"In the land of Gods and

  monsters, I was an angel"

 -Lana Del Rey, "Gods & Monsters"

 

 

           

 

                Who is Lana Del Rey?

 

Elizabeth Grant, better known for her stage name Lana Del Rey,

was born on June 21 1985. She grew up in Lake Placid, New York,

and sang in her church choir. When she was a child, she attended

a Catholic elementary school but at the age of fifteen her parents

sent her away to a boarding school to deal with her alarming

alcohol abuse.

 

After graduating from high school, Del Rey took a year off.

Eventually, she decided to continue her education and majored

in philosophy at Fordham University because it “bridged the gap

between God and science.” She was “interested in God and how

technology could bring us closer to finding out where we came

from and why.”

 

Soon after finishing college, Del Rey began her music career.

She first released an album under her real name, Elizabeth

Grant, and then later recorded an album under the name

“May Jailer.” In 2010 she changed her name to Lana Del Rey

and her music career began to take off. Between the years 2011

and 2013, she released her first album under the name

Lana Del Rey: Born to Die, released an EP called Paradise and

wrote and starred in a film called Tropico.

 

Del Rey credits God as to what has helped her get through some

of the darkest places in her life. It is because of Del Rey’s strong

relationship with God and her strong religious views that I have

decided to explore the idea of religious mentions, or mentions

of God or Jesus, in popular music. Through this I have formed

the argument on whether an artist can create music without

showing aspects of their religious beliefs.