As the Grammy nomination was released on November 10th, it turns out that Lana Del Rey’s new record is nominated for Album of The Year for the 66th Grammy Award. Apart from her last nomination which was also an Album of the Year nomination for her previous record, “Norman Fuc#ing Rockwell,” in 2019 that had brought her recognition for her songwriting ability. The new direction she is taking is rather personal which is also followed on her two last LPs “Chemtrails over the Country Club” and “Blue Banister,” but both weren’t as strong and coherent as this new release, “Did You Know…” that maybe could bring the singer’s first grammy home.
“Don’t forget me. Like the tunnel under Ocean Boulevard,” compared to her work on NFR, Del Ray’s vocal ability had shifted into a more mature expression and became more prominent in her song’s production. The mentioning of oblivion in this track not only refers to her fade out in the media world, but also related to the open track, “The Grants,” that takes a note on the changes happening in her family- how time takes away what once was most close to us. The sense of family was continued onto the following track, “Sweet.” It talks about Lana’s desire to settle down, but also fearing that she wasn’t ready for this, because she is a different kind of woman.
“I’m different kind of woman, If you want some basic Bit##, go to the Beverly Center and find her.” Following that line, what kind of woman is she? In her own words, she is divisive, a side piece, and more importantly she is an unloved person. The transition from, “Sweet,” to, “A&W,” is the transformation of the center point of the family into her own psyche. Which in that case, “A&W,” is almost an over exaggerated protective anthem of herself. She can blame this entropy characteristic for anyone including her lost mother, her past lovers, or even herself.
The album then flows into her interpretation of her stardom with the use of symbolism in, “Candy Necklace.” Candy necklace is a symbol for her career that was given and controlled. An item that she is obsessed with, but needs to take off. After Candy Necklace the focus of the album turns back to Lana’s family. In, “Kintsugi,” she directly addresses the death of her uncle which leads to the concept of letting the light in as she sings, “Like cracking, the lights get in.”
Overall, ‘Did You Know…” is a very dense album that embraces imperfection as its manifesto, with its variety in sound not only her raw emotion is spread but also a signal to her fans on her musical revolution.