Lana Del Rey

Biography

Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. An influential figure in alternative pop music, Del Rey's songs are noted for their melancholic exploration of romance and glamour, with frequent references to pop culture and 1950s–1970s Americana. She is widely considered one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century.
Del Rey grew up in upstate New York and moved to Manhattan in 2005 to pursue a music career. After signing with Polydor and Interscope, she released her first major-label album, Born to Die×Born to Die24 January 2012 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 23 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Born to Die4:462Off to the Races5:003Blue Jeans3:294Video Games4:425Diet Mountain Dew3:436National Anthem3:517Dark Paradise4:038Radio3:359Carmen4:0910Million Dollar Man3:5211Summertime Sadness4:2512This Is What Makes Us Girls3:5813Without You3:4914Lolita3:4015Lucky Ones3:47Disc 21Ride4:492American4:093Cola4:214Body Electric3:535Blue Velvet2:396Gods & Monsters3:587Yayo5:218Bel Air3:58 (2012), which featured a cinematic, hip-hop-inflected sound and garnered a cult following. It holds the record for the longest charting album by a woman×Woman16 August 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Woman (single version)4:06 in the history of the US Billboard 200. She explored psychedelic, orchestral, and folk genres on her next albums Ultraviolence×Ultraviolence1 June 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Cruel World6:402Ultraviolence4:113Shades of Cool5:424Brooklyn Baby5:525West Coast4:176Sad Girl5:187Pretty When You Cry3:548Money Power Glory4:319Fucked My Way Up to the Top3:3210Old Money4:3111The Other Woman3:04 (2014), Honeymoon×Honeymoon12 September 2015 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Honeymoon5:502Music to Watch Boys To4:513Terrence Loves You4:514God Knows I Tried4:415High by the Beach4:186Freak4:557Art Deco4:558Burnt Norton (interlude)1:229Religion5:2310Salvatore4:4111The Blackest Day6:0612244:5613Swan Song5:2314Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood3:02 (2015), and Lust for Life×Lust for Life21 July 2017 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Love4:332Lust for Life4:24313 Beaches4:564Cherry3:015White Mustang2:456Summer Bummer4:217Groupie Love4:248In My Feelings3:599Coachella - Woodstock in My Mind4:1810God Bless America - And All the Beautiful Women in It4:3611When the World Was at War We Kept Dancing4:3612Beautiful People Beautiful Problems4:1413Tomorrow Never Came5:0814Heroin5:5515Change5:2116Get Free5:34 (2017). Rolling Stone ranked her sixth album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!×Norman Fucking Rockwell!30 August 2019 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Norman fucking Rockwell4:082Mariners apartment complex4:063Venice bitch9:384Fuck it I love you3:385Doin’ time3:176Love song3:497Cinnamon Girl5:008How to disappear3:489California5:0510The Next Best American Record5:4911The greatest5:0012Bartender4:2313Happiness is a butterfly4:3214hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have – but I have it5:24 (2019), among the 500 greatest albums, while her subsequent albums Chemtrails Over the Country Club×Chemtrails Over the Country Club19 March 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1White Dress5:342Chemtrails Over the Country Club4:313Tulsa Jesus Freak3:364Let Me Love You Like a Woman3:215Wild at Heart4:076Dark but Just a Game3:567Not All Who Wander Are Lost4:078Yosemite5:059Breaking Up Slowly2:5810Dance Till We Die4:0311For Free4:12 (2021), Blue Banisters×Blue Banisters15 October 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Text Book5:032Blue Banisters4:543Arcadia4:234Interlude - The Trio1:165Black Bathing Suit5:186If You Lie Down With Me4:257Beautiful3:368Violets for Roses4:159Dealer4:3410Thunder4:1911Wildflower Wildfire4:4812Nectar of the Gods4:2013Living Legend4:0114Cherry Blossom3:1815Sweet Carolina3:22 (2021), and Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (2023) received further critical acclaim. The latter's single, "A&W", was ranked among the 500 greatest songs by Rolling Stone.
Del Rey is the recipient of various accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award, three MTV Europe Music Awards, two Brit Awards, and two Billboard Women in Music awards, in addition to nominations for 11 Grammy Awards. For her contributions to visual media soundtracks, she received a Satellite Award and nominations for two Critics' Choice Movie Awards and a Golden Globe Award. She also wrote and directed the musical short film Tropico (2013). In 2020, Del Rey published the poetry and photography collection Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass.

Early life and education

Elizabeth Woolridge Grant was born on June 21, 1985 in Manhattan, to Robert England Grant Jr., a copywriter at Grey Global Group, and Patricia Ann "Pat" Grant (née Hill), an account executive at the same organization. She has a younger sister, Caroline "Chuck" Grant, and a younger brother, Charlie Grant. She grew up Catholic and is of Scottish and English descent. When she was a year old, the family moved to Lake Placid, New York. In Lake Placid, her father worked for a furniture company before becoming an entrepreneurial domain investor; her mother worked as a schoolteacher. There, she attended St. Agnes School in her elementary years and began singing in her church choir, where she was the cantor.

She attended the high school where her mother taught for a year, but when she was 14 or 15, her parents sent her to Kent School, an Episcopal boarding school in Kent, 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." Her uncle, an admissions officer at the school, secured her financial aid to attend. According to Grant, she had trouble making friends during much of her teenage and early adult years. 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.
Grant later dropped out of school to go to rehab; she has been sober since 2003. She spent a year living on Long Island with her aunt and uncle and working as a waitress. Grant, also briefly worked as a model, signed to Ford. During that time, Grant's uncle taught her to play guitar and she "realized [that she] could probably write a million songs with those six chords". 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". "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.She originally attended State University of New York at Geneseo, but dropped out to take a gap year. In fall 2004, at age 19, Grant enrolled at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York where she majored in philosophy with an emphasis on metaphysics. 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."

2005–2010: Career beginnings and early recordings

In spring 2005, while still in college, Del Rey registered a seven-track extended play with the United States Copyright Office; the application title was Rock Me Stable with another title, Young Like Me, also listed. A second extended play, From the End, was also recorded under Del Rey's stage name at the time, May Jailer. Between 2005 and 2006 she recorded an acoustic album, Sirens×Sirens31 May 2012 · Studio album · DemoSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1For K2:502Next to Me2:413A Star for Nick2:424My Momma3:245Bad Disease3:426Out With a Bang3:197Dear Elliot4:328Try Tonight3:349Peace5:4710How Do You Know Me So Well?3:5911Pretty Baby3:3812Aviation3:1113Move4:1314Junky Pride2:5115Birds of a Feather2:45, under the May Jailer project, which leaked on the internet in mid-2012.

At her first public performance in 2006 in the Williamsburg Live Songwriting Competition, Del Rey met Van Wilson, an A&R representative for 5 Points Records, an independent label owned by David Nichtern. In 2007, while a senior at Fordham, she submitted a demo tape of acoustic tracks, No Kung Fu, to 5 Points, which offered her a recording contract for $10,000. She used the money to move to Manhattan Mobile Home Park, a trailer park in North Bergen, New Jersey and began working with producer David Kahne. 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."
Del Rey graduated from Fordham with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 2008 after which she released a three-track EP, Kill Kill×Kill Kill21 October 2008 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Kill Kill3:582Yayo5:453Gramma (Blue Ribbon Sparkler Trailer Heaven)3:56, as Lizzy Grant, featuring production by Kahne. 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." Meanwhile, Del Rey was doing community outreach work for homeless individuals and drug addicts; 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".
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." The name was also inspired by actress Lana Turner and the Ford Del Rey sedan, produced and sold in Brazil in the 1980s. Initially she used the alternate spelling Lana Del Ray, the name under which her self-titled debut album was released in January 2010. Her father helped with the marketing of the album, which was available for purchase on iTunes for a brief period before being withdrawn in April 2010. Kahne and Nichtern 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". She met her managers, Ben Mawson and Ed Millett, three months after Lana 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". On September 1, 2010, Del Rey was featured by Mando Diao in its MTV Unplugged concert at Union Film-Studios in Berlin, Germany. Also in 2010, she acted in a short film, Poolside, which she made with several friends.

2011–2013: Breakthrough with Born to Die and Paradise

In 2011, Del Rey uploaded self-made music videos for her songs "Video Games×Video Games7 October 2011 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Video Games (radio edit)4:032Blue Jeans3:31" and "Blue Jeans×Blue Jeans9 April 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Blue Jeans2Carmen" to YouTube, featuring vintage footage interspersed with shots of her singing on her webcam. The "Video Games" music video became a viral internet sensation, which led to Del Rey being signed by Stranger Records to release the song as her debut single. She told The 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." The song earned her a Q award for "Next Big Thing" in October 2011 and an Ivor Novello for "Best Contemporary Song" in 2012. In the same month, she signed a joint deal with Interscope Records and Polydor to release her second studio album Born to Die×Born to Die24 January 2012 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 23 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Born to Die4:462Off to the Races5:003Blue Jeans3:294Video Games4:425Diet Mountain Dew3:436National Anthem3:517Dark Paradise4:038Radio3:359Carmen4:0910Million Dollar Man3:5211Summertime Sadness4:2512This Is What Makes Us Girls3:5813Without You3:4914Lolita3:4015Lucky Ones3:47Disc 21Ride4:492American4:093Cola4:214Body Electric3:535Blue Velvet2:396Gods & Monsters3:587Yayo5:218Bel Air3:58. She started dating Scottish singer Barrie-James O'Neill in the same year. The couple split in 2014 after three years together. Del Rey performed two songs from the album on Saturday 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. 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."

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 US Billboard 200 album chart, although critics at the time were divided. 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. 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. Born to Die sold 3.4 million copies in 2012, making it the fifth-best-selling album of 2012. In the United States, Born to Die charted on the Billboard 200 well into 2012, lingering at number 76, after 36 weeks on the chart. As of February 3, 2024, Born to Die had spent 520 weeks (10 years) on the Billboard 200, making Del Rey the second woman to reach this milestone, previously achieved only by Adele. 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."
In September 2012, Del Rey unveiled the F-Type for Jaguar at the Paris Motor Show and later recorded the song "Burning Desire×Burning Desire19 March 2013 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Burning Desire3:48", which appeared in a promotional short film for the vehicle. Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar's global brand director, explained the company's choice, saying Del Rey had "a unique blend of authenticity and modernity". In late September 2012, a music video for Del Rey's cover of "Blue Velvet×Blue Velvet20 September 2012 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksABlue VelvetBBlue Velvet (Penguin Prison remix)" was released as a promotional single for the H&M 2012 autumn campaign, which Del Rey also modeled for in print advertising. On September 25, Del Rey released the single "Ride" in promotion of her upcoming EP, Paradise×Paradise9 November 2012 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Ride4:492American4:093Cola4:214Body Electric3:535Blue Velvet2:396Gods & Monsters3:587Yayo5:218Bel Air3:589Burning Desire3:51. She subsequently premiered the music video for "Ride" at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, California, on October 10, 2012. Some critics panned the video for being allegedly pro-prostitution and antifeminist, due to Del Rey's portrayal of a prostitute in a biker gang.
Paradise was released on November 12, 2012, as a standalone release, as well as Born to Die: The Paradise Edition, which combined Del Rey's previous album with the additional eight tracks on Paradise. Paradise marked Del Rey's second top 10 album in the United States, debuting at number 10 on the Billboard 200 with 67,000 copies sold in its first week. It was also later nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. Del Rey received several nominations at the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards in November and won the award for Best Alternative performer. At the Brit Awards in February 2013, she won the award for International Female Solo Artist, followed by two Echo Award wins, in the categories of Best International Newcomer and Best International Pop/Rock Artist.
Over the next several months, she released videos of two cover songs: one of Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel #2", followed by a duet with her then-boyfriend, Barrie-James O'Neill, of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra's "Summer Wine×Summer Wine1 November 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Summer Wine4:55". In May 2013, Del Rey released an original song, "Young and Beautiful" for the soundtrack of the 2013 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Following the song's release, it peaked at 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, shortly after its release to contemporary hit radio, the label prematurely pulled it and decided to send a different song to radio; on July 2, 2013, a Cedric Gervais remix of Del Rey's "Summertime Sadness×Summertime Sadness22 June 2012 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Summertime Sadness (radio mix)4:122Summertime Sadness4:24" was sent to radio; a sleeper hit, the song proved to be a commercial success, surpassing "Young and Beautiful", reaching number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming her first American top ten hit. The remix won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical in 2013, while "Young and Beautiful" was nominated for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
In June 2013, Del Rey filmed Tropico, a musical short film paired to tracks from Paradise, directed by Anthony Mandler. Del Rey screened the film on December 4, 2013, at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. On December 6, the soundtrack was released on digital outlets.

2014–2016: Ultraviolence, Honeymoon, and film work

On January 26, 2014, Del Rey released a cover of "Once Upon a Dream×Once Upon a Dream26 January 2014 · Single · SoundtrackSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Once Upon a Dream (pop version)3:23" for the 2014 dark fantasy film Maleficent. Following the completion of Paradise, Del Rey began writing and recording her follow-up album, Ultraviolence×Ultraviolence1 June 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Cruel World6:402Ultraviolence4:113Shades of Cool5:424Brooklyn Baby5:525West Coast4:176Sad Girl5:187Pretty When You Cry3:548Money Power Glory4:319Fucked My Way Up to the Top3:3210Old Money4:3111The Other Woman3:04, featuring production by Dan Auerbach. 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, was preceded by the singles "West Coast×West Coast14 April 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1West Coast4:15", "Shades of Cool×Shades of Cool26 May 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Shades of Cool5:42", "Ultraviolence", and "Brooklyn Baby×Brooklyn Baby8 June 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Brooklyn Baby5:51". She began dating photographer Francesco Carrozzini after he directed Del Rey's music video for "Ultraviolence"; the two broke up in November 2015 after more than a year. Del Rey described the album as being "more stripped down but still cinematic and dark", while some critics characterized the record as psychedelic and desert rock-influenced, more prominently featuring guitar instrumentation than her previous releases. Later that year, Del Rey contributed the songs "Big Eyes×Big Eyes2014 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Big Eyes" and "I Can Fly" to Tim Burton's 2014 biographical film Big Eyes.
Honeymoon, Del Rey's fourth studio album, was released on September 18, 2015, to acclaim from music critics. Prior to the release of the album, Del Rey previewed the track "Honeymoon×Honeymoon12 September 2015 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Honeymoon5:502Music to Watch Boys To4:513Terrence Loves You4:514God Knows I Tried4:415High by the Beach4:186Freak4:557Art Deco4:558Burnt Norton (interlude)1:229Religion5:2310Salvatore4:4111The Blackest Day6:0612244:5613Swan Song5:2314Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood3:02", the single "High by the Beach×High by the Beach7 August 2015 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1High by the Beach4:17", and the promotional single "Terrence Loves You×Terrence Loves You21 August 2015 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Terrence Loves You4:50". Prior to the release of Honeymoon, Del Rey embarked on The Endless Summer Tour in May 2015, which featured Courtney Love and Grimes as opening acts. Additionally, Del Rey co-wrote and provided vocals on the track "Prisoner" from the Weeknd's Beauty Behind the Madness, released on August 28, 2015. In November 2015, she executive produced a short film Hi, How Are You Daniel Johnston, documenting the life of singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston. For the film, she covered Johnston's song "Some Things Last a Long Time". In November 2015, Del Rey received the Trailblazer Award at the Billboard Women in Music ceremony and won the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Alternative.
On February 9, 2016, Del Rey premiered a music video for the song "Freak" from Honeymoon at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles. Later that year, Del Rey collaborated with the Weeknd for his album Starboy (2016), providing backing vocals on "Party Monster" and lead vocals on "Stargirl Interlude×Stargirl Interlude7 November 2019 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Stargirl Interlude1:53". "Party Monster", which Del Rey also co-wrote, was released as a single and subsequently reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified double-platinum in the US.

2017–2019: Lust for Life and Norman Fucking Rockwell!

Del Rey's fifth studio album, Lust for Life×Lust for Life21 July 2017 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Love4:332Lust for Life4:24313 Beaches4:564Cherry3:015White Mustang2:456Summer Bummer4:217Groupie Love4:248In My Feelings3:599Coachella - Woodstock in My Mind4:1810God Bless America - And All the Beautiful Women in It4:3611When the World Was at War We Kept Dancing4:3612Beautiful People Beautiful Problems4:1413Tomorrow Never Came5:0814Heroin5:5515Change5:2116Get Free5:34, was released on July 21, 2017. The album was preceded by the singles×The Singles4 December 2012 · Single · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks · 4 discsDisc 1AVideo Games4:45BBlue Jeans3:40Disc 2ABorn to Die4:46BBorn to Die (Woodkid & The Shoes remix)4:01Disc 3ABlue Velvet2:36BBlue Velvet (Penguin Prison remix)5:03Disc 4ARide4:48BRide (Active Child remix)3:44 "Love"; "Lust for Life" with the Weeknd; "Summer Bummer×Summer Bummer11 July 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Summer Bummer4:21" with A$AP Rocky and Playboi Carti; and "Groupie Love×Groupie Love12 July 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Groupie Love4:24", also with Rocky. 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." The record further featured collaborations with Stevie Nicks and Sean Ono Lennon, marking the first time she has featured other artists on her own release. The album received generally favorable reviews and became Del Rey's third number-one album in the United Kingdom, and second number-one album in the United States. On September 27, 2017, Del Rey announced the LA to the Moon Tour, an official concert tour with Jhené Aiko and Kali Uchis to further promote the album. The tour began in North America during January 2018 and concluded in August. Lust for Life was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album for the 60th Grammy Awards, marking Del Rey's second nomination in the category.
In January 2018, Del Rey announced that she was in a lawsuit with British rock band Radiohead over alleged similarities between their song "Creep" and her song "Get Free". Following her announcement, legal representatives from their label Warner/Chappell denied the lawsuit, as well as Del Rey's claims of the band asking for "100% of the song's royalties". Del Rey announced that summer while performing at Lollapalooza in Brazil the lawsuit was "over". Throughout 2018, Del Rey appeared as a guest vocalist on several tracks by other musicians, including "Living with Myself" by Jonathan Wilson for Rare Birds (2018), "God Save Our Young Blood×God Save Our Young Blood2 January 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1God Save Our Young Blood3:52" and "Blue Madonna" by Børns for Blue Madonna (2018), and "Woman×Woman16 August 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Woman (single version)4:06" by Cat Power for Wanderer (2018). In November 2019, Del Rey was announced as the face of Gucci's Guilty fragrances and subsequently appeared in print and television advertisements with Jared Leto and Courtney Love. The campaign was centered around the concept of "Hollyweird". Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele said Guilty is a scent for a woman who does whatever she wants; Del Rey stated she is "very much that person".

On August 6, 2019, Del Rey presented filmmaker Guillermo del Toro with his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and subsequently released a cover of "Season of the Witch×Season of the Witch9 August 2019 · Single · SoundtrackSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Season of the Witch4:08" for his film, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. On the same day, Del Rey released the non-album single "Looking for America×Looking for America9 August 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Looking for America2:43", which she spontaneously wrote and recorded earlier that week in response to back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton.
Her sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!×Norman Fucking Rockwell!30 August 2019 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Norman fucking Rockwell4:082Mariners apartment complex4:063Venice bitch9:384Fuck it I love you3:385Doin’ time3:176Love song3:497Cinnamon Girl5:008How to disappear3:489California5:0510The Next Best American Record5:4911The greatest5:0012Bartender4:2313Happiness is a butterfly4:3214hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have – but I have it5:24, was released on August 30, 2019. Having announced the album in September 2018, the album was preceded by the singles "Mariners Apartment Complex×Mariners Apartment Complex12 September 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Mariners Apartment Complex4:06", "Venice Bitch×Venice Bitch18 September 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Venice Bitch9:36", "Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman like Me to Have – but I Have It×hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have – but I have it9 January 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have – but I have it5:24", and "Doin' Time", as well as the joint-single "Fuck It, I Love You"/ "The Greatest". The album received widespread critical acclaim, and, according to review aggregator website Metacritic, is the best-reviewed album of Del Rey's career to date. NME awarded the album five out of five stars. In his review for Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield wrote "the long-awaited Norman Fucking Rockwell is even more massive and majestic than everyone hoped it would be. Lana turns her fifth and finest album into a tour of sordid American×American2013 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1American (radio edit) dreams, going deep cover in all our nation's most twisted fantasies of glamour and danger", and ultimately deemed the album a "pop classic". The album was nominated for two Grammy Awards, Album of the Year and Song of the Year, for its title track. Norman Fucking Rockwell! marked the first time Del Rey worked with Jack Antonoff, who co-wrote and produced much of the album; Antonoff later worked with Del Rey on her following studio album and spoken word album. The corresponding tour was held in the fall of 2019.
In September, Del Rey was featured on a collaboration with Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus titled "Don't Call Me Angel", the lead single of the soundtrack for the 2019 film Charlie's Angels. The song was moderately successful internationally and was later certified Gold in several countries. In November, Del Rey appeared in the Amazon Prime special The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show, alongside guests such as Camila Cabello, James Corden, and Troye Sivan.

2020–2021: Chemtrails over the Country Club, Blue Banisters, and poetry collections

In an interview for L'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 a Broadway 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." She also announced she would be contributing to the soundtrack of a new adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
After announcing a spoken word album in 2019, Del Rey released Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass×Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass28 July 2020 · Studio album · SpokenwordSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1LA Who Am I to Love You5:192The Land of 1,000 Fires4:033Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass1:044Past the Bushes Cypress Thriving1:535Salamander1:546Never to Heaven2:057SportCruiser6:538Tessa DiPietro2:019Quiet Waiter Blue Forever1:2810What Happened When I Left You1:1811Happy2:2212My Bedroom Is a Sacred Place Now – There Are Children at the Foot of My Bed2:0113Paradise Is Very Fragile3:3714Bare Feet on Linoleum2:54 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. The spoken word poem "LA Who Am I to Love You×LA Who Am I to Love You28 July 2020 · Single · SpokenwordSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1LA Who Am I to Love You5:20" 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; her progress on the book was lost when the manuscript was stolen from her car in 2022.
In September 2020, Del Rey was featured on a remix of Matt Maeson's 2019 song "Hallucinogenics×Hallucinogenics25 September 2020 · Single · RemixSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Hallucinogenics3:07". 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. The record features several songs recorded with Nikki Lane. In the same month, she contributed to a documentary about Liverpool 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. She is known to be a fan of the club and has attended matches at Anfield. Del Rey started dating reality tv star Sean Larkin in September 2019. The pair split in March 2020. In December 2020, it was reported that she was engaged to musician Clayton Johnson.
On March 19, 2021, Del Rey released her seventh studio album, Chemtrails over the Country Club×Chemtrails Over the Country Club19 March 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1White Dress5:342Chemtrails Over the Country Club4:313Tulsa Jesus Freak3:364Let Me Love You Like a Woman3:215Wild at Heart4:076Dark but Just a Game3:567Not All Who Wander Are Lost4:078Yosemite5:059Breaking Up Slowly2:5810Dance Till We Die4:0311For Free4:12, to critical acclaim. Announced in 2019, the album was originally slated for release in 2020 under the title White Hot Forever but was postponed in November 2020 due to a delay in vinyl manufacturing. Like Norman Fucking Rockwell!, Chemtrails over the Country Club was mostly produced by Del Rey alongside Jack Antonoff. It was preceded by the singles "Let Me Love You like a Woman×Let Me Love You Like a Woman16 October 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Let Me Love You Like a Woman3:21" on October 16, 2020, and the title track on January 11, 2021. Music videos were released for both songs as well as "White Dress×White Dress19 March 2021 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1White Dress (music video)5:47".
Her eighth studio album, Blue Banisters×Blue Banisters15 October 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Text Book5:032Blue Banisters4:543Arcadia4:234Interlude - The Trio1:165Black Bathing Suit5:186If You Lie Down With Me4:257Beautiful3:368Violets for Roses4:159Dealer4:3410Thunder4:1911Wildflower Wildfire4:4812Nectar of the Gods4:2013Living Legend4:0114Cherry Blossom3:1815Sweet Carolina3:22, was released on October 22, 2021. It was preceded by the simultaneous release of three songs on May 20, 2021: the title track, "Text Book×Text Book20 May 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Text Book5:04", and "Wildflower Wildfire×Wildflower Wildfire20 May 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Wildflower Wildfire4:47", as well as the release of the single "Arcadia×Arcadia8 September 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Arcadia4:23" on September 8, 2021. 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, Stove and companion album

On January 21, 2022, Del Rey premiered a song titled "Watercolor Eyes×Watercolor Eyes21 January 2022 · Single · SoundtrackSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Watercolor Eyes3:32" on an episode of Euphoria. 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" 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 book Behind 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. "Despite all of this happening, I am confident in the record to come", Del Rey concluded in her Instagram videos. On October 21, 2022, Del Rey was featured on "Snow on the Beach" by Taylor Swift, on her album Midnights, written by Swift, Del Rey, and Jack Antonoff. The song debuted at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Del Rey's highest-peaking entry on the chart. On December 7, 2022, Del Rey released "Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd" as the lead single from her ninth studio album of the same name. In January 2023, Del Rey was photographed by Nadia Lee Cohen and interviewed by Billie Eilish for the cover of Interview's March issue. 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". 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×The Grants14 March 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1The Grants4:55", was released. Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd was released on March 24, 2023.
On May 19, 2023, Del Rey released her popular unreleased song "Say Yes to Heaven×Say Yes to Heaven9 October 2018 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Say Yes to Heaven3:38" as a single, having previously written and recorded it in November 2013, planning to include it in Ultraviolence, before cutting it. Parts of the song were leaked on August 15, 2016, and released on Spotify by others impersonating Del Rey. On May 26, 2023, Taylor Swift released a remix of "Snow on the Beach", featuring "more" Lana Del Rey, along with the Til Dawn edition of her album Midnights, due to demand from fans wanting Del Rey to have a verse in the song, when in the original she only had backing vocals. On July 20, 2023, Del Rey was spotted pouring coffee and chatting with customers at a Waffle House in Florence, Alabama, in full employee uniform complete with her own "Lana" name tag. 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. In 2023, Del Rey embarked on a promotional tour which lasted until 2025.
On October 20, 2023, Del Rey featured in Holly Macve's single "Suburban House×Suburban House20 October 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Suburban House3:50". Macve shared that the two artists had originally crossed paths in 2017 and that she was a "big fan of [Lana's] music". On November 10, 2023, Del Rey earned 5 nominations at the 2024 Grammy Awards, which included Album of the Year and Best Alternative Music Album for Did 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×Candy Necklace10 May 2023 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksACandy Necklace5:15BJon Batiste Interlude3:33" with Jon Batiste. She was hired as the face for the Skims 2024 Valentines Day Collection.

On January 31, 2024, at Billboard's pre-Grammy event, Del Rey announced her upcoming tenth studio album. Originally titled Lasso and due for release in September 2024, the album's title would change to The Right Person Will Stay due for release in May 2025 before Del Rey confirmed the new title Stove in January 2026. It is set to be her first country album. "Tough×Tough3 July 2024 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksATough3:08BTough (instrumental)3:08", a collaboration with American rapper Quavo, was released on July 3, 2024.
In April 2024, Del Rey resumed performances with a headlining slot at Coachella. Following the performance, she announced her first-ever solo headlining stadium concert at Fenway Park in Boston on June 20. 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. Throughout the summer, Del Rey performed at festivals throughout Europe, including Primavera Sound in Spain and the Reading and Leeds Festivals in England. In total, Del Rey performed 10 shows on the 2024 leg of the tour.
In November 2024, Del Rey announced a six-date 2025 UK and Ireland leg, which began on June 23 and ended on July 4. An all-stadium leg, it marked her debut performances at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Hampden Park in Glasgow, Anfield in Liverpool, Aviva Stadium in Dublin, and two shows at Wembley Stadium in London. Opening acts for the UK and Ireland shows were announced on June 22, 2025, consisting of London Grammar in Cardiff, Banks in Glasgow, Liverpool and Dublin, and Addison Rae for the London dates. In 2025, Del Rey and the Weeknd collaborated on the track "The Abyss" from his album Hurry Up Tomorrow. On April 25, 2025, Del Rey performed at Stagecoach Festival, previewing several new songs from her upcoming country-influenced album. The album was preceded by the singles×The Singles4 December 2012 · Single · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks · 4 discsDisc 1AVideo Games4:45BBlue Jeans3:40Disc 2ABorn to Die4:46BBorn to Die (Woodkid & The Shoes remix)4:01Disc 3ABlue Velvet2:36BBlue Velvet (Penguin Prison remix)5:03Disc 4ARide4:48BRide (Active Child remix)3:44 "Henry, Come On×Henry, come on11 April 2025 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Henry, come on5:11" and "Bluebird×Bluebird18 April 2025 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Bluebird4:03", both co-written with Luke Laird and produced alongside Drew Erickson.
On April 16, 2026, Del Rey released the song "First Light×First Light16 April 2026 · Single · SoundtrackSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 1 track1First Light3:24" from the soundtrack to the James Bond video game of the same name.
On July 15, 2026, Del Rey announced in a post on Instagram that Stove was nearing completion, and that additional material had been compiled in a second "companion" album, made with multiple collaborators. The post included images of the artwork for two vinyl artworks, one for Stove, and the other featuring a boat named "Spyda", suggesting this as the title for the companion album.

Musical style

Del Rey has been labeled an "alt-pop" artist. Her works have been variously categorized as pop, rock, dream pop, baroque pop, indie pop, psychedelic rock, while incorporating trip hop, hip hop, lo-fi, and trap elements. Upon her debut release, Del Rey's music was described as "Hollywood sadcore" by some music critics. 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 1960s Americana. The strong elements of American nostalgia brought Idolator to classify her firmly as alternative pop. Del Rey elaborated on her connection to the past in an interview with Artistdirect, saying "I wasn't even born in the '50s but I feel like I was there."
Of Born to Die, AllMusic said that its "sultry, overstated orchestral pop recast her as some sort of vaguely imagined chanteuse for a generation raised on Adderall and the Internet, with heavy doses of Twin Peaks atmosphere". Del Rey's subsequent releases would introduce variant styles, particularly Ultraviolence, which employed a guitar-based sound akin to psychedelic and desert rock. Kenneth Partridge of Billboard 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-out Bette Davis." Upon the release of Honeymoon, 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".
Prior to coming to prominence under the stage name Lana Del Rey, she performed under the names Lizzy Grant, Lana Rey Del Mar, Sparkle Jump Rope Queen, and May Jailer. Under the stage name Lizzy Grant, she referred to her music as "Hawaiian glam metal", while the work of her May Jailer project was acoustic.

Influences

Del Rey cites a wide array of musical artists as influences, including numerous pop, jazz, and blues performers from the mid-twentieth century, such as Andrew Lloyd Webber, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Bobby Vinton, The Crystals, Brian Wilson, Nancy Sinatra, and Miles Davis. Torch singers Julie London and Julee Cruise have also served as influences. "[I really] just like the masters of every genre", she told BBC radio presenter Jo Whiley in 2012, specifically naming Nirvana, Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley.
Several rock and pop musicians and groups from the late-twentieth century have also inspired Del Rey, such as Bruce Springsteen, Britney Spears, singer-songwriter Lou Reed, and rock band the Eagles, as well as folk musicians such as Leonard Cohen and Joan Baez. Del Rey has also named singer-songwriter Cat Power, Hole frontwoman Courtney Love, rapper Eminem, and singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse as artists she looked up to. Del Rey has cited the soundtrack to American×American2013 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1American (radio edit) Beauty as a partial inspiration for her album Born to Die×Born to Die24 January 2012 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 23 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Born to Die4:462Off to the Races5:003Blue Jeans3:294Video Games4:425Diet Mountain Dew3:436National Anthem3:517Dark Paradise4:038Radio3:359Carmen4:0910Million Dollar Man3:5211Summertime Sadness4:2512This Is What Makes Us Girls3:5813Without You3:4914Lolita3:4015Lucky Ones3:47Disc 21Ride4:492American4:093Cola4:214Body Electric3:535Blue Velvet2:396Gods & Monsters3:587Yayo5:218Bel Air3:58 (2012).
Inspired by poetry, Del Rey cites Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg as instrumental to her songwriting. In her song "Venice Bitch×Venice Bitch18 September 2018 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Venice Bitch9:36", the lyric "nothing gold can stay" is also the title of a Robert Frost poem. Del Rey has cited film directors, David Lynch and Federico Fellini, and painters, Mark Ryden and Pablo Picasso, as influences and has stated actress Lauren Bacall is someone she admires. She has an interest in and was influenced by the book Lolita and the title character, as well as the films it spawned in 1962 and in 1997. She has demonstrated Lolita fashion in the past and even wrote a same-titled song, included as a bonus track on some editions of her 2012 album Born to Die.

Voice and timbre

Del Rey possesses an expansive contralto vocal range, which spans three-plus octaves and has been described as captivating and highly emotive, ranging with great ease from high notes in a girlish timbre to jazzy ornaments in her lower register. Following the release of Ultraviolence, 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. 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. Stage fright has also been noted as a major contribution to Del Rey's struggles with live performances; however, journalists noted in 2014 her live performances had increased in confidence. Billboard deemed the Coachella debut of "West Coast×West Coast14 April 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1West Coast4:15" to be a "star-making performance" and lauded the singer's vocal abilities. Music critics have called her voice "smoky", "gravelly", and reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe. Upon the 2015 release of Honeymoon, her voice was compared by Los Angeles Times critic Mikael Wood to those of Julee Cruise and Eartha Kitt.
Del Rey began using lower vocals with Born 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". "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.

Videos and stage

Del Rey's videos are also often characterized for their cinematic quality with a retro flair. In her early career, she 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. After the success of these homemade videos, Del Rey had a series of high-budget music videos, including "Born to Die×Born to Die24 January 2012 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 23 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Born to Die4:462Off to the Races5:003Blue Jeans3:294Video Games4:425Diet Mountain Dew3:436National Anthem3:517Dark Paradise4:038Radio3:359Carmen4:0910Million Dollar Man3:5211Summertime Sadness4:2512This Is What Makes Us Girls3:5813Without You3:4914Lolita3:4015Lucky Ones3:47Disc 21Ride4:492American4:093Cola4:214Body Electric3:535Blue Velvet2:396Gods & Monsters3:587Yayo5:218Bel Air3:58" and "National Anthem×National Anthem2012 · Single · Compilation,RemixSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1National Anthem (Afterlife remix)3:522National Anthem (Breton LABS remix)4:073National Anthem (Burns 'Sftcr remix)4:044National Anthem (Cashmere remix)5:455National Anthem (clean Bandit remix)4:356National Anthem (Das Racist remix)3:557National Anthem (DC Breaks remix)4:128National Anthem (Fred Falke edit)3:519National Anthem (Fred Falke remix)5:3010National Anthem (Seasfire remix)4:3411National Anthem (Sega Bodega remix)5:0612National Anthem (Sunless 97 Raw dub)3:1413National Anthem (Todd Terry 'Del Ray' dub)5:1214National Anthem (Todd Terry in House dub)5:1215National Anthem (Todd Terry radio remix)3:5416National Anthem (Westfunk & Steve Smart remix)2:37" (both 2012) and "Young and Beautiful" (2013). Her early videos featured her personas "bad girl" and "gangster Nancy Sinatra".
Her videos for tracks after that including "Summer Wine×Summer Wine1 November 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Summer Wine4:55", "Carmen×Carmen26 January 2012 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Carmen4:08", and "Summertime Sadness×Summertime Sadness22 June 2012 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Summertime Sadness (radio mix)4:122Summertime Sadness4:24" were produced off of significantly lower budgets and retained more elements of Del Rey's earlier style. The Ultraviolence era incorporated an admixture of high budget videos and self-made ones, while the Honeymoon 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×Honeymoon12 September 2015 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Honeymoon5:502Music to Watch Boys To4:513Terrence Loves You4:514God Knows I Tried4:415High by the Beach4:186Freak4:557Art Deco4:558Burnt Norton (interlude)1:229Religion5:2310Salvatore4:4111The Blackest Day6:0612244:5613Swan Song5:2314Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood3:02" go unreleased due to Del Rey's opinions they were "too boring". The Lust for Life era was widely characterized for its mildly filtered vintage-inspired look with a futuristic flair. For Norman Fucking Rockwell!, Del Rey's sister, Chuck Grant, directed three videos in Del Rey's "homemade video" format, while Rich Lee directed the two following videos in a vintage but futuristic style, similar to the Lust for Life videos he directed.
Critics have noted Del Rey for her typically simple but authentic live performances. A September 2017 concert review published in The 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." Another review by Roy Train for The 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".

Early reception

Prior to the release of her debut major label album Born to Die×Born to Die24 January 2012 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 23 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Born to Die4:462Off to the Races5:003Blue Jeans3:294Video Games4:425Diet Mountain Dew3:436National Anthem3:517Dark Paradise4:038Radio3:359Carmen4:0910Million Dollar Man3:5211Summertime Sadness4:2512This Is What Makes Us Girls3:5813Without You3:4914Lolita3:4015Lucky Ones3:47Disc 21Ride4:492American4:093Cola4:214Body Electric3:535Blue Velvet2:396Gods & Monsters3:587Yayo5:218Bel Air3:58 in 2012, Del Rey was the subject of several articles discussing her image and career trajectory. One article by Paul Harris published by The 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. 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.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." In Del Rey's own words, she "[n]ever had a persona. Never needed one. Never will."
In a 2017 interview, Del Rey said, "I didn't edit myself [on Born 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."

Social views

Having been labeled as antifeminist by multiple sources, Del Rey stated in 2014: "For me, the issue of feminism is just not an interesting concept. I'm more interested in... SpaceX and Tesla, what's going to happen with our intergalactic possibilities. Whenever people bring up feminism... I'm just not really that interested." 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.
In 2017, Del Rey further clarified her updated view on feminism in an interview with Pitchfork:

Because things have shifted culturally. It's more appropriate now than under the Obama 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 away Planned Parenthood? What if we can't get birth control? Now, when people ask me those questions, I feel a little differently...
After the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases, she voiced her support for the Me Too movement.
She attracted criticism for a 2017 Instagram 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". Del Rey responded to the criticism that race was the theme of her post by saying that she mentioned the singers she did because she "[loves] these singers and [knows] them". 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]". Del Rey attracted further criticism for briefly posting a video of looters during the George Floyd protests in May 2020.
Del Rey had been critical of U.S. President Donald Trump during his first presidency. She had described him as being a narcissist and a product of a culture of sociopathy, stating his mental state makes him devoid of any understanding of what his words and actions can lead to. 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". She was critical of Kanye West in 2018 for his support of President Trump. During the first year of Trump's first presidency, Del Rey alleged she attempted to use witchcraft against Trump. In November 2020, Del Rey honored Joe Biden's election as President of the United States by covering "On Eagles' Wings".
During the release of the artwork for Chemtrails 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. 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 one storming the capitol" and was "changing the world by putting my life and thoughts and love out there". She subsequently deleted the comments. Following criticism from media outlets, Del Rey tweeted "A woman still can't get mad right? Even when a mob mentality tries to *incite*."

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×Looking for America9 August 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Looking for America2:43" was released in response to the August 3–4, 2019, mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, 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. In October 2020, she donated $350,000 from the sales of her book Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass to DigDeep, a Los-Angeles-based non-profit organization, founded by George McGraw in 2014, which provides electric-pumped water for some of the most remote families and communities of the Navajo Nation. Later in December, Del Rey released a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone" to benefit charities supported by the Liverpool F.C. Foundation.
In the early 2000s, Del Rey worked at a homeless shelter and participated in humanitarian work, including building houses at Navajo Nation.

Impact

Widely considered one of the most influential singers of the 2010s, Del Rey helped shift how listeners view authenticity in pop music. She has consistently been mentioned as an influence by a number of artists, including The Weeknd, Billie Eilish, Finneas, XXXTentacion, Charli XCX, Clairo, Troye Sivan, Beabadoobee, Slayyyter, Madison Beer, BØRNS, Taylor Swift, Zella Day, Gracie Abrams, Selena Gomez, Kacey Musgraves, Daniel Seavey, Suki Waterhouse, Jesse Jo Stark, Addison Rae, Kali Uchis, Jesse Rutherford, Banks, Ethel Cain, Chappell Roan, Niall Horan, Nessa Barrett, Olivia Rodrigo and Conan Gray. Billboard credited Born to Die with being one of the main catalysts for pop music's shift from an overall brash EDM tone to a moodier, hip-hop-inflected palette in the mid-2010s, and opined that Del Rey is indispensable to the decade's pop music, having influenced alternative-leaning pop artists such as Lorde, Halsey, Banks, Sky Ferreira, Father John Misty, Sia, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift. In 2019, Billboard included "Born to Die×Born to Die24 January 2012 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 23 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Born to Die4:462Off to the Races5:003Blue Jeans3:294Video Games4:425Diet Mountain Dew3:436National Anthem3:517Dark Paradise4:038Radio3:359Carmen4:0910Million Dollar Man3:5211Summertime Sadness4:2512This Is What Makes Us Girls3:5813Without You3:4914Lolita3:4015Lucky Ones3:47Disc 21Ride4:492American4:093Cola4:214Body Electric3:535Blue Velvet2:396Gods & Monsters3:587Yayo5:218Bel Air3:58" amongst the 100 songs that defined the 2010s, adding that it marked "a sonic shift that completely changed the pop landscape". Norman Fucking Rockwell! was named one of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" by Rolling Stone. Del Rey has received praise from older artists, some of whom have been inspirations to Del Rey herself, including Bruce Springsteen, Joan Baez, Elton John, Courtney Love, and directors David Lynch and John Waters.
The Washington Post listed Del Rey as the only musician on their "Decade of Influence" list. Pitchfork named her one of the greatest living songwriters of the US. The Guardian declared Del Rey's own "pure female haze" a "hallmark of the defiant female pop stars to come". Her YouTube and Vevo pages have combined views of over seven and a half billion. In 2022, New York University's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music launched the fall semester course "Topics in Recorded Music: Lana Del Rey", which deals with Del Rey's music. Rolling Stone ranked Del Rey at number 175 on its 2023 list of the 200 greatest singers. Rolling Stone UK named her the Greatest American Songwriter of the 21st century (2023).

Personal life

Del Rey married Jeremy Dufrene, a tour boat captain from Des Allemands, Louisiana, on September 26, 2024. The couple first met in 2019, when Del Rey took a tour with him there.

Religion

Del Rey has said that she believes in God. She told The 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." 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, known as Churchome. Smith officiated Del Rey's wedding in 2024.

Written works

Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass (2020)