Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985),
better known by her stage name
Lana Del Rey, is an American singer, songwriter and model.
Born and raised in New York state, Grant began songwriting at the age of 18, and signed her first recording contract with 5-Points Records in 2007. Her debut studio album
Lana Del Ray was released through the label in January 2010, to little attention. She later entered a joint recording contract with Interscope, Polydor, and Stranger Records in July 2011. Her major-label debut
Born to Die was released in the following January; aided by initial Internet buzz surrounding her "Video Games" single,it peaked at number two on the U.S.
Billboard 200 and was the fifth best-selling album of 2012. A remix of its single "Summertime Sadness", produced by Cedric Gervais, peaked at number six on the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 and stands as her highest-charting single in the United States.
Paradise was simultaneously released as a standalone extended play and with the expanded version of
Born to Die subtitled
The Paradise Edition that November. The EP garnered Del Rey her first Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album. Three of its tracks were featured in her short film
Tropico, which premiered in December 2013. Del Rey's third studio album,
Ultraviolence,
was released in 2014, becoming her first number-one record in the
United States. In 2015, she released her fourth studio album,
Honeymoon.
Del Rey's music has been noted for its cinematic style and its references to pop culture, particularly that of 1950s and 1960s Americana. The singer has described herself as a "gangsta Nancy Sinatra". She has claimed to draw influence from artists she deems to be "masters of their genre," as well as from poetry and film noir.
Del Rey is the most streamed female artist on Spotify in the United States.
Amongst her musical influences, Del Rey cites several contemporary artists such as Elvis Presley, Antony and the Johnsons, Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Eminem and Amy Winehouse.
"[I really] just like the masters of every genre", she told BBC radio presenter Jo Whiley. Her favorite artists include Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Jeff Buckley and Leonard Cohen.She covered Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel #2" in 2013. She also cited "strong female characters" such as Courtney Love, Stevie Nicks, and Joni Mitchell as inspirational.In her song "American", she references rock singer Bruce Springsteen.
Janis Joplin's live version of "Summertime" from the
Cheap Thrills compilation album is one of Del Rey's favorite songs. Del Rey has also cited "Time of the Season" by The Zombies and "Hotel California" by The Eagles as favorites and inspirations. Her favorite films,
The Godfather,
The Godfather Part II, and
American Beauty have also inspired her musical style.
Inspired by poetry, Del Rey cites Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg as instrumental to her songwriting. Specifically, she enjoys the chapbook "Leaves of Grass" by Whitman and the poem "Howl" by Ginsberg. Her song, "Body Electric" from her third EP,
Paradise,
alludes to Whitman in the lyric, "Whitman is my daddy". The song's
chorus of "I sing the body electric" is a direct reference to his poem "I Sing The Body Electric".She recited Whitman's poem "Song of Myself" for the French fashion magazine, L'Officiel Paris. Before becoming a singer, Del Rey wanted to be a poet.As a child, her father wrote country songs for personal enjoyment, while her mother was interested in singing;
the former introduced her to The Beach Boys, while the latter was a fan of Carly Simon.
