Lana Del Rey, known for her soft, melodic tone and ambient style of music, has released her ninth-studio album, “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd,” where Del Rey once again battles with metaphors of life and death, similar to most of her previous releases.
Lana Del Rey sprung to the top of the music scene with the release of her album “Born to Die” in 2012 with the hit song “Summertime Sadness.” Two years after her smashing success, she had been quoted with “wishing she was dead” in an interview with The Guardian. Concerns arose from fans around the world as they wondered why such a successful artist would want to let it all go. Del Rey struggled with the persona of being celebrity, as she despised the constant attention and negative criticism one receives from it. The identity of desiring to be here on Earth for only a short amount of time earned her an extremely devoted fanbase. In appreciating her honesty and dedication to the art of music, they idolize her as a public figure and role model. Since then, she has released 7 more studio albums, including her new ““Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd,” released on March 24th, 2023.
This album, along with her previous projects, has fought premature releases from hackers leaking them before the release date. Thanks to her team of individuals, and especially her very dedicated fans, usually they are taken down as quickly as possible. Del Rey frequently takes on social media to help her to bring an end to people stealing her hard work. Fans bombarded platforms where hackers released her stolen music, begging websites to take down the content, refusing to listen until she releases it herself. Every song on this album has been leaked before, yet fans still refused to listen.
In her new release, Del Rey has seemingly found more in life, particularly exemplified in her first song, “The Grants.” Lyrics quote, “My pastor told me when you leave, all you take is your memory/And I’m gonna take mine of you with me.” She once again is in a personal war with life and death, yet she has found something to hold on to while she is here.
Del Rey and her fans have anticipated this album for a while, as she publicly stated it was something different her listeners have not heard before. “Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd” features artist such as Jon batiste, SYML, Bleachers, and Tommy Genesis, featuring a wide range of genres.
Lana Del Rey has found herself through the creation of her music and the passion for her fans, which is heavily apparent in the lyrics of this well written and produced album. Fans and listeners should be excited for this new release and to see what she has planned for the future.
Photo Credits from genius.com
