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10 Reasons Why Lana Del Rey’s Ultraviolence Is Already The Album of the Year

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.

10) Ultraviolence Preempts The Critics

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Lana Del Rey - Brooklyn-Baby

Del Rey has faced more than her fair share of criticism since she first appeared on the scene back in late 2011. Despite her initial success with Video Games, critics were keen to shoot her down, declaring that Del Rey’s public persona was false and that her music contained no real depth.

On Ultraviolence, Del Rey deliberately makes fun of herself, overtly satirizing comments fired her way in an attempt to bait the critics who denounced her earlier music. On the single Brooklyn Baby, Del Rey pokes fun at hipsters, describing a character who defines herself in terms of how cool she is, wearing feathers in her hair and discussing beat poetry. The shallow picture she portrays here is one that critics have often used to describe Del Rey herself in the past and those who take the lyrics at face value may continue thinking this way of her in the foreseeable future.

In response to gossip, Del Rey penned another track on the album called I Fucked My Way To The Top, which declares that power must be obtained for women through their sexuality. The explicit title is a prime example of how Del Rey actively seeks to provoke her critics, luring them into falling for her bait. In a recent interview, Del Rey freely admits that she has slept with a number of industry guys in the past, but ultimately, none of them helped her to become the success that she is today.