Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1986), better known by her stage name Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Del Rey initially began performing in clubs in New York City at age 18 and signed her first recording contract when she was 20 years old with 5 Points Records, releasing her first digital album Lana Del Ray a.k.a. Lizzy Grant in January 2010. Del Rey bought herself out of the contract with 5 Points Records in April 2010 and signed a joint contract with Interscope, Polydor, and Stranger Records in October 2011.
After she released her debut single "Video Games" in June 2011, a music video created by Del Rey for the song was posted on YouTube in August 2011. After the song became a viral internet hit with over 20 million views, her second studio album, Born to Die, was released in January 2012. The album sold over 3.6 million copies worldwide in 2012, making it the fifth best-selling album of 2012. Charting across Europe, the album spawned numerous top ten hits, including "Blue Jeans", "National Anthem", "Born to Die", and "Summertime Sadness."