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Lana Del Rey Discusses Upcoming Music In New Interview

Interscope Records

In a recent interview, Lana Del Rey discussed her childhood in Lake Placid, New York, personal transformations, and upcoming musical projects.

The singer hit stardom at the age of 27, with her first studio album, Born To Die. Ever since, she has accomplished milestones such as receiving 11 Grammy nominations, an MTV Video Music Award, and two Billboard Women in Music Awards.

Recently, Del Rey has been on two covers of Vogue Italia, the first one back in 2019 and her second now five years later. She graces the cover with the help of Steven Meisel, who was “inspired by a shoot he did with Sofia Coppola for Vogue Italia in 2014.” The front cover shows the artist in an all-black look, from her headscarf to her double eyeliner. Inside the issue, the “Tough” singer gave both Vogue Italia and readers some insight into her life, and stories never heard before.

“I was the leader of my church choir from the time I was 12. I lived in this tiny town with 700 people. We moved there when I was a year old, and I went to school with the same people. At 15, I had the craziest and most wonderful time. It was the first time I was allowed to go out alone, to make mistakes, to dream. I started taking on those jobs you do when you’re still a kid, waitressing, hostessing. I was so excited that I could even see my whole life in Lake Placid. But I wanted a life as a singer,” she told Vogue Italia. After a brief time in Duluth, Minnesota, she moved back to New York.

“When I was a kid, I didn’t know much about music, but I knew a lot about actresses. And I wanted the name of an actress,” Del Rey detailed. By merging the names of American actress Lana Turner and Delray Beach, Florida, Lana Del Rey came about. However, Del Rey explains she is entering a new era in music because she now feels “disconnected” from her older work. “I’m entering a new era. It happened also with Chemtrails over the country club and Blue Banisters, I made these albums by myself. It has a lot to do with living in Oklahoma and feeling different,” she added. “My eyes have seen so many open spaces, I’ve felt the wind, and that’s the kind of energy I want to talk about now.”

Del Rey also hinted to fans that her upcoming album Lasso, inspired by spending time in Mississippi and Arkansas, will be “Southern gothic” and “less country” because she couldn’t identify with it. This was news to many fans, especially after recently marrying a boat captain in Louisiana, and getting married “on the banks of a Louisiana swamp.”

“People used to think my lyrics were problematic, but now every singer is spilling away their hearts. I think that’s a good thing. Maybe if I’d started now instead of 12 years ago, I’d be a real poet of pain and wouldn’t have suffered so much,” she reflected while talking about self-acceptance and boundaries.

“It’s awful when someone wants to see in your shadows trying to find something. Most people must know I’m connecting with my shadows, and it’s ok, but for some people it’s almost like an obsession. And I got caught up in it. A bit like Ophelia or Juliet. It’s like a car crash that people couldn’t help but stop and stare at. Maybe it was Freud who said that 30 percent of what you think about yourself is really just what you’ve heard others say about you. That’s why I’ve been very careful, and mindful especially in recent years. I didn’t want to end up like that car. I didn’t want to become Ophelia. All I ever wanted from her were the flowers.”

If you’re interested in reading the whole interview, click here.