How did Lana Del Rey choose her stage name?
Whether you’re a fan of Lana Del Rey or not, it’s hard to deny her monumental influence over modern pop music, changing the landscape through her use of defined aesthetics and evocative lyrics, set to a unique instrumental palette which blends the past and present.
Equally indebted to the likes of classic jazz masters as she is to modern trap and hip-hop artists, Del Rey has constantly evolved since she burst on the scene with her single ‘Video Games’ in 2011. Accompanied by an unusual music video – webcam shots intercut with scenes from old movies and archive clips – Del Rey instantly stood out. It didn’t take long for her to build up a dedicated fanbase, and with the release of Born to Die, her major label debut, the singer became an international success.
Del Rey was crafting a career for herself long before she achieved her breakthrough, beginning when she was just 18, playing with her acoustic guitar in New York bars. By the mid-2000s, Del Rey had plenty of songs under her belt, leading her to register an EP with the United States Copyright Office under several different titles, including Young Like Me and Rock Me Stable. None of these were officially released, but they were later leaked online.
What is Lana Del Rey’s real name?
Before Del Rey found widespread success, she experimented with various stage names, attempting to find the one that defined her best. Her birth name is Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, although she has never used this to release music. In 2005, she recorded the EP From The End under the name May Jailer and the full-length album Sirens the following year. These were entirely acoustic projects which leaked on the internet when Del Rey rose to fame.
Around this time, Del Rey also went by Sparkle Jump Rope Queen, which she used on MySpace to share three songs: ‘Slay’, ‘Axl Rose Husband’ and ‘Blue Ribbon’. Elsewhere, she used the name Lizzy Grant and the Phenomena, uploading three songs – ‘For K Part 2’, ‘Disco’, and ‘Let my Hair Down’ – on Reverb Nation in 2007. Del Rey also went by a shortened version of her birth name, Lizzy Grant, which she used to release her debut EP, Kill Kill, via 5 Points Records. It contained three songs, including ‘Yayo’, which she reworked for Paradise in 2012.
What was Lana Del Rey’s first album?
In 2010, the singer released her debut album, using the name Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant. It was released on iTunes before being shortly removed. There has been much speculation over what happened to the album, but label owner David Nichtern once revealed to MTV: “Her and her new manager came in and said, ‘We want to get this off the market. We’re going for a completely new deal. We’ll buy you out of the deal’. So we made a separation agreement.”
The album contains tracks such as ‘Mermaid Motel’, ‘Raise Me Up (Mississippi South)’ and ‘Put Me in a Movie’, which have since become popular online. However, these songs have a much more haunting sound and darker, tragic lyrical content.
How did Lana Del Rey pick her stage name?
By 2011, Lana Del Ray had become Lana Del Rey, which she has used for all subsequent releases. Talking to Vogue, she once explained how she picked her stage name. “I wanted a name I could shape the music towards. I was going to Miami quite a lot at the time, speaking a lot of Spanish with my friends from Cuba – Lana Del Rey reminded us of the glamour of the seaside. It sounded gorgeous coming off the tip of the tongue.” Del Rey also took inspiration from the actor Lana Turner, who encapsulated the Hollywood glamour she wanted to emulate.
Del Rey’s decision to pick a distinctive pseudonym paid off – it’s one of the most iconic names in modern music, perfectly reflecting the drama and beauty of her songs.
