Lana Del Rey

Immensely talented, Lana Del Rey began singing in New York City at the age of 17 under her real name, Lizzy Grant. After releasing the indie EP Kill Kill in 2008 and Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant in 2010, she landed a major label record deal. Del Rey was certainly not the first artist to tweak her own image, and she released the hit single and EP Video Games, which epitomized her sound: downbeat, dark and thoroughly self-aware. Her seemingly out-of-nowhere success led to a surprise booking on "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ). In the aftermath, her major label debut, 2012's Born to Die, became an international hit. Lana Del Rey proved an impressive talent with a new, exciting sound who was able to provoke strong reactions from a normally jaded audience.

Born June 21, 1986 in New York City, Elizabeth Woolridge Grant attended boarding school in Connecticut before returning to New York City to pursue music. (She would later adopt "Lana Del Rey" as a stage name.) Taught how to play guitar by her uncle, Del Rey spent several years writing songs and playing club dates, honing her signature sound and look, inspired by 1960s glamour and modern day hip-hop. Originally performing under the name "Lizzy Grant," she released an EP in 2008, Kill Kill, that caught the attention of producer David Kahne. Signed to Kahne's independent label, Del Rey released 2010's Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant, which spelled "Rey" as "Ray."

Although only available briefly on iTunes, the album showcased Del Rey's unique appeal: tough but vulnerable lyrics, downbeat melodies, and a dark, self-aware glamour. When major labels began courting Del Rey, she bought back the rights to the album and had it pulled out of circulation in order to focus her career re-launch on her upcoming major label debut. Alternately worshipped and reviled for being perceived as hipster royalty, Del Rey and her burgeoning success sparked enormous amounts of controversy on the Internet, where countless stories about her supposed manufacturing generated unprecedented attention. Although a handful of her songs had leaked onto the Internet, Del Rey was the subject of both media hype and hatchet jobs before any of her music had been released to the mainstream.

In 2011, Del Rey signed to Stranger Records to release her debut single, "Video Games," a gorgeously gloomy ballad that featured a video spliced together from vintage Hollywood imagery, paparazzi footage of Paz de la Huerta, skateboarders and clips of Del Rey staring impassively at the camera. Although some critics decried what they saw as Del Rey's posing and self-described "gangsta Nancy Sinatra" persona, the song's elegiac power made inroads into mainstream culture, where it was used on the series "Ringer" (The CW, 2011- ). With the success of the Video Games EP, Del Rey once more set off a media firestorm when she served as the musical guest on the Daniel Radcliffe-hosted episode of "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975- ).

Whether it was Del Rey's dark songs, unusual singing voice or frozen-in-place lack of choreography, her performances on "SNL" went over well in the studio but many viewers at home immediately took to the Internet to blast the singer and the show for booking her. Once more proving her ability to polarize, Del Rey's critics surprisingly included "NBC Nightly News" (1970- ) anchor Brian Williams, who eviscerated her performance in an email to Gawker.com, which was leaked, while others, including host Radcliffe, defended her. So overwhelming was the media attack on Del Rey that, on a subsequent show, cast member Kristen Wiig portrayed the singer on a "Weekend Update" skit, in which she pointed out the absurdity of much of the criticism. Despite, or perhaps because of, the backlash and controversy, Del Rey's debut album, 2012's Born to Die, enjoyed massive amounts of critical attention, debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard charts but topping other charts around the world and becoming a commercial success. Buoyed by the album's ultimate reception, Del Rey announced she was considering rereleasing her indie debut as well.

By Jonathan Riggs