| "Music to Watch Boys To" | ||||
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| Single by Lana Del Rey | ||||
| from the album Honeymoon | ||||
| Released | September 11, 2015 | |||
| Genre | Pop [1] | |||
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| Lana Del Rey singles chronology | ||||
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| "Music to Watch Boys To" on YouTube | ||||
"Music to Watch Boys To" is a song by American singer Lana Del Rey from her fourth studio album Honeymoon (2015). It was written by Del Rey and Rick Nowels. It was released as the second single from Honeymoon on September 11, 2015, via digital download.
Lana Del Rey first mentioned the song as a potential title for the whole album in late June 2014. On January 2, 2015, Lana Del Rey opened up a little more on the song, elaborating on how she wrote it in a visual, noirish way saying "the title (of the song) lends itself to a visual of shadows of men passing by, this girl's eyes, her face. I can definitely see things". [2] Del Rey later stated that "Music to Watch Boys To is one of my favourite songs from the record, I love the 30 second a cappella beginning. Reminds me of what Les Baxter would've had as a bonus track on Jewels of the Sea ." [3] The song was originally eyed as the lead single for the album. [4]
A snippet of the song was featured alongside excerpts from "Terrence Loves You", "Freak" and "High by the Beach" in an album sampler released September 8, 2015. [5] On September 9, 2015, Del Rey posted the official single cover on social media sites along with an announcement that the track would premier later that day on Beats 1 Radio. [6] [7] The song was officially released as the second single on September 11, 2015.
On June 3, 2015, model Jake Mast tweeted that the music video he had filmed with Del Rey earlier in the year was for the track and would be released in June, however, by the end of the month, no video had been released. [8] In September 2015, Del Rey posted a behind-the-scenes image from the video via her Instagram profile. [9] The official music video premiered on September 30, 2015. [10] The video features Del Rey lounging in a lawn chair while men play basketball on an empty court, and a group of young girls in dresses swimming together underwater. Scenes of Del Rey wearing glitter and wearing a black dress are inter cut in between the footage of the basketball players. The video ends with Del Rey and the young girls holding hands and jumping together in a line.
"Music to Watch Boys To" was well received by critics, many of whom applauded it for its surreal production when reviewing the album, although some were critical of its lack of pace. Metacritic listed it as the top track of the parent album, Honeymoon . [11] In a track-by-track review of the album, Amy Davidson of Digital Spy said: "The perfect 'Music to Watch Boys To' is apparently pretty plodding and calculable. Despite its seductive title, track two never really picks up pace. Yes, this is Lana Del Rey we're talking about and we're hardly expecting a dance-break and a guest rap spot, but it also lacks the syrupy melodrama we've become accustomed to when it comes to the star." [12] Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "In 'Music To Watch Boys To,' Del Rey imagines listening to her own songs while gawking at pretty young things, and listening to her multi-tracked sighs, it's hard to tell what turns her on more, listening or looking." [13] Rolling Stone called it "dreamy", saying, "Del Rey's dreamy slow-burner finds her echoing on the chorus, 'I like you a lot / So I do what you want' over a sparse, atmospheric beat." [14]
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| France (SNEP) [15] | 117 |
| Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) [16] | 17 |
| UK Singles (OCC) [17] | 186 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [18] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer and songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent references to pop culture and 1950s–1970s Americana. Her vintage Hollywood glamour aesthetic is showcased in her music videos. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an MTV Video Music Award, three MTV Europe Music Awards, two Brit Awards, two Billboard Women in Music, and a Satellite Award, in addition to nominations for eleven Grammy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Variety honored her at their Hitmakers Awards for being "one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 21st century". In 2023, Rolling Stone placed Del Rey on their list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time", while their sister publication Rolling Stone UK named her as "The Greatest American Songwriter of the 21st century".
Born to Die is the second and debut major-label studio album by American singer-songwriter, and record producer Lana Del Rey. It was released on January 27, 2012, through Interscope Records and Polydor Records. A reissue of the album, subtitled The Paradise Edition, was released on November 9, 2012. The new material from the reissue was also made available on a separate EP titled Paradise.
Paradise is the third extended play by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on November 9, 2012, in Australasia and November 11, 2012, worldwide by Polydor and Interscope. It was additionally packaged with the reissue of her major-label debut studio album, Born to Die (2012), titled Born to Die: The Paradise Edition. Grant enlisted collaborators including producers Rick Nowels, Justin Parker and Rick Rubin. The EP's sound has been described as baroque pop and trip hop.
Ultraviolence is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, released on June 13, 2014, by Polydor and Interscope Records. Originally dismissing the possibility of releasing another record after her major-label debut Born to Die (2012), Del Rey began planning its follow-up in 2013. Production continued into 2014, at which time she heavily collaborated with Dan Auerbach to revamp what she initially considered to be the completed record. The album saw additional contributions from producers such as Paul Epworth, Greg Kurstin, Daniel Heath, and Rick Nowels, and features a more guitar-based sound than Del Rey's previous releases.
"West Coast" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from her third studio album, Ultraviolence (2014). Written by Del Rey and Rick Nowels, it is a melancholy love song about a woman torn between love and ambition, and as a dedication to the West Coast of the United States. A psychedelic rock and soft rock ballad, the song was noted to be an evolution and more guitar-orientated in sound for Del Rey and was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. Described as a two-in-one song, its shifting tempo transitions downward by nearly 60 beats per minute at the chorus in a rhythmical shift reminiscent of The Beatles' 1965 single "We Can Work It Out", introduced by the guitar lick that begins The Beatles' 1964 single "And I Love Her". In the song, Del Rey's vocals comprises a more sensual and demented tone than in her previous releases, and are often sung in an anxious "breathy" style.
"Shades of Cool" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, taken from her third studio album, Ultraviolence (2014). It was written by Del Rey and Rick Nowels, and produced by Dan Auerbach. The song was released on May 26, 2014 by Interscope Records as the second single from Ultraviolence. Lyrically, the single talks about an "unfixable" man.
"Honeymoon" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey co-written by Rick Nowels. It was uploaded to her YouTube channel on July 14, 2015 and was released for purchase as the second promotional single on September 7, 2015 from her fourth studio album of the same name.
"High by the Beach" is a song recorded by American singer Lana Del Rey and the first single from her fourth studio album, Honeymoon (2015). Written by Lana Del Rey, Rick Nowels, and Kieron Menzies. A synth-led trap-pop and power pop ballad, it is more uptempo and pop-indebted than Del Rey's previous releases but prominently recalls the hip hop and trip hop influences of her 2012 album, Born to Die. The song is based around electronic production, a trap beat, and an orchestral organ arrangement.
Honeymoon is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter, and record producer Lana Del Rey. It was released on September 18, 2015, by Interscope and Polydor Records. Produced by Del Rey alongside longtime collaborators Rick Nowels and Kieron Menzies, Honeymoon marked a departure from the more guitar-driven instrumentation of Del Rey's previous effort Ultraviolence (2014) and a return to the baroque pop of Born to Die (2012) and Paradise (2012). Lyrically, the album touches on themes of tortured romance, resentment, lust, escapism and violence.
"Terrence Loves You" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey for her album Honeymoon (2015). It was released as the album's first promotional single on August 21, 2015. Written by Del Rey and Rick Nowels, the song has been described as "hypnotic", with Del Rey singing over piano, strings, and a "moaning" saxophone. The song contains an interpolation of the song "Space Oddity" by English singer-songwriter David Bowie from his eponymous second studio album. Del Rey stated that the song is her favorite from Honeymoon, describing it as "jazzy".
"Freak" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey for her album Honeymoon (2015). It was written by Del Rey and Rick Nowels. A music video for the song was released on February 9, 2016.
"Love" is a song by the American singer Lana Del Rey. It was released on February 18, 2017, by Polydor Records and Interscope Records, as the lead single from her fifth studio album, Lust for Life (2017). The song was written and produced by Del Rey, Benny Blanco, Emile Haynie and Rick Nowels, with additional production by Kieron Menzies. Its release was first teased with promotional posters hung in Los Angeles on February 17, after which the release date was pushed up due to leaked versions of the song surfacing online the same day. The song incorporates alternative pop, bubblegum pop, dream pop, and rock with a 50s style.
"Lust for Life" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey featuring Canadian singer the Weeknd. The song was written by the artists, Rick Nowels, and Max Martin and produced by Del Rey, Nowels, Dean Reid and Kieron Menzies. Martin handled the additional production. It was released on April 19, 2017, through Polydor Records and Interscope Records, as the second single from her fifth studio album of the same name (2017). A dream pop and bubblegum pop song, "Lust for Life" is reminiscent of 1960s music, especially from girl groups like the Shangri-Las and the Angels; the latter's 1963 song "My Boyfriend's Back" is referenced in the lyrics. It also quotes the poem "Invictus" by the English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903).
Lust for Life is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter, and record producer Lana Del Rey, released on July 21, 2017, through Polydor and Interscope Records worldwide and Urban Records in Germany. Marking a return to the "hip-hop inspired" sound of her major-label debut, Lust for Life features production from past collaborators Rick Nowels, Kieron Menzies and Emile Haynie, while also working for the first time with producers Boi-1da, Max Martin, Benny Blanco and Metro Boomin. It also features guest appearances from The Weeknd, ASAP Rocky, Stevie Nicks, Sean Lennon, and Playboi Carti. The album and its title were announced on March 29, 2017, through a trailer on Del Rey's official Vevo channel on YouTube.
"God Save Our Young Blood" is a song by American recording artist Børns featuring the vocals of American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. The song was produced by Tommy English and written by Børns and Thomas Schleiter. The song was their second collaboration on the album and was later released as the fourth single off the record.
"Mariners Apartment Complex" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey from her sixth studio album Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019). She wrote the song after a late night walk with her then partner, while they were reaching an "apartment complex". Produced by Del Rey and co-writer Jack Antonoff, it combines country, psychedelic folk, and soft rock over a balladic production. Lyrically, the narrator assures her lover of constant support and guidance in their beautiful yet problematic relationship. The song was released as the lead single from the album on September 12, 2018, by Polydor and Interscope Records.
"The Greatest" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, taken from her sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019). She wrote and produced it with Jack Antonoff. The song was released for digital download as a joint promotional single with "Fuck It I Love You" on August 22, 2019, by Interscope and Polydor Records. An accompanying "double feature" music video with the two was also released. Universal Music Group sent "The Greatest" to Italian radios on September 13, 2019, as the fifth single from the album.
"Arcadia" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on September 8, 2021, by Interscope Records and Polydor Records as the second and final single from Del Rey's eighth studio album, Blue Banisters (2021). The song was written and produced by the singer alongside Drew Erickson. The song is named after Arcadia, California.
Lana Del Rey just released a music video for "Music to Watch Boys To," the dreamy pop track from the singer's new album, Honeymoon
