Lana Del Rey has said that she “didn’t want to sing anymore” after Amy Winehouse died in 2011.
In an interview with MOJO, as reported by NME, the singer said she considered quitting music after her first review came out on the same day as Winehouse’s death. “I had 10 seconds of the most elated feeling,” Del Rey explained, “and then the news everywhere, on all of the televisions, was that Amy had died on her front steps and I was like, ‘No. NO.”
“Everyone was watching, mesmerised,” she continued, “but I personally felt like I didn’t even want to sing anymore.”
Del Rey has previously spoken of Winehouse’s influence on her, telling FASHION in 2013: “I believe in Amy Winehouse. I know she’s not with us anymore but I believe she was who she was and in that way, she got it right.”
In 2017, Del Rey sparked confusion among fans when she posted a photo of herself and Winehouse together in a car on Instagram. As Del Rey wasn’t famous until after Winehouse’s death, it was clear the photo was edited; user @tselekoglu quickly took credit for the Photoshopped image, as well as a handful of others he created of the pair’s fictitious friendship.
Last month, Del Rey shared the cover and tracklist of her forthcoming album, Chemtrails Over the Country Club, as well as a bizarre Instagram comment about the cover’s apparent lack of diversity. “Yes there are people of colour on this record’s picture,” the singer said in a now-deleted comment, “and that’s all I’ll say about that but thank you.”
The album is set to be released on March 19 – you can watch the video for its title track here.
