In a recent New York Times interview (published August 28), Lana Del Rey ruminates on the state of mainstream pop music and reflects on how her influences have shaped the scene. “I love Billie Eilish, and I feel like I’ve been waiting for this time in pop-music culture,” she said, “I personally am very discerning. I can tell if a female pop singer, for instance, has a generosity of spirit or a playful fire in her heart. With Billie, she’s prodigious. I needed to hear one line of one melody and I just know.”
Eilish has risen to fame at an astronomical rate in the last two years without releasing a debut album until March of this year. Praise from Del Rey follows on from numerous praises including a comment from Thom Yorke of “you’re the only one doing anything fucking interesting nowadays,” at Coachella in April.
Del Rey goes on to discuss everything from her “Kanye West is blonde and gone,” lyric, to the release of her song “Looking for America”, a solemn response to a succession of mass shootings, and working with famed producer and frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff.
The singer recently released a double music video for singles “Fuck It I Love You” and “The Greatest”, in anticipation of her upcoming fifth studio album Norman Fucking Rockwell! which is released tomorrow, August 30.
While we want for the album of the year, read back on Lana in conversation with Courtney Love, and our exploration of the musician’s kitsch pop mythology.