Lana Del Rey has traversed through a variety of names and eras of music over the years, and with them, influential contributions to the music industry. As stated in Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2024 Grammy awards, “so many female artists would not be where they are and not had the inspiration they had if it weren’t for the work that she’s done.” Lana Del Rey is a staple to the music industry, a master of lyricism and capturing an aesthetic – with years of work to prove her rare talent.
Known currently to her fans as Lana Del Rey, the famed singer was born as Elizabeth Woolridge Grant in 1986. She grew up in a quiet town in upstate New York and went to college at Fordham University in the Bronx. While at Fordham, she claims that her time at college “was when [her] musical experience began.” (British Vogue, 2012).
Before she claimed her current moniker, she was Lizzy Grant. Under her first stage name, she performed across the city, collecting an underground fanbase. She published one album with this alias in 2008, Lana Del Ray A.K.A Lizzy Grant, but the album was removed from the public eye shortly after its release. After her stint as Lizzy Grant, the singer rebranded. With her new name, came a phenomenon of masterful writing and music, and a cultural reset to follow from coast to coast.
According to British Vogue, Del Rey crafted her name after a desire to have a name that she “could shape the music toward…Lana Del Rey reminded us of the glamour of the seaside…It sounded gorgeous coming off the tip of the tongue.” In 2011, she released a song that skyrocketed her career, one that many fans hold near and dear to their hearts – Video Games. It was met with massive critical acclaim and she went on to release her first studio album, Born to Die in 2012. That same year, she released Paradise and in 2014 she released her ode to New York City, Ultraviolence. Over the next few years, Del Rey continued to grow more popular, churning out monumental and progressive projects including Honeymoon (2015), Lust for Life (2017), and NFR (2019.), that highlighted a love mainly centered around California.
Her 2019 studio album, NFR, produced by herself and Jack Antonoff was widely acclaimed. The Rolling Stones placed Del Rey’s NFR at #321 on their top 500 Albums of All Time list (Rolling Stones, 2023). In 2019, Rolling Stones praised Lana’s deep understanding of songwriting, saying that “no other songwriter around does such an expert job of building up elaborate romantic fantasies, and then burning them to the ground.” (Rolling Stones, 2019.) In 2021, Del Rey released Chemtrails Over the Country Club and Blue Banisters, followed by her most recently Grammy-nominated album Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd in 2023. Time and time again, Lana has proven herself to be an innovative artist with a commitment to delving deep into our identities and relationships. Her work has successfully reflected on our culture, speaking to listeners around the world. Del Rey’s albums paint vivid pictures of New York City, Los Angeles, and other aspects of America at its rawest form, highlighting the importance of roots to identity and understanding of culture. Her songs raise questions about personal identity, relationships, and individual journeys to contentment and passion. In an interview about her work, discussing her impressive discography and poetry, Lana shared that, “my goal in life is to have met myself.” (Lana Del Rey: She Does It For the Girls, Rolling Stones 2023).
Apart from the impact that Lana Del Rey has established within her fanbase, she’s been equally as fundamental to the growth and livelihood of the music industry itself. Through her work, Lana Del Rey has been able to emphasize the importance of dedicating yourself to your work and the importance of observing the world and highlighting it through music. Her experimentation has trail blazed the way for multitudes of younger artists and has brought a new depth and flair to pop music through new ideas and a commitment to intriguing music.