Lana Del Rey, a prominent name in music, can be considered one of the most influential artists of her time, with her permanent and everlonging style, being heard and reused in modern-day music. With a career spanning from 2005 and beyond, accomplished many achievements, such as being named The Greatest American Songwriter of the 21st Century by Rolling Stone UK, being awarded Variety’s Decade Award, as well as winning 40 awards throughout her run in the music industry many would assume Del Rey would have acquired a Grammy.
With her stylized and iconic Americana aesthetics and the arrival of a new and unique sound to the vocal pop world of 2011 with songs like Video Games, Del Rey’s music is undeniably prominent in culture. With Del Rey’s groundbreaking, and unforgettable lyrics, as well as production and personified image it’s hard to forget her, but unfortunately, that seems to be the case for the infamous Grammy Awards. Forget even being a poor word choice, with a better-suited word Neglect being more fitted, as the Grammy’s have seemed to refuse to award Lana Del Rey for her accomplishments.
Del Rey has had 11 Grammy nominations spanning from 2011 to the most recent awards in 2024, yet still has never taken home a statue. And why is that? It seems fans have had enough, with much outrage and backlash being shot at the Grammys after the most recent awards where Del Rey lost five nominations, similar to events that took place at the 2019 Grammy Awards where Del Rey also lost the sought Album of The Year Award. It seems fans have had enough and need an explanation as to the years of neglect of Del Rey and her artistry. So, why has Lana Del Rey never won a Grammy?
Lana del Rey arrived on the musical scene and to the interest of the public eye with her first single “Video Games” back in 2011. The song though not being a mainstream success in charts, broke the internet and was a viral sensation on the social media platform Tumblr, when the aesthetics and style of the music trended quite a bit. People were very interested in Del Rey as the music, production, and overall image of the artist was very new and almost refreshing to see, in such comparison to the mass production of “bubblegum pop” that had been popularized at the time by artists like Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.
Quickly following the massive success of Video Games Del Rey released her official debut album “Born To Die ” and was a massive success. The album was an international success, hitting number one on the U.K. charts and peaking at number two on the US charts. The album was also number five on the list of best-selling albums of 2012 and according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the album initially sold 3.4 million copies. The album was a massive success and was seen almost as a cultural reset as the music provided a very cinematic feel and composition, with many 1950’s’1960’s Americana influences, that created a very atmospheric gloss to the album and music.
Following the success of her debut, Del Rey released an extension to the album titled “Paradise” which was a continuation of the previous album with similar sounds and production being almost a sequel, as well as a single titled “Young and Beautiful” for the Great Gatsby movie soundtrack. This is where Del Rey garnered her first two Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2014 Grammy Awards. Del Rey lost both awards to artists Bruno Mars and Adele.
Del Rey would go on to release many more albums with no Grammy nominations until her 2017 Album Lust For Life was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards where she lost to Ed Sheeran. Del Rey would later receive two more nominations at the 2020 Grammy Awards, one for Song of The Year for her song NFR (Norman F***ing Rockwell), as well as an Album of The Year nomination for her album NFR! Del Rey lost both of these awards to Billie Eilish.
At the most recent 2024 Grammy Awards, Lana Del Rey was nominated 5 times for her album “Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd.” with the nominations being for Album of the Year, Song of The Year, Pop Duo/Group Performance, Alternative Music Album, as well as Alternative Music Performance. Del Rey would go on to lose all five nominations to numerous artists which left fans outraged and confused.
Doherty High School sophomore student Madelyn Kachel expressed her opinion saying, “Honestly it pissed me off (Del Rey losing five nominations) because she definitely deserves a Grammy as she’s an icon in the music industry, and has been working so long for so hard and has stayed a relevant name in the music industry”. So why has Lana Del Rey never won a Grammy award even after her long and successful career, with music that has shaped the industry and inspired new generations of artists like Billie Eilish, and will she ever be recognized for her accomplishments?
