Born to Die sold 3.4 million copies in 2012, making it the fifth-best-selling album of 2012.[61][62][63] In the United States,Born to Die charted on theBillboard 200 well into 2012, lingering at number 76, after 36 weeks on the chart.[64] As of February 3, 2024,Born to Die had spent 520 weeks (10 years) on theBillboard 200, making Del Rey the second woman to reach this milestone, previously achieved only byAdele.[65]Billboard credited the album as "one of the main catalysts for pop's mid-2010s shift from brash EDM to a moodier,hip-hop-inflected palette."[66]
In September 2012, Del Rey unveiled theF-Type forJaguar at theParis Motor Show[67] and later recorded the song "Burning Desire", which appeared in a promotional short film for the vehicle.[68][69] Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar's global brand director, explained the company's choice, saying Del Rey had "a unique blend of authenticity and modernity".[67] In late September 2012, a music video for Del Rey's cover of "Blue Velvet" was released as a promotional single for theH&M 2012 autumn campaign, which Del Rey also modeled for in print advertising.[70][71] On September 25, Del Rey released the single "Ride" in promotion of her upcomingEP,Paradise.[72] She subsequently premiered the music video for "Ride" at theAero Theatre inSanta Monica, California, on October 10, 2012.[73][74] Some critics panned the video for being allegedly pro-prostitution[74][75] andantifeminist, due to Del Rey's portrayal of a prostitute in a biker gang.[33][76]
Paradise was released on November 12, 2012, as a standalone release, as well asBorn to Die: The Paradise Edition, which combined Del Rey's previous album with the additional eight tracks onParadise.[72]Paradise marked Del Rey's second top 10 album in the United States, debuting at number 10 on theBillboard 200 with 67,000 copies sold in its first week.[77] It was also later nominated forBest Pop Vocal Album at the56th Annual Grammy Awards.[78] Del Rey received several nominations at the2012 MTV Europe Music Awards in November and won the award forBest Alternative performer.[79] At theBrit Awards in February 2013, she won the award for International Female Solo Artist,[80] followed by twoEcho Award wins, in the categories of Best International Newcomer and Best International Pop/Rock Artist.[81]
In June 2013, Del Rey filmedTropico, a musical short film paired to tracks fromParadise, directed byAnthony Mandler.[88][89] Del Rey screened the film on December 4, 2013, at theCinerama Dome in Hollywood.[90] On December 6, the soundtrack was released on digital outlets.[90][91]
On January 26, 2014, Del Rey released a cover of "Once Upon a Dream" for the 2014 dark fantasy filmMaleficent.[92] Following the completion ofParadise, Del Rey began writing and recording her follow-up album,Ultraviolence, featuring production byDan Auerbach.[93]Ultraviolence was released on June 13, 2014, and debuted at number one in 12 countries, including the United States and United Kingdom. The album, which sold 880,000 copies worldwide in its first week,[94] was preceded by the singles "West Coast", "Shades of Cool",[95] "Ultraviolence",[96] and "Brooklyn Baby".[97] She began dating photographerFrancesco Carrozzini after he directed Del Rey's music video for "Ultraviolence"; the two broke up in November 2015 after more than a year.[98] Del Rey described the album as being "more stripped down but still cinematic and dark",[99] while some critics characterized the record aspsychedelic[100] anddesert rock-influenced, more prominently featuring guitar instrumentation than her previous releases.[101][102] Later that year, Del Rey contributed the songs "Big Eyes" and "I Can Fly" toTim Burton's 2014 biographical filmBig Eyes.[103]
On February 9, 2016, Del Rey premiered a music video for the song "Freak" fromHoneymoon at theWiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.[115][116] Later that year, Del Rey collaborated with the Weeknd for his albumStarboy (2016),[117] providing backing vocals on "Party Monster" and lead vocals on "Stargirl Interlude".[118] "Party Monster", which Del Rey also co-wrote, was released as a single[119] and subsequently reached the Top 20 on theBillboard Hot 100[120] and wascertified double-platinum in the US.[121]
2017–2019:Lust for Life andNorman Fucking Rockwell!
Del Rey's fifth studio album,Lust for Life, was released on July 21, 2017.[122] The album was preceded by the singles "Love";[123] "Lust for Life" with the Weeknd;[124] "Summer Bummer" withA$AP Rocky andPlayboi Carti; and "Groupie Love", also with Rocky.[125] Prior to its release, Del Rey commented: "I made my first 4 albums for me, but this one is for my fans and about where I hope we are all headed."[126] The record further featured collaborations withStevie Nicks[127] andSean Ono Lennon,[128] marking the first time she has featured other artists on her own release. The album received generally favorable reviews[129] and became Del Rey's third number-one album in the United Kingdom, and second number-one album in the United States.[130][131] On September 27, 2017, Del Rey announced theLA to the Moon Tour, an official concert tour withJhené Aiko andKali Uchis to further promote the album. The tour began in North America during January 2018[132] and concluded in August.Lust for Life was nominated forBest Pop Vocal Album for the60th Grammy Awards, marking Del Rey's second nomination in the category.[133]
In January 2018, Del Rey announced that she was in a lawsuit with British rock bandRadiohead over alleged similarities between their song "Creep" and her song "Get Free".[134] Following her announcement, legal representatives from their labelWarner/Chappell denied the lawsuit, as well as Del Rey's claims of the band asking for "100% of the song's royalties".[135] Del Rey announced that summer while performing atLollapalooza in Brazil the lawsuit was "over".[134]
Throughout 2018, Del Rey appeared as a guest vocalist on several tracks by other musicians, including "Living with Myself" byJonathan Wilson forRare Birds (2018),[136] "God Save Our Young Blood" and "Blue Madonna" byBørns forBlue Madonna (2018),[137] and "Woman" byCat Power forWanderer (2018).[138] In November 2019, Del Rey was announced as the face ofGucci's Guilty fragrances and subsequently appeared in print and television advertisements withJared Leto and Courtney Love.[139][140] The campaign was centered around the concept of "Hollyweird".[141] Gucci creative directorAlessandro Michele said Guilty is a scent for a woman who does whatever she wants; Del Rey stated she is "very much that person".[141]
Del Rey performing at theGrammy Museum in October 2019
In an interview forL'Officiel's first American edition in early 2018, when asked about her interest in making a film, Del Rey responded she had been approached to write aBroadway musical and had recently begun work on it. When asked how long it would be until completion of the work, she replied, "I may finish in two or three years."[167][168] She also announced she would be contributing to the soundtrack of a new adaptation ofAlice's Adventures in Wonderland.[169]
After announcing aspoken word album in 2019, Del Rey releasedViolet Bent Backwards over the Grass and its corresponding spoken word album in 2020. The physical book was released on September 29 and the Jack Antonoff-produced audiobook on July 28.[170][171] The spoken word poem "LA Who Am I to Love You" was released as the lead single the day before the album's release. In May 2020, Del Rey announced a second book,Behind the Iron Gates – Insights from the Institution, which was originally planned to be released in March 2021;[172] her progress on the book was lost when the manuscript was stolen from her car in 2022.[173]
In September 2020, Del Rey was featured on a remix ofMatt Maeson's 2019 song "Hallucinogenics". The duo had previously performed the song together live in 2019. In November 2020, Del Rey announced that she would release a digital record composed of "American standards and classics" on Christmas Day, though it has yet to be released.[174] The record features several songs recorded withNikki Lane. The same month, she contributed to a documentary aboutLiverpool F.C.,The End of the Storm, where she performed the club's anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone". Del Rey also released the cover as a limited-edition single, with all profits going to the LFC foundation.[175] Del Rey is known to be a fan of the club, and has attended matches atAnfield.[176] Del Rey started dating reality tv star Sean Larkin in September 2019. The pair split in March 2020.[177] In December 2020, it was reported that she was engaged to musician Clayton Johnson.[178]
On March 19, 2021, Del Rey released her seventh studio album,Chemtrails over the Country Club, to critical acclaim.[179] Announced in 2019, the album was originally slated for release in 2020 under the titleWhite Hot Forever[180][169] but was postponed in November 2020 due to a delay in vinyl manufacturing. LikeNorman Fucking Rockwell!,Chemtrails over the Country Club was mostly produced by Del Rey alongside Jack Antonoff.[181] It was preceded by the singles "Let Me Love You like a Woman" on October 16, 2020,[182] andthe title track on January 11, 2021.[183][184] Music videos were released for both songs as well as "White Dress".[185]
Her eighth studio album,Blue Banisters, was released on October 22, 2021.[186][187][188] It was preceded by the simultaneous release of three songs on May 20, 2021: the title track, "Text Book", and "Wildflower Wildfire",[189] as well as the release of the single "Arcadia" on September 8, 2021.[190] A music video was released for "Arcadia" on September 8, 2021, with an alternate music video for the track released on October 7, 2021. A music video for the track "Blue Banisters" was released on October 20, 2021.
2022–present:Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd andStove
On January 21, 2022, Del Rey premiered a song titled "Watercolor Eyes" on an episode ofEuphoria.[191] Del Rey confirmed in 2022 she had been working on new music and poetry; however, on October 19, 2022, she posted a series of videos to her Instagram revealing her car was burgled "a few months"[192] prior, and her backpack—containing a laptop, hard drives, and three camcorders—was stolen, giving thieves access to unfinished songs, a 200-page manuscript of her upcoming poetry bookBehind the Iron Gates - Insights from an Institution, and two years' worth of family video footage. Del Rey erased the stolen laptop's contents remotely, which contained the only working copy of her poetry book.[192][173] "Despite all of this happening, I am confident in the record to come",[173] Del Rey concluded in her Instagram videos.[173] On October 21, 2022, Del Rey was featured on "Snow on the Beach" byTaylor Swift,[193] on her albumMidnights, written by Swift, Del Rey, and Jack Antonoff.[194] The song debuted at number 4 on theBillboard Hot 100, becoming Del Rey's highest-peaking entry on the chart.[195]
On December 7, 2022, Del Rey released "Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd" as the lead single from herninth studio album of the same name.[196] In January 2023, Del Rey was photographed byNadia Lee Cohen and interviewed byBillie Eilish for the cover ofInterview's March issue.[197] In the interview, Del Rey revealed that the album would explore her innermost thoughts and that some of the songs on the album are "super long and wordy".[197] On February 14, 2023, "A&W" was released as the second single from the album and, a month later, on March 14, 2023, the third single of the album, "The Grants", was released.[198][199]Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd was released on March 24, 2023.[196]
On May 19, 2023, Del Rey released her popular unreleased song "Say Yes to Heaven" as a single, having previously written and recorded it in November 2013, planning to include it inUltraviolence, before cutting it. Parts of the song were leaked on August 15, 2016, and released on Spotify by others impersonating Del Rey.[200] On May 26, 2023, Taylor Swift released a remix of "Snow on the Beach", featuring "more" Lana Del Rey, along with theTil Dawn edition of her albumMidnights, due to demand from fans wanting Del Rey to have a verse in the song, when in the original she only had backing vocals.[201] On July 20, 2023, Del Rey was spotted pouring coffee and chatting with customers at aWaffle House inFlorence, Alabama, in full employee uniform complete with her own "Lana" name tag.[202] Del Rey later explained about the situation that after a few hours there the servers asked if she wanted a shirt, to which Del Rey said yes. While wearing her uniform, the Waffle House manager asked her to serve a regular customer.[203] In 2023, Del Rey embarked ona promotional tour which lasted until 2025.[204]
On October 20, 2023, Del Rey featured inHolly Macve's single "Suburban House". Macve shared that the two artists had originally crossed paths in 2017 and that she was a "big fan of [Lana's] music".[205] On November 10, 2023, Del Rey earned 5 nominations to the2024 Grammy Awards, which include Album of the Year and Best Alternative Music Album forDid You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, Song of the Year and Best Alternative Music Performance for "A&W", and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Candy Necklace" with Jon Batiste.[206] She was hired as the face for theSkims 2024 Valentines Day Collection.[207]
On January 31, 2024, atBillboard's pre-Grammy event, Del Rey announced her upcoming tenth studio album. Originally titledLasso and due for release in September 2024,[208] the album's title would change toThe Right Person Will Stay due for release in May 2025 before Del Rey confirmed the new titleStove and its release in January 2026.[209] It is set to be her firstcountry album. "Tough", a collaboration with American rapperQuavo, was released on July 3, 2024.[210]
In April 2024, Del Rey resumed performances with a headlining slot atCoachella. Following the performance, she announced her first-ever solo headlining stadium concert atFenway Park inBoston on June 20.[211] The show, which sold-out, garnered criticism from some fans for going ahead, despite being delayed due to a thunderstorm and being shortened to follow local sound curfew ordinances.[212] Throughout the summer, Del Rey performed at festivals throughout Europe, includingPrimavera Sound inSpain[213] and theReading and Leeds Festivals inEngland.[214] In total, Del Rey performed 10 shows on the 2024 leg of the tour.
Del Rey has been labeled an "alt-pop" artist.[223][224] Her works have been variously categorized aspop,[225]rock,[226]dream pop,[227]baroque pop,[228]indie pop,psychedelic rock,[229] while incorporatingtrip hop,[230]hip hop,[231]lo-fi,[232] andtrap elements.[233] Upon her debut release, Del Rey's music was described as "Hollywoodsadcore" by some music critics.[234] It has been repeatedly noted for its cinematic sound and its references to various aspects of pop culture; both critics and Del Rey herself have noted a persistent theme of 1950s and 1960sAmericana.[42][235] The strong elements of American nostalgia broughtIdolator to classify her firmly as alternative pop.[236] Del Rey elaborated on her connection to the past in an interview withArtistdirect, saying "I wasn't even born in the '50s but I feel like I was there."[237]
OfBorn to Die, AllMusic stated that its "sultry, overstatedorchestral pop recast her as some sort of vaguely imaginedchanteuse for a generation raised onAdderall and the Internet, with heavy doses ofTwin Peaks atmosphere".[238] Del Rey's subsequent releases would introduce variant styles, particularlyUltraviolence, which employed a guitar-based sound akin topsychedelic anddesert rock.[239] Kenneth Partridge ofBillboard noted this shift in style, writing: "She sings about drugs, cars, money, and the bad boys she's always falling for, and while there remains a sepia-toned mid-century flavor to many of these songs, [Del Rey] is no longer fronting like a thugged-outBette Davis."[240] Upon the release ofHoneymoon, one reviewer characterized Del Rey's body of work as being "about music as a time warp, with her languorous croons over molasses-like arrangements meant to make clock hands seem to move so slowly that it feels possible, at times, they might go backwards".[241]
Prior to coming to prominence under the stage name Lana Del Rey, she performed under the names Lizzy Grant, Lana Rey Del Mar,[242] Sparkle Jump Rope Queen,[243] and May Jailer.[37] Under the stage name Lizzy Grant, she referred to her music as "Hawaiianglam metal",[244] while the work of her May Jailer project wasacoustic.[37][38][245]
Inspired by poetry, Del Rey citesWalt Whitman andAllen Ginsberg as instrumental to her songwriting. In her song "Venice Bitch" the lyric "nothing gold can stay" is also the title of a Robert Frost poem.[256][257] Del Rey has cited film directors,David Lynch andFederico Fellini, and painters,Mark Ryden andPablo Picasso, as influences[237][258] and has stated actressLauren Bacall is someone she admires.[259] She has an interest in and was influenced by the bookLolita and the title character, as well as the films it spawnedin 1962 andin 1997. She has demonstratedLolita fashion in the past and even wrote a same-titled song, included as a bonus track on some editions of her 2012 albumBorn to Die.
Voice and timbre
Del Rey possesses an expansivecontraltovocal range, which spans three-plus octaves and has been described as captivating and highlyemotive, ranging with great ease from high notes in a girlishtimbre tojazzy ornaments in her lower register.[260][261] Following the release ofUltraviolence, which was recorded live in single takes and lacking Pro Tools vocal editing, critics increasingly appreciated Del Rey's vocal ability, praising her large range, increased vocal confidence, and uniquely emotive delivery.[262] When recording in the studio, Del Rey is known for vocal multi-layering, which, as it has been noted, is difficult for her to replicate within a live setting, especially with the lack of backing singers to fill out the original vocal style.[260] Stage fright has also been noted as a major contribution to Del Rey's struggles with live performances;[263] however, journalists noted in 2014 her live performances had increased in confidence.Billboard deemed the Coachella debut of "West Coast" to be a "star-making performance" and lauded the singer's vocal abilities.[264][265] Music critics have called her voice "smoky",[266] "gravelly",[244] and reminiscent ofMarilyn Monroe.[244] Upon the 2015 release ofHoneymoon, her voice was compared byLos Angeles Times critic Mikael Wood to those ofJulee Cruise andEartha Kitt.[267]
Del Rey began using lower vocals withBorn to Die, claiming "people weren't taking me very seriously, so I lowered my voice, believing that it would help me stand out. Now I sing quite low... well, for a female anyway".[268] "I sing low now, but my voice used to be a lot higher. Because of the way I look, I needed something to ground the entire project. Otherwise I think people would assume I was some airhead singer. Well, I don't think... I know. I've sung one way, and sung another, and I've seen what people are drawn to", she said on the topic.[26]
Del Rey's videos are also often characterized for their cinematic quality with a retro flair.[269] In her early career, Del Rey recorded clips of herself singing along to her songs on a webcam and juxtaposed them alongside vintage home videos and films to serve as "homemade music videos", a style which helped gain her early recognition.[270][271] After the success of these homemade videos, Del Rey had a series of high-budget music videos, including "Born to Die" and "National Anthem" (both 2012) and "Young and Beautiful" (2013).[272][273] Her early videos featured her personas "bad girl"[274] and "gangster Nancy Sinatra".[274]
Her following videos for tracks such as "Summer Wine", "Carmen", and "Summertime Sadness" were produced off of significantly lower budgets and retained more elements of Del Rey's earlier style. TheUltraviolence era incorporated an admixture of high budget videos and self-made ones, while theHoneymoon era was almost strictly film noir-influenced professionally-shot visuals. Both eras saw some of Del Rey's homemade videos for tracks such as "Pretty When You Cry" and "Honeymoon" go unreleased due to Del Rey's opinions they were "too boring".[275][276] TheLust for Life era was widely characterized for its mildly filtered vintage-inspired look with a futuristic flare. ForNorman Fucking Rockwell!, Del Rey's sister, Chuck Grant, directed three videos in Del Rey's "homemade video" format,[277] while Rich Lee directed the two following videos in a vintage but futuristic style, similar to theLust for Life videos he directed.
Critics have noted Del Rey for her typically simple but authentic live performances.[278] A September 2017 concert review published inThe New York Times noted: "For more than an hour, Ms. Del Rey was eerily casual, singing and smiling with the ease of someone performing at singer-songwriter night at the local coffee shop."[278] Another review by Roy Train forThe Hollywood Reporter in 2014 noted "a distance in her bonhomie, obvious even from my perch at the opposite end of the stage high above the fray, the chill still palpable".[279]
Public image
Early reception
Prior to the release of her debut major label albumBorn to Die in 2012, Del Rey was the subject of several articles discussing her image and career trajectory.[280][6][281] One article by Paul Harris published byThe Guardian a week before the album's release noted the differences between Del Rey's perceived persona in 2008, when she performed as Lizzy Grant and posted music videos on YouTube, and in 2012, as Lana Del Rey.[6] Harris wrote:
The internet has allowed figures like [Del Rey] to come rapidly to the fore of the cultural landscape, whether or not their emergence is planned by a record executive or happens spontaneously from someone's bedroom. It has speeded up the fame cycle. It is worth noting that the huge backlash to Del Rey is happening before her first album has even been released. This reveals a cultural obsession with the "authenticity" that fans, artists and corporations all prize above all else.[6]
Tony Simon, a producer who had worked with Del Rey in 2009, defended her against allegations that she was a product of her record label: "To be clear, all the detractors saying she's some made-up-by-the-machine pop star are full of shit. While it's impossible to keep the businesses' hands out the pop when creating a pop star, the roots of where this all comes from are firmly inside of Lizzy Grant."[36] In Del Rey's own words, she "[n]ever had a persona. Never needed one. Never will."[282]
In a 2017 interview, Del Rey stated, "I didn't edit myself [onBorn to Die] when I could have, because a lot of it's just the way it was. I mean, because I've changed a lot and a lot of those songs, it's not that I don't relate but... A lot of it too is I was just kinda nervous. I came off sort of nervously, and there was just a lot of dualities, a lot of juxtapositions going on that maybe just felt like something was a little off. Maybe the thing that was off was that I needed a little more time or something, and also my path was just so windy just to get to having a first record. I feel like I had to figure it out all by myself. Every move was just guesswork."[283]
Social views
Having been labeled asantifeminist by multiple sources,[74][33][76] Del Rey stated in 2014: "For me, the issue offeminism is just not an interesting concept. I'm more interested in ...SpaceX andTesla, what's going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities. Whenever people bring up feminism ... I'm just not really that interested."[284] She also said:
For me, a true feminist is someone who is a woman who does exactly what she wants. If my choice is to, I don't know, be with a lot of men, or if I enjoy a really physical relationship, I don't think that's necessarily being anti-feminist. For me the argument of feminism never really should have come into the picture. Because I don't know too much about the history of feminism, and so I'm not really a relevant person to bring into the conversation. Everything I was writing was so autobiographical, it could really only be a personal analysis.[285]
In 2017, Del Rey further clarified her updated view on feminism in an interview withPitchfork:[286]
Because things have shifted culturally. It's more appropriate now than under theObama administration, where at least everyone I knew felt safe. It was a good time. We were on the up-and-up... Women started to feel less safe under[the Trump] administration instantly. What if they take awayPlanned Parenthood? What if we can't getbirth control? Now, when people ask me those questions, I feel a little differently...[286]
In May of that year, she attracted criticism for anInstagram post defending herself against accusations of glamorizing abuse in part by pointing out an array of other female artists and their successes with works about "imperfect sexual relationships".[288][289][290] Del Rey responded to the criticism thatrace was the theme of her post by saying that she mentioned the singers she did because she "[loves] these singers and [knows] them".[291] She clarified that she was referencing those "who don't look strong or necessarily smart, or like they're in control etc.," when she mentioned people "who look like [her]".[292] Del Rey attracted further criticism for briefly posting a video of looters during theGeorge Floyd protests in May 2020.[293]
Del Rey had been critical of U.S. PresidentDonald Trump duringhis first presidency. She had described him as being anarcissist and a product of a culture ofsociopathy, stating his mental state makes him devoid of any understanding of what his words and actions can lead to.[294] In January 2021, Del Rey incited commentary for stating Trump "[didn't] know that he's inciting a riot" as a result of his "delusions of grandeur".[295] She was critical ofKanye West in 2018 for his support of President Trump.[296] During the first year of Trump's first presidency, Del Rey alleged she attempted to usewitchcraft against Trump.[297] In November 2020, Del Rey honoredJoe Biden's election as President of the United States by covering "On Eagles' Wings".[298]
During the release of the artwork forChemtrails Over the Country Club on Instagram, Del Rey gained widespread press coverage for suggesting that her friends, featured on the cover, were "a beautiful mix of everything", saying that she had always been "inclusive without even trying to" throughout her career.[295][299] Del Rey elaborated, saying her close friends and boyfriends had been "rappers" and addressed her critics, saying that before commenters turned it into a "WOC/POC issue", she "wasn't the onestorming the capital" and was "changing the world by putting my life and thoughts and love out there".[300][301] She subsequently deleted the comments.[295][302] Following criticism from media outlets, Del Rey tweeted "A woman still can't get mad right? Even when a mob mentality tries to *incite*."[295]
Charity work
Over the years, Del Rey has supported multiple causes and made several recordings available as offerings to help support causes she believes in. Her 2019 single "Looking for America" was released in response to the August 3–4, 2019,mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, andDayton, Ohio, with all proceeds from the song going to relief funds benefiting victims of the August shootings and the July 28, 2019,Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting.[303] In October 2020, she donated $350,000 from the sales of her bookViolet Bent Backwards over the Grass to DigDeep,[304] a Los-Angeles-based[305] non-profit organization, founded by George McGraw in 2014, which provides electric-pumped[306] water for some of the most remote[307] families and communities[306] of theNavajo Nation.[308] Later in December, Del Rey released a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone" to benefit charities supported by theLiverpool F.C. Foundation.[309]
In the early 2000s, Del Rey worked at ahomeless shelter and participated in humanitarian work, including building houses at Navajo Nation.[310]
The Washington Post listed Del Rey as the only musician on their "Decade of Influence" list.[346]Pitchfork named her one of the greatest living songwriters of the US.[347]The Guardian declared Del Rey's own "pure female haze" a "hallmark of the defiant female pop stars to come".[348] Her YouTube andVevo pages have combined views of over seven and a half billion.[349][350][351] In 2022,New York University'sClive Davis Institute of Recorded Music launched the fall semester course "Topics in Recorded Music: Lana Del Rey", which deals with Del Rey's music.[352]Rolling Stone ranked Del Rey at number 175 on its 2023 list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.[5]Rolling Stone UK named her The Greatest American Songwriter of the 21st century (2023).[4]
Del Rey has stated that she believes in God.[358] She toldThe Quietus in 2011, "My understanding of God has come from my own personal experiences...because I was in trouble so many times in New York that if you were me, you would believe in God too...I dunno about congregating once a week in a church and all that, but when I heard there is a divine power you can call on, I did. I suppose my approach to religion is like my approach to music – I take what I want and leave the rest."[359] Lana Del Rey featured megachurch pastor Judah Smith on her 2023 album,Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. She has been involved with his church, which is known as Churchome.[360][361] Smith officiated Del Rey’s wedding in 2024.[362]
Hiatt, Brian (July 18, 2014). "Lana Del Rey – The Saddest, Baddest Diva in Rock".Rolling Stone. No. 1212. p. 44.Del Rey is four days away from her 29th birthday (for reasons she can't explain, she's usually reported to be a year younger), but looks, at the moment, like a college junior home for the summer.;
Jackson, Ron (July 4, 2008)."July 4, 2008 Post".Domain Name Journal.Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. RetrievedJuly 18, 2014.;
^"Ultra Lana".Celtic Life International. August 22, 2014.Archived from the original on December 4, 2022.Drawn to Scotland by her ex-boyfriend Barrie-James O'Neill (lead singer of indie band Kassidy) coupled with her Scottish/Anglo ancestry
Swash, Rosie (September 4, 2011)."One to watch: Lana Del Rey".The Observer. London, UK.Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. RetrievedDecember 20, 2011.
^Hunter, Steve (March 10, 2013)."PHOTOS: Lana Del Rey at Anfield".LiverpoolFC.com. Liverpool Football Club.Archived from the original on March 21, 2025. RetrievedFebruary 13, 2021.
^Kaufman, Gil (March 2, 2021)."Lana Del Rey Rollerblades Down a Desert Highway in Hazy 'White Dress' Teaser".Billboard.Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. RetrievedJuly 4, 2021.Lana Del Rey dropped a 20-second teaser for her upcoming "White Dress" single over the weekend, giving fans another peek at the visual from the single off her upcomingChemtrails Over the Country Club album.
"Sex, Lies, and Lana Del Rey".Maxim. Archived fromthe original on November 28, 2014. RetrievedDecember 8, 2014.Lana Del Rey is America's sultriest and edgiest pop-music sensation ... [and] America's most enigmatic, controversial, and seductive rock star.
"Sex, Lies, and Lana Del Rey".Maxim. Archived fromthe original on November 28, 2014. RetrievedDecember 8, 2014.Lana Del Rey is America's sultriest and edgiest pop-music sensation ... [and] America's most enigmatic, controversial, and seductive rock star.
Sheffield, Rob (January 30, 2012)."Born To Die – Album Reviews".Rolling Stone.Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. RetrievedSeptember 11, 2013.
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