On June 13th, Lana Del Rey released her third studio album, titled Ultraviolence. The controversial singer captured the US number one slot for the first time in the record’s opening week, despite not performing on American TV in over two years and only conducting a handful of print interviews. Ultraviolence sold 182,000 copies in its first seven days alone, marking a career-best sales week for Del Rey and worldwide, the album sold 880,000 copies, debuting at number one in twelve countries. Furthermore, the release of Ultraviolence marked the largest sales week for a female artist since Beyonce’s self-titled album sold 310,000 copies in its third week back in December 2013.
We may only be nine months into 2014, but with her third official release, Lana Del Rey has already crafted the album of the year. Of course, music is incredibly subjective, and Del Rey has divided the public more than almost any other artist in the past decade, so we figured you may need some convincing.
Read on to discover 10 reasons why Del Rey has dethroned all other performers this year with the release of Ultraviolence, the strongest work of her career so far.
Published: Sep 15, 2014 08:51 pm