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How did Lana Del Rey become cool again?
After a series of controversies and a loss of inspiration, American singer Lana Del Rey made a comeback in 2023 with the brilliant album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, on which she reclaimed her throne as a talented and compelling pop diva. Following the recent release of her single White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter (2026), here’s a closer look at her meteoric return to hype.
By Violaine Schütz.
Published on 6 October 2025. Updated on 28 May 2026.
Charli xcx dropped her name in the song Mean Girls, Billie Eilish praises her, pop phenomenon Addison Rae performed with her, Skims chose her to pose as in their latest glamorous, kitsch campaign shot by Nadia Lee Cohen, a few years after a live performance at Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s wedding.
More recently, she has made an impression with ethereal appearances at the Met Gala as well as at the Valentino spring-summer 2026 show in Paris. Not to mention her standout concerts during the 2024 edition of Coachella… In short, singer Lana Del Rey is on everyone’s lips. Yet only a few years ago, the enigmatic music star was far from unanimously admired.
An inspiration for Addison Rae and Charli xcx
Let’s go back to 2021. The American artist, now 40, released two uneven albums, Chemtrails Over the Country Club and Blue Banisters was at the center of many controversies. At a time when her inspiration seemed to be faltering, almost to the point of caricaturing her country-folk style with poetic lyrics about sex and death, Lana Del Rey also tarnished her image, so central to her success.
Before her recent resurgence, the talented singer-songwriter accumulated a series of missteps off stage. Questionable choices and slip-ups that, in the eyes of some, saw her fall from idol pedestal to an unsettling pseudo-rock diva.
All the more so, as these controversies fed into the criticism she had faced at the start of her career back when she was still operating in the informal indie rock scene under the name Lizzy Grant. Among them, the use of cosmetic surgery, her very pin-up, Hollywood imagery catering to the male gaze.
The domino effect of controversies surrounding Lana Del Rey
One of the public criticisms leveled at her? In 2012, the singer alluded to Harvey Weinstein in her track Cola. The singer never openly accused him or mentioned his last name, unlike Rose McGowan and Asia Argento. The Delphic Lana Del Rey merely whispered: “Harvey’s in the sky with diamonds / And he’s making me crazy / All he wants to do is party with his pretty baby / Come on, baby, let’s ride.” There have been far more forceful critiques. The singer has always taken care to present to the world the persona of an apolitical Lolita. But that hasn’t always gone down well…
Also in 2012, Courtney Love reproached Lana Del Rey for covering a song by her husband’s band, Nirvana—Heart-Shaped Box—without understanding what it was about. The Hole front woman took the opportunity to remind people on social media that the song actually referred to her vagina – she used to trim her pubic hair into a heart shape.
A spat with Kurt Cobain’s daughter
The height of irony? The singer of Born to Die later posed for Skims in a heart-shaped box. Two years after this controversy surrounding a cult grunge track, it was Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, who accused Lana Del Rey of glamorizing death, following comments she made about her father’s death in an interview.
In 2020, the star continued to spark controversy by appearing at a public event wearing a mesh, rhinestone-studded mask full of holes, at the height of the Covid pandemic. For many of her fans, who voiced their outrage on Twitter, it was an insult to healthcare workers and victims alike.
Overt criticisms against Doja Cat and Beyoncé
Still in 2020, the singer fueled division online after criticizing her peers. The Video Games performer, who has always said she was not interested in feminist struggles and is often accused of glamorizing abusive relationships, wrote on her X account (formerly Twitter): “Now that Doja Cat, Ariana (Grande), Camila (Cabello) – who would later be invited by Lana Del Rey at her Coachella performance, Cardi, Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé have had number ones about being sexy, wearing no clothes, f***ing, cheating, etc., can I go back to singing – feeling beautiful by being in love even if the relationship is not perfect, or dancing for money, or whatever I want – without being crucified or saying that I’m glamorizing abuse?” In the wake of these not-so-sisterly comments, the hashtag #LanaDelReyIsOverParty was created.
Lana Del Rey’s rebirth
Yet, we refused to believe that the woman who had fueled so many fantasies now belonged to the past. We longed for the queen of pop to step down from her pedestal, to immerse herself in the small things of (real) life and finally rediscover her spark… The miracle came in early 2022. Several signs had alerted us to the return of Lana Del Rey’s cool.
First, on her Instagram account, aptly named Honeymoon, the singer began posting more down-to-earth, less staged, snapshots of herself, wearing less made-up. Then, we learned that she had purchased only one billboard to promote her new album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, and that it was located in the city of her ex, a police officer, in Tulsa. Things accelerated in February 2023, when Lana Del Rey posed for Nadia Lee Cohen for Interview magazine, more badass than ever, wearing a wedding dress, cigarette in her hand, on the hood of a car or on a motorbike, with her languid, sultry pout. The ultimate flex? The singer was interviewed by Billie Eilish, who shared that she was a big fan of hers, emphasizing the influence she has had on today’s pop stars.
The acclaimed album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd
But it was above all the release of her ninth album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, published in March 2023, that sealed the shift. It showcases all the reasons why audiences fell madly in love with the singer, starting with her moving, versatile voice. On that record, the American artist offers sensual, vulnerable, bittersweet and restless songs whose intensity, beauty and complexity fully reveal themselves over time.
Better still, the pop-folk star impresses with touches of trap, jazz, folk and gospel, her subtle self-references to her own discography — she covers the track Venice Bitch on Taco Truck x VB — and unexpected guests such as Canadian rapper Tommy Genesis.
“I’m not that smart, but I have things to say.” — Lana Del Rey
With striking sincerity, generously laying bare her doubts, Lana Del Rey titles one of her tracks A&W, for “American Whore”. In it, she addresses the misogyny she faces as an unmarried, childless woman in the music industry. On another song, she sings: “I’m not that smart, but I have things to say.” Another confession? She admits she is well aware that many people hate her and confesses that she tried to end her life as a teenager. Lana Del Rey also wonders whether she would make a good mother and criticizes the upbringing she received from her own mother.
A great poet, the singer tackles the themes of family, death, spirituality, healing and love through heart-wrenching lyrics that read like a haiku. In doing so, she moves away from the postcard images of gangster America and starlets to capture memories and emotions that are at both intimate and universal.
A new album scheduled for 2026
With these deeply moving songs, Lana Del Rey has reclaimed her throne, the one she sat on in her Born to Die music video while wearing a flower crown. But this one has far more thorns and contains less plastic than the one she once wore back then.
In 2026, the singer is expected to release a brand-new album, Stove, which is said to lean more toward country music. Repeatedly delayed, one can only hope the new opus will allow her to maintain her status… In the meantime, her influence is everywhere, notably on the latest records by Selena Gomez and Addison Rae. Like many of her previous works, her latest single, White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter (2026), is mesmerizing.
White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter (2026) by Lana Del Rey, available now. The album Stove by Lana Del Rey does not have a release date yet.
