5 Things to Know About Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey has the allure of musicians of old. On top of her retro sound, she keeps things fairly close to her chest compared to her fellow pop singers. Because of this, there may be a good amount of information you don’t know about Del Rey.

Find five things you need to know about Del Rey, below.

1. She was almost not called Lana Del Rey

The singer/songwriter’s real name is Lizzy Grant. Though her birth name would’ve likely have been memorable enough to be a stage name, Grant decided to create the persona of Lana Del Rey to accompany her music. Before landing on Del Rey though, she cycled through a number of options including, Sparkle Jump Rope Queen and May Jailer.

[RELATED: Behind the Name: Lana Del Rey]

2. She studied metaphysics in college

Del Rey was once enrolled at Fordham University in New York, where she majored in metaphysics. “I was interested in God and how technology could bring us closer to finding out where we came from and why,” Del Rey once explained about her decision to pursue the unique field.

3. She released an album under a different moniker

While still operating under the moniker May Jailer, she released an album called Sirens. The album leaked online around the time Del Rey was promoting Born to Die. Though the project remains in the demo stages, it is still Del Rey’s first full-length album.

4. She has a tattoo in honor of her grandmother

Del Rey has several tattoos but, perhaps her most sentimental is a cursive letter “M” on her hand, in honor of her grandmother, Madeleine. She also has the words “Paradise” and “Trust no one” on her hands.

5. Many of her songs are inspired by her “dark side”

Del Rey helped to usher in an era of “sadcore” pop singers. Many of her lyrics tend to be morose, which Del Rey attributes to her “dark side.”

“At first it’s fine and you think you have a dark side – it’s exciting – and then you realize the dark side wins every time if you decide to indulge in it,” she once told GQ. “It’s also a completely different way of living when you know that. It’s like being a different species of person. It was horrific. It was the worst thing that ever happened to me.”

(Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)