LANA DEL RAY

Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1986), better known by her stage name Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Born in New York City and raised in Lake Placid, Del Rey moved back to her hometown at age 18, where she attended college and began writing music and performing in clubs. She signed her first recording contract when she was 20 years old, but was dropped by the label, resulting in her first album being shelved. After hearing her demo, producer David Kahne signed Del Rey to 5 Points Records, releasing her first studio album Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant in 2010. After parting ways with Kahne, Del Rey signed to Stranger Records to release her debut single "Video Games" in June 2011. A few months later, Del Rey signed a joint deal with Interscope and Polydor, where she released her second studio album Born to Die in January 2012. She is currently recording her third studio album, set for release in November. Del Rey's music has been noted for its cinematic sound and its references to various aspects of pop culture, particularly that of 1950s and '60s Americana.[5] The singer has been described as a "self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra". Del Rey is also signed to NEXT Model Management After uploading a few of her tracks to her YouTube channel, Del Rey was discovered and was signed by Stranger Records to release her debut single "Video Games".[20] She told The Observer, "I just put that song online a few months ago because it was my favourite. To be honest, it wasn't going to be the single but people have really responded to it."[11] The song earned her a Q award for "Next Big Thing" in October 2011.[21] The same month, she signed a joint deal with Interscope Records and Polydor to work on her second studio album Born to Die.[4][22][23][24] Del Rey built anticipation to the album by doing a number of live appearances, such as promotional concerts at the Bowery Ballroom and at the Chateau Marmont,[25][26] and with performances at television shows such as De Wereld Draait Door,[27] and Later... with Jools Holland.[28] On January 4, 2012, it was reported she had signed a deal with NEXT Model Management agency.[29] Del Rey also performed two songs from the album on Saturday Night Live on January 14, 2012 and received negative reviews from critics and the general public. Del Rey's performance was defended by the evening's program guest host, actor Daniel Radcliffe, despite not having seen her performance.[30] She had earlier defended her spot on the program, saying: "I'm a good musician [...] I have been singing for a long time, and I think that [SNL creator] Lorne Michaels knows that [...] it's not a fluke decision."[31] Born to Die was officially released on January 31, 2012 worldwide, opening at number one on several charts and receiving positive reviews from music critics.[32][33] The same week, Del Rey revealed that she bought back the rights to her 2010 debut album, and had plans to re-release it in the summer of 2012 under Interscope Records and Polydor.[34] Contrary to Del Rey's press statement, her previous record label and producer David Kahne have both stated that she bought the rights to the album when she and the label parted company, due to the offer of a new deal, in April 2010.[35][22] In May 2012, British pop star Cheryl Cole confirmed that Del Rey would write for her new album A Million Lights. Cole described Rey as "super-talented", and talked of how she came to the decision to approach Del Rey, saying: "I noticed Lana about a year ago. I was hearing these songs that were really fresh to my ear and amazing and I asked the guy who she was and he said, "Watch out for her, it's a girl called Lana Del Rey".[36] On June 15, 2012, A Million Lights was released featuring the song "Ghetto Baby", written by Del Rey.

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