Del Rey was born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant in New York June 21, 1986. She was raised to a pleasant childhood in Lake Placid. As a teenager Del Rey was sent to Kent boarding school located in my home state of Connecticut. After graduating she moved to New York City to study metaphysics at Fordham University where her first experimentations with music happened. She began performing in clubs in Brooklyn under nicknames like Lizzy Grant, Phenomena and Sparkle Rope Jump Queen.
Inspired with an intense passion for music Del Rey signed her first record deal at the sum of ten thousand dollars and changed her residence to a trailer park on the outreaches of New York. Her first album was never released to market and Del Rey decidedly moved her attention towards community service. An admitted alcohol addict, she spent five years dedicating herself to the causes of drug and alcohol rehabilitation and homeless relief services.
Unable to resist the music scene, Del Rey returned to pursuing a music career and maneuvered a joint record deal with Interscope Records and Polydor. This time would be different – the proof being her reincarnation as Lana Del Rey. The name grew from her frequent trips to Miami where she developed close relationships with Cuban friends who influenced her decision to rebrand herself. Enchanted by its pronunciation and exoticism traced back to seaside memories, Lana Del Rey was the natural choice.
The song “Video Games” was dropped on June 2011, with the music video uploaded to YouTube in August. In only 5 months the single had acquired 20 million YouTube views.
Following the success of the release of Video Games, Del Rey was honored with the Q award in respects to her being “The Next Big Thing.”
Del Rey followed up the viral hit “Video Games” with her second studio album, Born to Die, which was one of the best-selling albums of 2012.
Del Rey earned international success in Europe with these chart topping top ten hits “Blue Jeans,” “National Anthem,” “Born to Die,” and “Summer Sadness.”
Del Rey’s third album, Paradise, became another top ten album in the US.
Del Rey won the GQ award for Woman of the Year, the BRIT Award for International Breakthrough Act, and for International Female Solo Artist. An Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song for “Video Games,” and the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Alternative song to name a few.
Whether I’m riding in my winter white Civic and turning up the radio dial to Del Rey mix tapes or kicking back with my friends watching her music videos, it’s easy to explain what all the buzz surrounding Del Rey is about.
Del Rey is a hybrid of this vulnerable girl next-door with honest lyrics that are simple enough for your average college student yet convincingly deep and poetic. There is something relatable and endearing about her songs that make you come back to them. With a serene confidence resonating in her voice that is inviting and magnetic, Del Rey’s songs provide a maturity and playfulness that entertains. Once her songs are finally embedded into my brain, I can’t help but hum her hits along my way to class.
She has infused hip-hop inspired lyrics with cinematic notes that soothe. Long monologues in music videos like “Ride” are signatures of her dramatic ballads. Not forgotten are the bluntly gothic lyrics in songs like “Born to Die,” that are setting her apart from some over-radio-played pop tarts.
Her music is a jarring wake up call to the music industry to stop the monotony, as her music videos are imaginative and bold. There is an undeniable melancholy theme in all of her music videos that tickle a nerve inside. It makes me look behind my back when I listen, a reflex to the intensely proactive lyrics created to thrill.
Del Rey’s consistent style is an upscale wardrobe meant to seduce and emulate class. I can see traces of Del Rey’s boarding school days in her timeless attire that is private school chic. Her fashion persuades me to start opting against sweatpants 5 days in a row to lectures. I am subconsciously standing up taller on the heels of my Bandolino boots and “throwing my hair up beauty queen style,” and I love it.
Say her name around UConn and it gets an instant reaction. They echo my impressions: “she is edgy and original,” student Ann Treglia said. “Her voice is bizarre but it got me hooked,” said Rachel Cohen.
The unceasing gravitation to Del Rey makes perfect sense to any collegiate born to believe in the freedom of musical expression. Good music isn’t hard to find when I’m zipping up my favorite pair of “Blue Jeans” and my iPod’s sticking out of the corner pocket, predictably playing Lana Del Rey.
Top Songs for Lana Del Rey:
- Blue Jeans (got me hooked)
- Born to Die (your quintessential Lana Del Rey song)
- Ride (good monologue)
- Summer Sadness (you’ll be singing it all day)
- Radio (overall good song)
- Video Games (just check it out already, Huskies)