In terms of influences, Lana points to the greats – Elvis Presley, Nirvana, Eminem, Janis Joplin – those who stand out in their field. Without labouring the point her choral and religious background holds some sway in her later work, especially when her songs have the whiff of the divine. Childhood was spent in Lake Placid and the young girl’s singing skills were noted in her school choir where she was the precentor. Her sister Charlie “Chuck” Grant is a rising name in photography. Her modernity is a given but her pop classicism is the trait that will stamp her name in the books.Ī native New Yorker born in 1985, Lana was christened Elizabeth Woolridge Grant and claims Scottish descent.
A mistress of the bizarre and the baroque, Del Rey’s star is rising with every release. We’re already swooning to the glories of “High By the Beach” and the haunting, folk-drenched “Terrence Loves You”.
Then came the highly cinematic Honeymoon, available on CD, digital download and vinyl. Born to Die: The Paradise Edition, a reissue with eight newly recorded cuts, introduced her to new global markets and Ultraviolence enhanced her reputation once it topped both the UK and US charts and went Gold everywhere from Germany to Canada and Platinum in Brazil, France and Poland. Her first Polydor/Interscope disc Born To Die topped the best sellers and has sold close to five million copies and turned Platinum. The measure of Del Rey’s achievements in a relatively short time span can be taken by her chart placings.
An accompanying EP includes the sublime “Body Electric”, a pristine collaboration with Rick Nowels ( Madonna, New Radicals, Santana, Fleetwood Mac et al). Tropico references other characters – John Wayne, Jesus, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. Since then other awards have flowed her way, from MTV, Q, Satellite (“Young and Beautiful” as featured in the 2013 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby), the UK Music Video Awards and Xbox Entertainment, who rated her album Born To Die the best of 2013.”īranching out further, in 2013 Lana wrote and starred in the short film Tropico, a Biblical affair lasting 27 minutes in which she plays Eve to Shaun Ross’s Adam. Her sumptuous discography began with the somewhat controversial Lana Del Rey (note the alternative spelling) and her debut single “Video Games”, the track that gained her the coveted Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song in 2102. A highly talented songwriter and in-demand model (for H&M’s fast fashion ranges as well as Jaguar’s 2012 F-type sports car) Del Rey is famous for her script-only tattoos, dedications to literary giants Nabokov and Whitman and the iconic black American blues women Nina Simone and Billie Holiday among them. The great modern American singer Lana Del Rey is renowned for her captivating vocal range and her thrilling contralto swoop, allowing her to crash through the gears from dreamy pop to pellucid jazz phrasing.