What song(s) got you interested in Lana?

[Doll Harlow 12,366]

For me, it happened in phases. In 2013, I knew about Lana but had never listened to her. One night on youtube I ended up discovering her Lizzy Grant stuff (I honestly don't remember how). The main song I remember listening to that night was Trash Magic. I remember being very intrigued by her style and took quite a liking to it. I didn't really get into her any further around that time though.

Then, in 2014, I decided to watch the video for Born to Die because I remembered seeing so many gifs of her with the flower crown on tumblr. I recall really relating to the lyrics and theme of the video because I was really in love with a guy I couldn't be with.

After that, I heard Once Upon a Dream from Maleficent and absolutely fell in love with the melancholy sound of her voice.

 

Then, in 2015, I crossed the threshold into fandom when I started looking up more of her old songs and music videos (I remember the one for Lolita in particular) and watching her new videos for the Honeymoon era (High by the Beach, Music to Watch Boys To). 

 

So yeah, how did it happen for you?

[Mista Midnight 346]

It only took one song, Blue Jeans.

 

The rest was history

[Beautiful Loser 48,618]

(Isn’t there a similar thread already?)

 

I heard about Lana first when the newspapers wrote about her, but that naturally wouldn’t be enough to make me listen to her music. But her stage name is fantastic and didn’t go from my mind. And Sweden is the land of H&M and there’s stores literally everywhere, so of course I saw her interesting face and read her name even more. But it still wasn’t enough to make me listen to her music, I was like “eh, just another celebrity doing photo shoots for clothes”.

But her NAME. It was stuck in my mind. So a few months later, I searched for her name on YouTube and watched Born To Die. And man, that was not interesting at all, a slow melody with a slow beat that I wasn’t used to. So I let her go.

Another month later, I went on YouTube again and typed in her name. The name was stuck like I said and I had to give her another chance. And nope, Born To Die sounded the same but hey, at least the video was pretty. Video Games was odd too. And Summertime Sadness.

But a week went by (I think) and I came back a third time. And the then I saw the light and fell in love with her. I think it was Video Games or Summertime Sadness that made me love her. I immediately fell in love with her dark voice that was so different from everyone else. I was impressed.

So after that, I played the whole Born To Die, Paradise edition, on Spotify in the living room (dad LOVED Ride and mom thought Lana was a girl group since her voice shifted so much lol) and shortly after, I bought the record and read the lyric book while waiting for my commuter train, trying to remember the melodies.

The end.

[salvatore 21,769]

i knew who she was, liked her thought she was pretty n loved the visuals and heard VG n SS but never paid much attention, was busy with irl stuff that distracted me from music as a whole; but i saw the paradise EP n it just looked like heaven, i never really looked into it but my first ever captivating song was burning desire w/ the jaguar sponsor. I was immediately hooked, and then while i was listening to a spotify playlist i heard Off To The Races and it never really clicked in my head it was her and was from BtD; but i replayed OttR constantly just over and over and over again; from there i heard DMD second and i fell right into this little hoe's trap

 

i'd do it all over again

[Make me your Dream Life 87,457]

The first time I listened to her, I was in my room, listening to her new album at the time, Born to Die, and I remember falling in love to her sound with Without You, getting that jolt of excitement from TIWMUG, and Off To The Races. 

I couldn't get over Blue Jeans, and don't think I will. The rest was history

[ultrarescent 909]

In 2012 my brother told me about her and showed me her BTD mv. I liked the video but I didn't fell in love with her. Then in 2015 HBTB and MTWBT came out and I fell in love with the sound and the mv. And after Honeymoon came out I decided to download it and I enjoyed the album cause it was soo much different from what I was listening to. It was slow and enchanting and captivating. That's how I became a fan of hers .

[BLURRYFACE 1,713]

2012 - My sister made me listen to 'Video Games' and I was hooked... 

[Creyk 11,677]

Born To Die, Mermaid Motel and Heavy Hitter

[californianfreak 3,484]

The unpure me back in 2011/2012 hated Lana. I thought she was boring and all her songs sounded the same - I even remember rolling my eyes and walking out the room while she came on with her performance on The Voice UK.

 

Nothing really happened from then until 2013 where the radio was playing in class and Video Games came on. I knew it was Lana but instantly fell in love with the song, and as soon as I got home I bought Born To Die on iTunes!

[graham4anything 2,859]

early on (though I knew of her earlier thanks to friends and friends of a friend and good old cassette homemade tapes)

was her covers of

 

End of the world - her cover of the (my) beloved Skeeter Davis's song

and her cover of  Happiest Girl in the USA

 

and the May Jailer stuff

 

The last time I had found an artist I thought would be a game changing unique artist was prior to the debut single Pet Shop Boys released, and when they hit,

I had a private bet with a friend that Neil/Chris would be around 30 years later and Tears for Fears (who were bigger commercially) would either be forgotten a one or two hit wonder, or an oldies act.

 

So that is 2 for 2.

[WildMustang 14,758]

I heard Blue Jeans and hated 

I heard Blue Jeans again and hated

I heard it again and I liked it a lot

but..when I heard video games....I fall in love...so soothing and unique

[CatchTheBreeze 1,681]

In may 2010 I came across the demo version of "Diet Mtn Dew" on YouTube – I liked it (a bit) and thought it was quite interesting and send it to some friends of mine. Early 2011 I saw "Kinda outta luck" and liked it even more, but it wasn't before "Video games" came along that Lana really caught my attention and convinced me.

[net wurker 1,891]

In 2013, just browsing around youtube, and came across a Gods & Monsters lyrics vid. The musical arrangement was so different than anything else going on at the time.  And that beautiful, captivating and haunting voice...I was hooked.

[Platinum Greenwich 13,841]

Back in the day when YouTube had ads on the background splash for every video, back in early 2012 or whatever, Lana was on literally every single one -- and having a song titled "Video Games" along with that name, I thought she was a latina electropop one-off, as embarrassing as that is to admit. I was like, Alexandra Stan is apparently over, but why should I care?

 

Needless to say, I eventually got tired of the mystery and clicked to watch the fucking video, and the opening strings to VG swooped in to emancipate my wig from my scalp. I've never seen it since that day.

 

I recall, besides VG, one of the first songs I listened to was OTTR, after which I found QOTGS and then one of the demos for DMD. I had all the "deep cuts" available on YouTube at the time, pretty much on a loop:

 

 

I remember watching this video in particular...

 

Shortly after I'd become sort of a casual fan, the trailer for Paradise was released, and that was what really did it for me. "My pussy tastes like Pepsi-Cola", indeed. And then I found out about her unreleased music -- which, looking back on it, I find it hilarious that I thought there was so much of it, considering the amount we have now.

[trayertrash 7,210]

Blue Jeans made me take notice, Ride made me love her, Noir turned me into a stan and I'm bitter as hell there's no Noir 2.0 

[Macintosh Manhattan 6,511]

First time I actually heard of Lana was when National Anthem M.V came out. I was flicking through music station and I came across it by chance. I was transfixed and instantly fell in love. I spent the rest of the day looking up music videos, photoshoots etc It was such a magical experience

 

[collin 607]

I had first heard of lana when the summetime sadness remix gained a bit of radio play and because of it I listened to the original too, I had always liked the original more but only listened to that one song of hers. Meanwhile I had friends who had fallen in love with her and kept trying to get me to listen to the rest of BtD. So one day i finally went on itunes and started listening to the previews, and ended up really liking dt mt dew and ottr (basically my ass just liked the face paced stuff at first) and eventually just impulsively bought the album on vinyl and fell in love, and now here i am with her plastered all over my apartment

[LaMartine 1,201]

i was living my life and video games was on tv while i was dealing with my parents, tbh that was right around when i left home (circa 2011). I remember I was distracted by the americana vhs imagery and her voice was beautiful but i didn't have time for that sort of thing if it makes sense.  was super busy and stressed. Then some years later I was cruising the guardian as you do for my english class studies in current affairs/politics and there was a review of lana with a high score but the way it was written was a bit cynical and guarded.. so i listened to ultraviolence on Deezer and i got 100% hooked on Cruel World. Then every single song on UV. I mean i knew it was iconic: CW, UV, SoC, BB and when West Coast ended i had to take a break because it was so awesome.  I mean I heard SS several times when you hang around at the bar and maybe once at the club and her voice was always nice. But Uv was what turned me into a stan   , and then I tried to find all of her unreleased. 

[Doll Harlow 12,366]

(Isn’t there a similar thread already?)

I didn't see the thread if there is one

[loleetah 4,084]

Before BTD came out in full, I stumbled upon the Lana Del Rey youtube account which (I think) at the time only had the homemade VG and BJ videos, and the audio of Born To Die posted. I immediately fell in love with VG and the other two songs. I wish I could remember how I got to that video, I think it may have been on the suggested videos from a Marina song. This was probably in 2011 or 2012 before the album came out. And I've been a stan ever since.