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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.

5) Ultraviolence Contains Another Killer Cover

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While Del Rey writes the vast majority of her own material, she also excels at re-conceptualising vintage ballads and making them her own. The singers interpretation of Blue Velvet is a beautifully restrained take on the classic song and her version of the Disney track Once Upon A Dream sounds like it could have actually been written for her.

To close the standard edition of Ultraviolence, Del Rey chose to record a track called The Other Woman, which was made famous by Nina Simone back in the late 1950’s. Ultraviolence tells a number of stories throughout its running time and each uses the public persona of Del Rey as a mouthpiece, glamorizing the dangers of excess, but this closing number acts as the perfect kiss-off, warning women that such pursuits rarely lead to happiness.

The mournful lyrics paint the picture of a woman always on the sidelines, acting as the third wheel to the rich and powerful men who she clings to. Del Rey’s vocals quiver with pain throughout and the bluesy saxophone encourages the listener to sympathize with the young starlet, even though she brought her woes on herself.