9 Fun Facts You Didn’t Know About Lana Del Rey - “The Queen Of Sadcore”

Lana Del Rey is a well-known American singer-songwriter who pioneered the ‘Sadcore’ genre. Her songs focus on the sad things in life, and she sings about love, loss, and death.

Del Rey was a complex child who faced many emotions towards the fear of death and, in her teen years, turned this into songwriting. 

Full Name

Elizabeth Woolridge Grant is Lana Del Rey’s birth name, and Lizzy is her nickname. Del Rey was born on June 21, 1985, in Manhattan, New York City, USA, and is of Scottish descent.

Siblings 

She is the eldest of 3, with a younger sister, Caroline, and a younger brother Charlie. Rob Grant, Del Rey’s father, became an internet millionaire by investing in domain names.

Fear Of Leaving

As a child, Del Rey developed a fear of being mortal, which took a toll on her mental health, causing anxiety and depression. This sadness towards the thought of her loved ones eventually dying caused her to turn to alcohol.

Education

In 2004, Del Rey got a place at Fordham University, where she majored in philosophy. After graduating at 18, Del Rey lived with her uncle, who taught her to play the guitar on Long Island.

Singing Career

May Jailer was Del Rey’s first stage name. She made her first album titled Sirens under her former stage name when she was at Fordham University. 

Del Rey’s first public performance was in 2006 while she was still studying. In 2007, she was given a $10,000 recording contract from 5 Points Records.

Viral Moment

Del Rey went viral with her song “Video Games,” gaining over 20 million views on YouTube within five months of being uploaded. It also became the song of the decade at the Q Awards in London. Songs from the Sirens album were leaked onto YouTube in 2012; this showed much of her progress in the music industry. 

Success In The Music Industry 

Born to Die, was top of the charts on the iTunes store in 18 countries and topped the charts in 11 countries. The music video for the Born to Die album was shot in the Palace of Fontainebleau, France, and it was the first-ever music video to be allowed access for shooting inside. The millionth copy of Born to Die was sold in the US in March 2014.

The Meaning Behind The Tattoo M

The letter ‘M’ is tattooed on her left hand for her grandmother Madeline as Del Rey was very close to her. As well as the M tattoo, Del Rey has multiple tattoos, most of which are words or phrases.  

Queen Of Sadcore

Del Rey is known as the ‘Queen of Sadcore,’ a genre of music associated with her music. She has received multiple awards; 2 Brit Awards, 9 GAFFA Awards, 2 MTV Europe Music Awards, and a Satellite Award. She might not come across as the sporty type, but she is a football fan and supports Liverpool FC.