Lust for Life received positive reviews from music critics and received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 60th Annual ceremony, becoming Del Rey's second nomination in the category. It appeared on the 2017 year-end best-albums lists from various publications.[5] The album was a global success, topping the charts in twelve countries including the United Kingdom, and United States, while reaching the top five in fifteen territories.
The album was promoted by the release of four singles. The lead single, "Love" was released to critical acclaim and moderate success, peaking at number 44 on the US Billboard Hot 100, while the title track, featuring the Weeknd, peaked at number 64.[6] "Summer Bummer" featuring ASAP Rocky and Playboi Carti; and "Groupie Love" also featuring ASAP Rocky were released as the third and fourth singles in the United Kingdom and Italy respectively. Del Rey embarked on her fourth headlining concert tour, entitled LA to the Moon Tour, which commenced on January 5, 2018, and concluded on August 10, 2018.
Background and release
Lana Del Rey first discussed the follow-up album to Honeymoon during an interview with NME magazine in December 2015. When asked where she would like to go with it and when it would be released, she replied by saying, "I do have early thoughts about what I'd like to do with it. My label, Interscope, is pretty flexible and open to my records coming out at any time, so I don't have that pressure. I'm just happy to be able to keep on making music I can stand behind. That's enough for me."[7] In February 2016, during Clive Davis's Pre-Grammy Gala, Del Rey told Billboard that her upcoming record would be a different direction from Honeymoon, while retaining the same aesthetic.[8]
On February 18, 2017, the album's lead single, "Love", was released. On April 18, in an interview with Courtney Love for Dazed, Del Rey confirmed a collaboration on the album with the Weeknd called "Lust for Life", and a collaboration with Sean Lennon called "Tomorrow Never Came".[9] She claimed to have worked with Max Martin for the title track, and was inspired by The Shangri-Las for the record's sound. A collaboration with Stevie Nicks entitled "Beautiful People, Beautiful Problems" was also confirmed to be featured on the album.[10][11] The second single, "Lust for Life", was released on April 19. The title of the album was announced on March 29, 2017, when Del Rey released a trailer for the album,[12] and the album's cover art was released by Del Rey on social media on April 11, 2017.[13] The album was released on July 21, 2017.[2]
Composition
Lust for Life mixes numerous music styles. It was described by Stereogum as "Lana Del Rey’s version of an A-list pop album, with a big budget and big-name contributors."[14] Its sound was also described as "new-agefolk" by Billboard[15] and "trappop" by Vulture.[16]Rolling Stone defined Lust for Life "her poppiest turn since her debut".[17] The record features recurring trap rhythms, classic rock references, "sepia-toned" orchestral backings, and Del Rey singing with a "hip-hop affectation".[18]The Daily Telegraph stated that the album "lets a bit of light into the darkness of Del Rey's moody past works," noting that "there's a sense of heightened drama in punchy Phil Spector style sixties back beats and the way the heavy timpani criss-crosses with echoing digital trap beats, all swathed in a gauzy haze of Shangri Las style girl group harmonies."[19]The Guardian described the album's sound as "sleek contemporary-sounding soundscapes," and noted "Summer Bummer"'s "eerie production and futuristic melancholy sounding closer to a track from Frank Ocean's Blonde than her usual 50s and 60s enthralled shtick."[20]The A.V. Club praised its modern simplicity, noting that "its beats are subtle hip-hop twitches or electro-pop swells, with percussion redolent of faraway fireworks booms or mellifluous melodic washes."[21]Pitchfork stated that the album "presented alt-pop’s quintessential sad girl as actually—could it be?—happy."[22]
Promotion
Singles
In January 2017, the lead single from the record, "Love", was registered online on Harry Fox Agency under the alternate title "Young in Love".[23] Fans began the speculate that the song would be featured on Del Rey's upcoming record, and on February 17, 2017, promotional posters for the "Love" music video directed by Rich Lee were put on display across Los Angeles.[24] Later that day, the song leaked online, forcing Del Rey to officially release the song earlier than she had expected. The song was officially released worldwide on February 18, and the music video on February 20.[25][26] "Love" debuted at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on Hot Rock Songs.[27][28] On April 19, BBC Radio 1 premiered Del Rey's new song, "Lust for Life", featuring singer the Weeknd.[29] The official audio was released to the iTunes Store and streaming services a few hours later as the second single from the album.[30]
"Summer Bummer" featuring ASAP Rocky and Playboi Carti was released to UK radio as the third single from the album on July 28, 2017.[31] "Groupie Love" featuring ASAP Rocky was released to Italian radio as the fourth single from the album on July 28, 2017.[1]
Though not released as a single, "White Mustang" was accompanied by a music video published on September 13, 2017. The video illustrates a futuristic Los Angeles in an aesthetic reminiscence of "High by the Beach".[33] It was released as the second promotional single.[citation needed]
Lust for Life received positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of a 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on 26 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews", becoming Del Rey's second best reviewed album at the time, behind Honeymoon (2015).[43][52]
Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph said the album is a "welcome throwback to the hip hop swagger that pushed through her fantastic 2012 debut Born to Die".[45]Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote a favorable review, saying the album "in rare moments, hints at a wink behind Ms. Del Rey's somber lullabies."[53] In a very positive review from GQ Magazine, Kevin Long wrote that "Like Lorde's Melodrama, Lust for Life is an accomplished piece of art, an antidote to the banal tunes permeating the charts and one of the best albums released this year so far."[54]
Billboard named Lust for Life their album of the week, writing "In a 2017 pop game riddled with thirst, trend-hops and burn-outs, Lana Del Rey has earned a remarkable, singular consistency."[55] Writing for The Independent, Roison O'Connor wrote that "Lust For Life is more of an elaboration on her favourite subjects rather than a repetition, in fact, it's her most expansive album to date," concluding that "Del Rey is far more self-aware than she has been on her previous albums."[56] El Hunt of DIY wrote that Lust for Life is "a record that is prepared to be truly vulnerable, and is all the more impactful for it."[57]
Commercial performance
Lust for Life debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 107,000 album-equivalent units of which 80,000 were pure album sales, marking Del Rey's second number one on the chart. The album also notably kept Tyler The Creator’s Flower Boy from the number one spot by 1,000 units [58] The record also debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with sales of 24,972 copies giving Del Rey her third number-one album on the chart.[59][60] In South Korea, the album debuted at number 57 on the Gaon Album Chart and at number five on the international version of the same chart.[61][62] The album was certified Gold in the US, UK, France, Australia, Italy, Denmark and Poland. It was certified Platinum in both Canada and Brazil. The album has sold over 160,555 copies in China, and was the 10th best selling western album of 2018 in China.[63]
