Sometimes stars emerge. Sometimes stars are thrust upon us. And sometimes stars simply slip into the atmosphere as if propelled by something otherworldly. It is into this last category that the astonishing presence, voice, look and feel of Lana Del Rey falls. Musical stardom is not an option with Ms Del Rey. It is her vocation. She calls herself the 'gangsta Nancy Sinatra' and defines her genre as 'Hollywood pop/ sadcore', a dramatic new loop for pop music. Her look she describes as 'Lolita got lost in the 'hood'. Get used to it all. This isn't just soundbite, it's Lana's reality.

Lana Del Rey grew up Lizzy Grant in Lake Placid on the outer edges of New York State. At 18, she fulfilled her lifelong ambition of decamping to New York City.  The process of her astonishing reinvention, fulfilling a natural propensity towards stardom, began on day one. Lizzy Grant started with the scrapping of her birth name. Lana Del Rey was born.

Her direct influences were visual as well as musical; David Lynch, soundtracks for '50s black and white movies, the whirring sound of the Ferris at Coney Island, fame itself.
All of these intimacies will coalesce on the debut Lana Del Rey album pencilled tentatively for early 2012. She intends to work with hip-hop heavyweights, with the future-perfect foot soldiers at the coal face of exciting pop.