Lana Del Rey makes Billboard 200 history with ‘Born To Die’
Lana Del Rey has made musical history with her debut album, Born To Die. The LP has spent ten full years on the Billboard 200 chart.
Upon the release of Born To Die in January 2012, the album and Del Rey became a sensation. However, at the time of its release it split critical opinions. She gained a dedicated and cultish fan base, especially on Tumblr where she used to share demo tracks.
Making her a star thanks to her glamorous, cinematic aesthetic and heavily poetic lyrics, she inspired a whole new generation of artists, such as Billie Eilish, The Last Dinner Party, and more, citing her as a vital influence.
Her most recent ninth album, Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd., earned her five Grammy nominations, and her musical prowess remains as powerful as ever. Ever since that 2012 debut, her fanbase has only grown.
Born To Die, however, remains her most well-known. Having now spent ten full years on the Billboard chart, she’s made history as the first female artist to reach the milestone with a debut album.
Proving just how powerful of a first release it was, the record contains some of her biggest hits like ‘Video Games’, ‘Born To Die’ and ‘Ride’. Introducing her unique sound that merged indie, pop, ballads and hip hop, her vision has always been utterly singular. Referencing a whole host of other songs, works of literature and artwork from Bruce Springsteen to Allen Ginsberg, the record is a treasure trove of all the points of inspiration Del Rey has taken from.
She’d go on to build on all of this across her following releases. While her instrumentals have become notably more sparse and stripped back, her lyricism has remained as poetic and in-depth as ever.
At the 2024 Grammy awards, she is nominated for ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Best Alternative Music Album’ for Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. Her song ‘A&W’ is nominated for both ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘Best Alternative Music Performance’, while her track ‘Candy Necklaces’ with Jon Batiste is up for ‘Best Pop Duo/Group Performance’.
Winners will be announced at the ceremony on February 4th, 2024.
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