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Lana Del Rey

Artists Facts

Active: 2005-present
Name: Elizabeth Woolridge Grant
Genre: dream pop, trip hop, indie pop, rock, baroque pop
Birth date: June 21, 1985
Place of birth: New York City, US

Artist Background

Lana Del Rey’s music is known to mirror aspects of pop culture. She infuses different styles in her music often hinting on a little bit f hip hop, trap and Indie music. She started performing under the stage names; Lizzy Grant, Sparkle Jump Rope Queen, May Jailer and Lana Rey Del Mar. Her music is influenced by other performers including; Bobby Vinton, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen and other performers from the 1950s. She is famous for her effortless and authentic live performances. She is often seen smiling and singing without much strain for prolonged periods.

She is the daughter of Robert England Grant, Jr. and Patricia Ann. Her mother was a high school teacher and her father was an entrepreneur. Elizabeth Grant has a sister, Caroline Grant and a brother, Charlie. She is American but has Scottish ancestry. Elizabeth Grant and her siblings were raised in New York under Catholic ways. It is in church that she discovered her musical talent. She went to a Catholic elementary school. She started to develop a drinking problem so her parents sent her to Kent school when she was 15. She was accepted into the State University of New York but she chose not to go. She lived with her uncle and aunt in Long Island where she learnt to play guitar. She, however, enrolled to Fordham University later where she studied philosophy.

Artist Music Background

Elizabeth Grant started her career by writing her own songs and performing in city nightclubs. However, she did not take it too seriously. It was when she was in college that she made the decision to pursue music as a career. In 2005, she registered a play titled ‘Rock Me Stable’ and followed it with ‘From the End.’ Her stage name at that time was May Jailer. She recorded an acoustic album titled ‘sirens’ later on. She met Van Wilson of 5 Points Records when she went to perform at the Williamsburg Live Songwriting Competition. In her senior year in college, she submitted her demo tape to 5 Points Records and she was offered a recording contract. He worked with producer David Kahne and released her EP ‘Kill Kill’ with three songs.

Artist Music Career

Elizabeth Grant’s ‘Lana Del Ray’ album was released in 2010. She marketed the album with her father’s help. Shortly after the release of that album, she met her current managers, Ben Mawson and Ed Millet. She terminated her contract with 5 Points Records because she felt they were not helping her grow as a musician. She adopted the name Lana Del Rey as her stage name. Videos to her songs ‘Video Games’ and ‘Blue Jeans’ became very popular. Stranger Records released ‘Video Games’ as her first single. Her second studio album, ‘Born to Die,’ was released by Interscope Records.

Artist Major Works And Achievements

In 2013, she won the Brit Award for International Female Solo Artist and the Echo Awards for Best International Female Artist Rock/ Pop and Best International Newcomer. She won the Global Impact Award in 2018 after nomination by ASCAP pop Music Awards. She was nominated for the Billboard Top Rock Album in 2014 and she won the Billboard Women in Music Trailblazer award. Her songs ‘Young and Beautiful’ and ‘Big eyes’ were nominated for Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. In 2012, she won the Danish GAFFA awards for International New Artist of the year and International Female Artist of the year. She also won 2012 international New Artist of the year and International Album of the Year in the Norway GAFFA awards. She won the Ivor Novello Awards for Best Contemporary Song and the Best Alternative award in 2012 and MTV Europe Music Awards category for Best Alternative.