Lana Del Rey was just 26 years old when she produced and released the album “Born to Die,” which gained her success. “Born to Die” attracted attention through her tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia-like voice and lyrics. In 2014, Del Rey wrote another dark but glamorous album, “Ultraviolence.” “Ultraviolence” was praised for Del Rey’s vocal performances, as well as scandalous lyrics and themes regarding greed, abuse, toxic relationships, and addiction.
In the early years of her career, Del Rey faced a lot of criticism. After an SNL performance of her song “Blue Jeans” in 2012, she received harsh comments about her voice and music. But despite the critics, she continued to write more melancholy albums, such as “Honeymoon” in 2015 and “Lust for Life” in 2017.Her fan base grew after these two albums, though people wouldn’t forget about her SNL performance, and she still faced disapproval from the industry.
Del Rey still wrote her own unique music though people in the industry, mostly older men, believed she shouldn’t be famous due to her music being too slow and too sad.
By 2021, Del Rey had seven studio albums, which had peaked to the top of the album charts in several different countries. It is clear Del Rey has been famous for years, but after the release of “Blue Banisters” in 2021 and “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” in 2023, she completely blew up.
Since fourth grade, I have been a diehard Lana Del Rey fan, though I was the only one in my class. Throughout middle school, I was still a huge fan, while most of my friends never listened to her. Now, as a junior in high school, she has become most of my friends’ favorite artists.
Her two new albums following COVID were huge for her career, blowing up on many different social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Within a year, Del Rey’s monthly Spotify listeners jumped from 13 million to 53 million. For her ninth studio album, “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd”, Del Rey was nominated for “Album of the Year” and song of the year for “A&W” at the Grammys.
Lana Del Rey has been very successful and famous since 2011, but I believe she has now completely blown up due to her trending music on TikTok. Catchy verses from “Dealer” and “Thunder”, popular songs from the album “Blue Banisters”, and “Maragaret” and “Let the light in” from “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” became TikTok famous, leading users on the app to become big fans.
Now, after Del Rey has blown up, most teenage girls see her as an idol and iconic.
When I first started listening to Lana Del Rey about eight years ago, she was famous, but her fan base wasn’t like how it is now. Del Rey has faced hardships through the beginning and middle of her career, and as a long term and loyal fan, I am pleased that a lot more people are finally seeing her as the icon she is.
