Lana Del Rey is an American-born singer, but she also has Scottish roots.
Life story before Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant was born on June 21, 1985 in the city that never sleeps, in the city of skyscrapers - New York, in the family of an entrepreneur and teacher. She is not the only child in the family. Has a younger brother, Charlie, and a sister, Caroline. However, before choosing music as her calling, Lana Del Rey wanted to become a poet.
As a child, she was a parishioner of the elementary Catholic church. She also sang in the church choir and acted as a cantor (conductor, composer).
At the age of 15, the girl began to drink alcohol. Therefore, parents, taking care of their daughter, decided to send her to Kent School. There she got rid of her addiction.
After receiving school education, Lana entered the State New York University. But she had no desire to visit him. This led to a move to Long Island to live with her aunt and uncle, where she worked as a waitress in a cafe.
During the time she spent with her relatives, Lana acquired the skill of playing the guitar, which her uncle taught her. She realized that with only six chords, she could perform millions of songs. Thus began her first steps on the big stage. She wrote songs, performed in nightclubs in Brooklyn, where she had various pseudonyms.
Lana always sang, but she never thought that this would become her life. She was 18 years old, she had just arrived in New York (the city of the American dream). She sang for herself, her friends and a small number of her fans.
In the fall of 2003, Lana entered Fordham University. She chose the Faculty of Philosophy.
The beginning of Lana Del Rey's work (2005-2010)
The singer's music has a style characteristic of the period of the 1950s and 1960s. Notes and shades of darkness, sensuality, dreams are the main components of the music and lyrics of the artist.
Lana Del Rey recorded the song with acoustic guitar back in 2005. However, she did not immediately gain worldwide fame. During the year, 7 songs were registered as an album. It had two titles Rock Me Stable / Young Like Me.
In addition to music, during this period, Lana was involved in programs for the homeless, alcohol and drug rehabilitation.
In 2008, she spent three months working on her debut studio album, Lana Del Rey. Its release took place only in January 2010.
Already in the first half of 2010, Lana Del Rey began working with managers Ed and Ben. They still work with her to this day.
Regarding the pseudonym, Lana said that she often visited Miami and communicated in Spanish with Cuban friends. This name is reminiscent of the charm of the sea coast, sounds great and goes well with her music. For some time, her managers even insisted that this name should become not only a pseudonym.
Born to Die and Paradise (2011-2013).
The songs that revealed her talent to the world are called Video Games and Blue Jeans. From the very beginning, they became an Internet sensation on the YouTube platform.
Also, the compositions were singles in the second studio album Born to Die, (2012). He immediately took a leading position in the music charts in 11 countries.
Already in the summer of 2012, Lana Del Rey told that she was working on new material. She released it in November of the same year, the first single of which was the song Ride.
Also this year, she worked on an advertising project for the H&M brand, releasing the Blue Velvet video. This composition became a promotional single for the upcoming album Paradise, which was released on November 9, 2012.
Young and Beautiful is a song specially written and performed by Lana for The Great Gatsby (2013). The film surpassed all the reviews of film critics, and the soundtrack "blew up" the music charts.
However, already in early July 2013, a new track Summertime Sadness was released. He became exactly the composition, thanks to which the world learned about Lana Del Rey.
Ultraviolence and Honeymoon (2014-2015).
In 2014, Lana performed a cover version for the film "Maleficent" for the song Once Upon a Dream.
On May 23, 2014, Lana Del Rey was invited to Kanye West and Kim Kardashian's pre-wedding reception, where she performed three songs.
The album Ultraviolence became available in the world on June 13, 2014, immediately being among the leaders of the music industry in 12 countries.
In the same year, Lana was the author of the Big Eyes and I Can Fly soundtracks for the film Big Eyes. It was directed by the famous Tim Burton.
And already in 2015, she recorded the track Life is Beautiful. He became the soundtrack to the film "The Age of Adaline".
On July 14, 2014, Lana presented fans with the song Honeymoon from the exquisite album of the same name. Its release took place on September 18, 2015 and included 14 tracks.
Lana Del Rey: the personal life of the singer
From the age of 20, the singer was in a civil marriage with a popular musician named Stephen Mertins. By the way, he was engaged in the promotion of the first compositions of the artist. They were in a long-term relationship that lasted 7 years, but the matter never reached the registry office.
She then had a brief affair with Barry James O'Neill. In one of the interviews, the artist said that the reason for the expense with the musician was her depressive nature.
In 2017, she was spotted with G-Eazy (Gerald Earl Gillum). The artist has never commented on the relationship with the singer. In general, they looked happy, but it soon became known that the couple broke up.
A couple of years later, she was spotted in the company of the charming Sean Larkin. A year later, the couple broke up. The two managed to remain good friends despite a few "poignant" moments.
Further, the journalists declassified the singer's new lover. It was Jack Antonoff. But, later it became known that he was only helping her work on the album.
In mid-December 2020, information appeared in the press that the artist was going to marry Clayton Johnson. Soon after, insiders confirmed to reporters that Clayton had indeed proposed to Lana.
Lana Del Rey: career continuation
The singer's previous records sounded "Californian". She planned to release the new album in New York style.
July 21, 2017 saw the release of the fifth studio album Lust for Life. The track of the same name was co-written with The Weeknd. In 2016, Lana acted as a co-writer for the album.
In parallel with the work on the sixth album, Lana worked on the collection Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass. She was ready to release it at the beginning of 2019.
In addition, in 2018, Lana was invited to the Apple presentation. In 2019, she became the advertising face of the Gucci fashion house. And the artist took part in a commercial for the new Gucci Guilty fragrance. Jared Leto and Courtney Love were on set.
Singer Awards
For the past creative path, lasting 14 years, today she has 20 music awards. Lana Del Rey has received 82 nominations, resulting in 24 wins.
Lana Del Rey today
On March 19, 2021, the singer presented a new LP. The album was called Chemtrails Over The Country Club. The record was topped by 11 tracks. Most of the compositions were produced by Lana herself. On the same day, it turned out that the presentation of the singer's collection, which will be headed by folk tracks, will soon take place.
Lana Del Rey pleased music lovers with the presentation of three pieces of music. The compositions of Blue Banisters, Text Book and Wildflower Wildfire were incredibly warmly received by music lovers and music critics. With the release of the tracks, Lana, as if reminded that the premiere of a new studio album will take place soon.
At the end of October 2021, the eighth studio album of the singer was released. Blue Banisters was received positively by fans and music critics. In the texts of the collection, the artist explores topics such as self-knowledge, personal life and lineage, as well as the crisis of culture during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On January 18, 2022, it turned out that the singer had recorded a song for the Euphoria tape. Watercolor Eyes will be featured in the third episode of the second season.
