A Star Is Born: From Lizzy Grant To Lana Del Rey
The one’s who know Lana Del Rey, just know what a queen she is! There is no denying that the American singer-songwriter, Elizabeth Woolridge Grant has won her fans over with her vocals, her songwriting and of course, her style. The woman with an invisible crown on her head walks on the stage humbly and owns it, like no other artist, out there.
Back in 2009, when she was known as Lizzy Grant, we saw her in casuals, performing at Variety Show Box in New York, with shyness yet a strong voice. She could have easily gotten lost in the crowd of upcoming artists. But, she didn’t, because she turned into our beloved, ‘Lana Del Rey‘.
Elizabeth To May Jailer To Lizzy Grant…
As a student at Fordham University in New York, Lizzy studied philosophy and specialised in metaphysics. This is when she chose music as her hobby, she composed ‘From The End’ and ‘Love Like Me’ with a stage name, May Jailer in 2005 and 2006. Not just this, she also dropped an album “Sirens”, all of these only found their place online, years later.
Soon, we saw Lizzy Grant take the stage. She went with blonde hair and casual attire but of-course sang with power. She got a recording contract with an indie label, 5 Points Records and worked with the producer, David Kahne on her ‘Kill Kill’ EP in 2008. Though one would hope that she would receive success because of her vocals, however, sometimes plans just don’t seem to work out.
So, still studying her last year at the university, she chose to have an alter personality. With this decision, the singer drops her first album in 2010, “Lizzy Grant a.k.a Lana Del Rey”. The album didn’t do well commercially or even on the charts, so her new management decided to remove all traces of Lizzy Grant from her career and with this, we saw a star emerge.
Lana Del Rey Is Born!
The melancholic voice is heard for the first time when she joined hands with Stranger Records. Lana Del Rey dropped, ‘Video Games’ in 2011 and it reached the top in many Europian countries. And, for those, who have seen the video of the track, might have never imagined the singer would continue to love being that raw. Apparently, sitting in her sister’s apartment in Manhattan, LDR recorded herself in front of a MacBook camera, edited the clips of her school days into it and just watched the video, reach millions of views.
With the success of her first single, Lana Del Rey dropped her debut album, “Born To Die’ in 2012, after signing a deal with Interscope Records and Polydor Records. The album screamed of glamour, sex, drugs and of course, the Hollywood of old times. It had hits like, ‘Blue Jeans’, ‘Summertime Sadness’, ‘National Anthem’, ‘Dark Paradise’ and ‘Born To Die’. The album won her, her first Billboard Hot 100 by reaching at No.6 on the chart.
During the later of the same year, Lana Del Rey dropped “Born To Die: The Paradise Edition” and won her fans with hits like ‘Blue Velvet’, ‘Ride’ and ‘Young And Beautiful’. After this, there was no stopping her, she dropped “Ultraviolence” in 2013 which got known for tracks like, ‘Brooklyn Baby’, ‘Once Upon A Dream’ and ‘West Coast’. This album has been able to sell more than one million copies, all over the world.
The Success Story Of Lana Del Rey Continues…
In 2015, Lana Del Rey dropped her fourth studio album, “Honeymoon” which gave her massive positive feedback. The album saw hits like, ‘High By The Beach’, ‘Music To Watch Boys To’ and more. She also went on to collaborate with a few famous artists. She featured on ‘Wait For Life’ track with Emile Haynie and on The Weeknd’s album, “Beauty Behind the Madness” on ‘Prisoner’ track.
As her tribute to the industry continues, she joins The Weeknd on his third studio album, “Starboy” for ‘Party Monster’ and ‘Stargirl Interlude’. Cut to 2017, Lana Del Rey releases her fifth studio album, “Lust For Life”. The album features ASAP Rocky and The Weeknd. With hits like ‘Summer Bummer’, ‘Groupie Love’, ‘White Mustang’ and more, she won her fans over, again.
After this, she went on to release her sixth studio album, “Norman Fucking Rockwell” in 2019. With this, she introduced the world to her ‘Venice Bitch’ mode, as she released ‘The Greatest’, ‘Doin’ Time’ and more. The album also ensured to represent the theme of how complicated one’s creative process is but the complexity makes one, good at what they do.
What Can We Expect Next?
Well, Lana Del Rey is on the way to her seventh studio album, “Chemtrails Over The Country Club“. Though there are rumours that the album might be here by December end, or maybe, even by January 2021, nothing is confirmed, yet. She has already got you hooked on her first single from the album, ‘Let Me Love You Like A Woman’, no doubts.
From performing at local cafes and for small crowds, Lana Del Rey surely has come a long way ahead. The last we checked, she’s sold more than 19.1 million albums worldwide, no joke. Also, her YouTube and Vevo views combined contribute to a massive 4.1 billion. And, let’s not leave out all the trophies she’s been able to bag, be it two Brit Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards, nine GAFFA Awards, she’s achieving some big milestones.
In just a span of a decade, she’s created a massive influence in the industry that, we are in awe. We hope to hear so much more from her because one can’t get enough of her, surely.
By: Aatira Kakroo
