She was a gangsters moll, a femme fatale with a heart of ice, a victim trying really, really hard to not be perceived as such. The woman formally known as Elizabeth Woolridge Grant had, in pursuit of her art, surrendered herself entirely to aesthetic. It’s where the unassuming, somewhat ordinary Lizzy Grant became the global phenomenon we now know as Lana Del Rey.Lana Del Rey entered into the public consciousness a mystery.
Raw and perfectly sculpted, Lana infused every moment with uncensored emotion, tapping into her fans’ feelings at the same time.
She has come a long way since the success of Born To Die: building from a cottage-industry talent into one of the biggest stars in the world, she can now command the attention of the era-defining artists that came before her (2017’s Lust For Life found her working with no less than Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks).Īs arguably the most powerful moment in her career, however, Born To Die still resonates.
She also referenced the book’s opening in the “Off To The Races” lyric “Light of my life, fire in my loins.”īut the controversy did little to derail the singer – rather, it aided Lana’s ascent. Lana created some controversy with the track “Lolita” with its obvious references to the Vladimir Nabokov novel centered around a middle-aged man obsessed with the young girl of the title.
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The song also contains powerful lyrics about the importance of love over everything else (“’Cause I’ma ride or die/Whether you fail or fly/… I will love you till the end of time”), and includes a by-now habitual Hollywood reference – in this case, 50s movie star James Dean.īorn To Die isn’t all glamour, however. Referencing one of her biggest influences, hip-hop (“You were sort of punk rock, I grew up on hip-hop”), “Blue Jeans” emerged as the album’s third single, in April 2012, and found Lana’s trademark sultry vocals riding a guitar bassline and a hip-hop beat, punctuated by a sample of Rick James shouting “sing” to a crowd. The building’s glamour pervaded other areas of Born To Die: many of the album’s songs revel in the mystique of celebrity, invoke Hollywood landmarks such as the Chateau Marmont, or nod to 60s movie stars and the monied inhabitants of LA and The Hamptons. Shot at the Palace Of Fontainebleau, the “Born To Die” clip marked the first time that filming had been allowed in the château, which had been home to the royal family for seven centuries. Lana’s haunting vocals hadn’t always been so distinctive, but as she told the Daily Star in 2011, “People weren’t taking me seriously, so I lowered my voice, believing it would help me stand out.” Molding herself after vulnerable feminine icons such as Marilyn Monroe, the breathy tone she developed ensured she would be noticed.īorn To Die’s title track became the album’s second single, released in December 2011, with a video by French director and songwriter Yoann Lemoine.
Lana’s stripped-back music, performed with live instrumentation and unique vocals, offered them the sound they were looking for the purity of emotion she drew upon added that extra depth for fans to identify with.Īlexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue’s 2012 Lana Del Rey cover issue, explained why the singer stood out among the pack, holding her own against the juggernaut success of Adele’s 21: “I am one of the many thousands of people enraptured by the throaty, seductive voice of Lana Del Rey… Once I had seen Lana play at a small event in London, I was convinced that she would be a great.” With the likes of Katy Perry and Britney Spears still dominating pop music in the early 21st Century, a younger generation of fans entered the 2010s seeking something new.
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