Lana Del Rey Gave Heartfelt Speech Following Big Victory
On March 1, the Billboard Women in Music Awards honored Lana Del Rey with their highly-coveted 2023 Visionary Award.
The previous award recipient, Olivia Rodrigo, presented Del Rey with the honor. Rodrigo, a longtime fan of the 37-year-old singer-songwriter, introduced Del Rey in a beautiful, heartwarming opening. Rodrigo gushed, “Lana has raised an entire generation of music lovers and songwriters like me, and taught them that there’s beauty in their vulnerability and power in their melancholy.” Del Rey watched from the audience as Rodrigo spoke her kind words. When the camera panned to Del Rey, she lovingly mouthed “I love you so much.” to Rodrigo.
When stepping to the microphone, the Grammy-nominated artist shared her admiration for Rodrigo, “I can’t tell you how much it means that someone who wrote ‘Drivers License’ is standing next to me.” The songstress then went on to shout out SZA, the recipient of the event’s Woman of the Year Award: “SZA, from the minute I heard you, I knew I wanted to know you.” Del Rey continued, “When I released my first album 14 years ago, the waters were not quite as warm. I’m really happy for everyone who feels like it’s a wonderful time in the culture to be themselves and express themselves. It didn’t feel that way in 2008.” While concluding her speech, Del Rey ended on a joyous note, “I feel like being happy is the ultimate goal. So I did it. Thank you Billboard!”
Many of Del Rey’s fans took to Twitter to celebrate.
Lana Del Rey accepting the visionary award pic.twitter.com/2Qjz9wCF3C
— lana del rey hq (@LDRHQ) March 2, 2023
Lana Del Rey 💛 pic.twitter.com/YXkA4zQClg
— LDR Crave (@LDRCRAVE) March 2, 2023
The performer received the honor following a string of musical news and releases. In December of last year, she released the lead single to her upcoming album of the same name, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd., to critical acclaim. This past February, she released her jaw-dropping promotional single for the album “A&W” to widespread praise. Then, just this past week, her father, Robert Grant, announced his own upcoming album, which he will collaborate with her on.
14 years and 9 albums into her career, Del Rey seems to have no plans of slowing down. Her upcoming album has received a large amount of buzz for the quality of the pre-released tracks. The album is currently scheduled for a March 24 release. For more exciting Del Rey-esque news, click here. While fans wait for the release of the hotly-anticipated album, they can listen to “A&W” below.
Writer
