Lana Del Rey is venturing into a new genre of music. Speaking with MOJO magazine in a recent interview, the singer-songwriter, whose real name is Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, revealed that she has recorded a cover album of country songs. She also teased that in addition to the country covers album, she has another collection of “other folk songs,” both of which are waiting to be released.
According to ContactMusic, the “Video Games” singer acknowledged that there may be some “skepticism” in her change in musical direction. Despite this, she insisted that there has always been a country tone in her music, particularly in “Ride” and “Video Games.” The singer said she “went back and listened to ‘Ride’ and ‘Video Games’ and thought, you know they’re kind of country. I mean, they’re definitely not pop.”
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“Maybe the way ‘Video Games’ got remastered, they’re pop – but there’s something Americana about it for sure,” she explained. “So let’s see how these things come out – I’m not going to have pedal steel guitar on every single thing, but it is easy for me to write.”
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Although it is not clear when the singer plans to release those covers, she’s still giving fans plenty of new music. She is set to release her seventh studio album, Chemtrails Over the Country Club, on March 19. The album was initially set to release in 2020, but was delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. She gave fans a taste of the album in October when she released “Let Me Love You Like a Woman,” which she also performed, according to Rolling Stone. In January, the singer again teased the album when she shared what appeared to be the cover and tracklist for it on Instagram. The album will include tracks such as “Wild at Heart,” “Dark But Just a Game,” and “Dance Till We Die.”
As she prepares for the upcoming release, she is also reflecting on the earlier days of her career. During her conversation with MOJO magazine, Del Rey recalled the day she received her first review, which came after she nearly gave up singing following the death of her idol, Amy Winehouse.
“I had 10 seconds of the most elated feeling, 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, mesmerized, but I personally felt like I didn’t even want to sing any more,” she said. “I maybe thought about Broadway. You’d get like a hundred dollars for singing background on records that would lead to nowhere.’
Del Rey’s upcoming album is set to release on March 19, 2021. It comes on the heels of 2019’s Norman F–ing Rockwell!. In 2020, the singer also released her debut poetry book, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass.
