Lana Del Rey is one of the most influential female artists in modern times. Despite having no Grammy Awards to show, she has impacted thousands of other artists. Before Lana Del Rey became the icon she is today, she was formerly known by the stage name Lizzy Grant (circa 2008). She dropped the Lizzy Grant persona and became Lana Del Rey when she released her first album, Born to Die, in 2012. This album was all about mixing modern-period Tumblr sounds and aesthetics with throwback 1950s Americana glamour pop. From Born to Die to her new and upcoming projects, Lana has always found a way to recognize and pay tribute to all her personal inspirations in her works. She often explores different genres of music, but has a special way of embroidering the genre to fit into her style. In her 2014 record Ultraviolence, she dips into an indie rock feel. Instead of stepping out of her style and changing her vision to fit an indie rock album, she blends her already pronounced style of music to make her own sub-genre of how she envisions a Lana Del Rey indie rock album.

 Lana has also been known to collaborate with artists of all styles, such as Taylor Swift (pop), A$AP Rocky (rap), Stevie Nicks (rock), The Weeknd (R&B), Father John Misty (folk), and more. Her flexibility and ability to work within other artists’ styles and genres are other reasons why she is so influential. 

One thing that is so respectable about Lana Del Rey is that you can tell when anything is released by her, whether it be an Instagram post or a song, that she is always the one in control of her own career. Everything that she puts out into the world is authentic to her thought process and something you know she loves just as much as her fan base does. Lana has never been known or cared to put out Billboard Hot 100 archetypes of songs; she sticks to what she knows is right for her catalog and fan base. Her priority is to put out music that she likes and feels is genuine instead of commercial music, where the priority is exposure or money, which is an example of true artistry. With every rising artist, I see a bit of Lana Del Rey’s impact and influence in them. Lana will keep branching out into new ideas and create more art, and it will be intriguing to see her visions and how she brings them to life.