Today, January 4, marks the 14th anniversary of the release of Lana Del Rey‘s debut studio album “Lana Del Ray.” After all this time, we still haven’t had the pleasure of hearing the songs on this project as the album was pulled from the market shortly after its release. Here is the story behind this fascinating LP and why it suddenly disappeared.
Related
‘Kill Kill’ EP Emergence
The year 2008 was coming to an end when Lana Del Rey, then known as Lizzy Grant, released her first three-track EP “Kill Kill,” but it wasn’t the first idea. In fact, during that year, Lizzy worked with producer David Kahne, and the result was the recording of 13 songs. She had plans to drop a full-length but the label, 5 Points Records, chose three tracks and opted for a promotional EP, “Kill Kill.” “I was never expecting to release an EP,” Lana said to Index Magazine, “when iTunes came to us, and became fervent supporters and said, ‘put out anything and we’ll give you the artist’s spotlight’. We decided, okay, we’ll just put out an EP.” “Kill Kill” was met with critical acclaim, and Lizzy Grant became one of the most captivating emerging artists.
The Birth of ‘Lana Del Rey’ and the Release of ‘Lana Del Ray’
Following the success achieved by the debut EP, the remaining 10 unreleased songs were meant to be released as an album. In the time before the album release, Lizzy expressed her desire to change the stage name, and while on vacation in Miami, she started speaking Spanish with some Cuban friends, and it was there that ‘Lana Del Rey‘ was born. The name comes from the combination of Lana Turner and the Ford Del Rey. However, at that time, she opted for Lana Del Ray. Soon afterward, her debut album was officially released only through digital stores, iTunes, and Amazon, with the title “Lana Del Ray” and also “Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant.” The album was planned for a physical release, with a minimal number of CDs being pressed to sell at live shows.
Cancellation, Rumors, and Possible Re-Release
“Lana Del Ray” was suddenly removed from the market just three months after its initial release, and Lana and her management reached a separation agreement with the label, 5 Points Records. So the question arises: what happened? An explanation was provided by the owner of 5 Point Records, David Nichtern, who was interviewed by MTV in 2012. The musician and producer disclosed that as plans for a full album unfolded, significant shifts occurred, including the artist’s decision to change her name to Lana Del Rey and acquire new management. “She wanted to change her name, got new management, they wanted to change the record.” He also noticed a lack of Lana’s enthusiasm about the record. Despite efforts to guide the artist, she remained resolute in her decisions, ultimately culminating in a separation agreement to remove the album from the market. “Her and her new manager came in and said ‘We want to get this off the market. We’re going for a completely new deal. We’ll buy you out of the deal.’ So we made a separation agreement.”
Furthermore, Nichtern refuted rumors suggesting that Lana Del Rey’s father provided financial support, stating, “The whole thing that she was backed by her millionaire dad is a bunch of crap, basically.” He also dismissed any notion that the label had allocated a modest budget for the project, clarifying, “It was an all-in budget of $50,000. And we also gave her a significant advance.”
Following the success of her major-label debut album, “Born To Die” (2012), Lana expressed her wish to re-release “Lana Del Ray” and bought back the rights to the album, but as of 2024, this hasn’t happened.
Leave a Reply