Star construction - Lana Del Rey

1. Star Construction
Lana Del Rey

2. Biography
• Birth name was Elizabeth Woolridge Grant and was formally known as ‘Lizzy Grant’
• Born June 21, 1985
• American singer, songwriter and model
• Signed her first contract with ‘5 Points Records’ in 2007
• Released her first album, ‘Lana Del Rey’ in 2010, followed by ‘Born to Die’ in 2012
• Her music is classified in the following genres:
Dream Pop
Baroque Pop
Indie Pop
Psychedelic Rock
Rock
Trip Hop

3. Image and Hair
Lana’s image is very much inspired by
the 1950’s; her fashion staples and
make up are extremely reminiscent of
this period. Her hair is often styled in
popular retro styles.
She is renown for her enigmatic
persona, a trait that her fans adore
her for. She constructs herself to
appear very seductive, yet
sophisticated and uses her sexuality
to heighten issues in society.

4. Setting
The setting that a star is shown in can
reveal a lot about the artist’s persona.
Lana is often shown is scenic, serene
locations either in an urban city
environment or somewhere where
she is immersed in nature, like a
woods or by the beach. This is very
iconic of indie music videos and
connotes a sense of serenity which is
normally destroyed later in the video;
by having such a large contrast
between the narrative (or overriding
concept) and star to help shock the
audience.

5. Album Covers
Lana’s album covers usually consist of
either a close up or midshot portrait,
where she is centered. She uses the
same sans-serif font in either white or
red, and the text is always at the top
bottom. The images used on the
album cover reflect the rest of her star
construct, depicting her persona to be
elegant and refined, but also retro
and somewhat edgy.

6. Website
When you first enter the site, there is
an advertisement for Lana’s
upcoming album and then a link to
the rest of the site. There are different
areas like where you can view tour
dates and book tickets, watch her
music videos and follow her on the
different social medias.

7. Star construction
Lana’s image is, according to Andy
Welsh of CLASH magazine,
consciously fabricated, right down to
her choice of words during a
photoshoot. She is assumed by Welsh
to be “constantly querying how she
looks and how it might be perceived”;
a fascinating concept which reveals a
great depth to her method acting in
attempts to so carefully construct her
star persona.