By Sania Daniyal
The epitome of Hollywood sadcore, Lana Del Rey, debuted over a decade ago to almost immediate acclaim, and it has been a bumpy ride ever since. Despite the fact that her music style has remained consistent, controversies outside of her music have led her to be portrayed as an anti-feminist, an example of out-of-touch whiteness, but also remains a role model to many.
Del Rey has been a source of controversy for a decade, even before her debut album “Born to Die” was released. As soon as she broke out in 2011 with her single, “Video Games,” people were upset that Lizzy Grant, a struggling singer-songwriter, had changed her name to Lana Del Rey, given herself a stylish makeover, and began spewing out dreamy pop songs that relied heavily on the iconography of ‘50s and ‘60s Americana. There was backlash and controversy over “authenticity” from people who were upset that her music seemed less valid because she changed her name and crafted a persona for herself.
“Despite my raging love for Lana and her music, I do believe she has room for improvement in how she addresses certain issues. I think it’s kind of ironic how despite being such an eloquent songwriter, Lana often has trouble expressing her thoughts and opinions in a cohesive manner,” said freshman Guneet Hanjra.
Source by Jada Seto
With a cover filled with influential females, Del Rey conveys her feminism through her lyrics and through her artistic design.
Even then, there have been plenty of complaints in the years after “Born to Die.” Many people have objected to the way her music glorifies abuse, such as in her 2014 song, “Ultraviolence,” where she paraphrases The Crystals, singing, “He hit me and it felt like a kiss, I can hear violins, violins.”
“I sing ‘Ultraviolence’ but I don’t sing that line anymore. Having someone be aggressive in a relationship was the only relationship I knew. I’m not going to say that that [lyric] was 100 percent true, but I do feel comfortable saying what I was used to was a difficult, tumultuous relationship, and it wasn’t because of me. It didn’t come from my end,” said Del Rey to Pitchfork in 2017.
With her newly released album, “Chemtrails over the Country Club,” Del Rey continues to spark controversy; however, with a large fanbase, the anticipation of her long-awaited album and excitement for the next new summertime pop song bring many memories and conversations to all of her listeners.
“Obviously and especially within the last year she seems to have just gone completely off the rails, and Lana fans have gotten a lot of heat for it, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that no one holds Lana accountable for her actions more than her fandom. Does her new album make up for her wearing a mesh mask to a meet and greet, no, but the bridge to ‘Wild at Heart’ makes me forget about it for a little while,” said freshman Nicole Donnelly.