Norman Fucking Rockwell! | ||||
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Released | August 30, 2019 | |||
Recorded | 2017–2019 | |||
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Length | 67:43 | |||
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Lana Del Rey chronology | ||||
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Singles from Norman Fucking Rockwell! | ||||
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Norman Fucking Rockwell! (abbreviated to NFR! in some releases) is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, released on August 30, 2019, by Interscope and Polydor Records. The album was primarily produced by Del Rey and Jack Antonoff, with additional contributions from Zach Dawes, Andrew Watt, and longtime Del Rey collaborator Rick Nowels. Musically, Norman Fucking Rockwell! features a soft rock sound consisting of psych-rock songs and piano ballads and features references to various classic rock artists. The title of the album is a reference to painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell.
Five singles were released to promote the album: "Mariners Apartment Complex", "Venice Bitch", "Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but I Have It", "Doin' Time", and "The Greatest". Del Rey embarked on her fifth concert tour, The Norman Fucking Rockwell! Tour, to promote them. It commenced on September 21, 2019, and concluded on November 30, 2019.
Norman Fucking Rockwell! received widespread acclaim. Music critics praised the album's poetic and refined lyricism, production and Del Rey's musical progression. The album reached number one in seven countries, including the United Kingdom, becoming Del Rey's fourth number one album in the region. In the United States, Norman Fucking Rockwell! peaked at number three, marking Del Rey's fifth consecutive top five album in the country. It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards. Norman Fucking Rockwell! was frequently listed by numerous publications as the best album of the year, and since its release has been regarded as one of the greatest and most revered albums of the decade and of all time, with Rolling Stone ranking it on their list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
When in attendance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, Lana Del Rey confirmed in an interview that she had begun work on her next album. [1] She revealed the title of one song, "Bartender", saying that she did not know if it would make the album's tracklist. [1] The album was recorded under the working title Bird World in its earlier stages of development. [2] [3] In September 2018, Del Rey premiered the album's second single, "Venice Bitch", in Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show, and joined for an interview where she confirmed that the album's title and its title track would be Norman Fucking Rockwell!. [4] [5] [6] She revealed that the album was nearly complete having recorded eleven tracks for it. [7] It was later reported that the album was scheduled for an early 2019 release. [8] In October 2018, Del Rey performed alongside Jack Antonoff, with whom she had collaborated on the record, at an Apple Music event, where she premiered the song "How to Disappear". [9] On December 31, 2018, Del Rey teased the song "Happiness Is a Butterfly" on social media. [10] [11] A snippet of the album's title track was shared by Del Rey in June 2019. [12] In July 2019, Del Rey performed at the FIB Benicàssim Festival, where she revealed that the album would be released the following month. [13]
Flood Magazine described the album's sound as "a mellow soft rock" and noted Del Rey's improved lyrics tackle larger themes than her previous work. [14] According to critics, Norman Fucking Rockwell! features "psych-rock jams" and piano-based ballads. [15] [16] Consequence described the record as featuring "psych-pop lullabies, tales of complicated, consuming romantic love, and overt odes to the tarnished dream of California." [17] It has been characterised as a "pop classic", [18] as well as embodying folk rock, [19] [20] and existing somewhere between the desert rock and "minimalist" trip hop of Del Rey's previous efforts. [21]
The album features a strong influence from 1970s classic rock. [22] Kitty Empire of The Observer noted that "strings and synth washes soundtrack multiple love songs", and also noted several classic rock references throughout the album, including Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl", Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy . [23] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone noted the album's "Laurel Canyon '70s soft-rock fantasies", including references to Joni Mitchell and the Eagles. [18]
No Ripcord described Norman Fucking Rockwell! as "a remarkably sharp pop record that retains her fascination with pop-culture iconography and the rosey simplicity of a post-war America where classic rock and blue jeans ruled and takes them to much deeper places". [24]
The album's cover art, release date, and track listing were announced by Del Rey on July 31, 2019. [25] The cover art features Del Rey and Duke Nicholson—actor Jack Nicholson's grandson—posing on a sailboat, with the album title and Del Rey's initials written in a comic-inspired style. [26] The photo was taken by Del Rey's sister Chuck Grant. [27] The following day, Del Rey released an album trailer. [28] On August 2, Urban Outfitters announced an exclusive vinyl of the album featuring an alternative album artwork, [29] also photographed by Chuck Grant. [30]
Throughout 2018, Del Rey shared snippets via social media of several songs intended for the album, including "Happiness Is a Butterfly", [31] "How to Disappear", [32] and "Cinnamon Girl". [33] She performed "How to Disappear" on October 29 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, debuting the full song for the first time. [34]
"Mariners Apartment Complex" was released as the album's first single on September 12, 2018. [35] The following week, on September 18, Del Rey released the second single, "Venice Bitch" and revealed the album title. [36] "Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but I Have It" followed as the third single on January 9, 2019. [37]
Del Rey released a cover of Sublime's "Doin' Time" on May 17, 2019, for a documentary about the band; [38] its music video was released on August 29, 2019, one day before the release of Norman Fucking Rockwell! [39] A double music video for "Fuck It I Love You" and "The Greatest" was released on August 22, 2019; [40] "The Greatest" was later released as the album's fifth single on September 13, 2019, in Italy. [41]
On August 1, 2019, Del Rey announced two legs of a tour in promotion of Norman Fucking Rockwell!. The first leg took place in North America in the fall of 2019 [42] and the second in Europe in early 2020. [43] The European leg of the tour was subsequently cancelled due to illness. [44]
On December 20, 2019, Del Rey released a 14-minute-long short film featuring the songs "Norman Fucking Rockwell", "Bartender", and "Happiness is a Butterfly". The film was directed by Chuck Grant and premiered on YouTube. [45]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 8.5/10 [46] |
Metacritic | 87/100 [47] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [22] |
The A.V. Club | B [48] |
Consequence | A− [17] |
Entertainment Weekly | B [49] |
The Guardian | [50] |
The Independent | [21] |
NME | [51] |
Pitchfork | 9.4/10 [20] |
Rolling Stone | [18] |
Uncut | 8/10 [52] |
Norman Fucking Rockwell! was met with widespread critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received a weighted average score of 87, based on 28 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [47] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.5 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus. [46]
Jenn Pelly of Pitchfork wrote that the album "establishes [Del Rey] as one of America’s greatest living songwriters". [20] In his review for Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield wrote "the long-awaited Norman Fucking Rockwell is even more massive and majestic than everyone hoped it would be. Lana turns her fifth and finest album into a tour of sordid American dreams, going deep cover in all our nation's most twisted fantasies of glamour and danger." [18] He concluded that Del Rey "has finally made her pop classic." [18] In a five-star review for NME , Rhian Daly called the album "nothing short of stunning." [51] Kristel Jax of Now wrote "Del Rey has shifted her kitschy patriotic fixation, dropping her flag-draped persona and making peace with a more complex, dystopian reality", also giving the album five stars. [53] For Slant Magazine , Sal Cinquemani described the album as "a heady collection of psych-rock and piano dirges that pour into each other and rarely shift tempo from track to track" as well as "frank assessments of the psychic effects of a world spiraling into chaos." [16] Also writing positively, Alexandra Pollard of The Independent wrote "The album is sultry and soporific, sitting somewhere between the minimalist trip hop of Del Rey’s early days, and the scuzzy desert rock she has toyed with over the years," and concluded that "This is Del Rey at her most assertive." [21] In his 'premature evaluation' for Stereogum , Tom Breihan wrote that the album is "a beautiful opus for a new dark age — a fond look back at the world we just wrecked", calling it "yoga music for the apocalypse." [54] Entertainment Weekly critic Maura Johnston said, "Del Rey digs deep into the atmospherics; her perpetually wounded drawl hovers above swooning strings and swirling synths, which rise up in extended codas and on power-ballad-worthy guitar solos". [49]
In a more mixed review, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian described the album as "an alternately beguiling and frustrating experience", concluding that despite Del Rey's evident talent, "it's hard not to wish that she would broaden her perspective, adopt a different persona, shake things up a little." [50] Channing Freeman of Sputnikmusic said, "This is her best album yet, and great moments abound amidst the fat". [55] Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph similarly wrote that the album "reveals Del Rey to be something of a one trick pony, but what a beautiful trick it is." [56]
The album was placed in numerous year-end lists of 2019, topping those by many publications. According to Metacritic, it was the most named album in the year-end rankings of 2019 albums by critics. [57] In 2021, Pitchfork readers voted Norman Fucking Rockwell! the 17th greatest album overall, and the best album by a female artist, of the previous 25 years. [58]
Publication | List | Year | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Billboard | The 50 Best Albums of 2019: Staff Picks | 2019 | 6 | |
Entertainment Weekly | The Best Albums of 2019 | 2019 | 9 | |
The Guardian | The 50 Best Albums of 2019 | 2019 | 1 | |
NME | The 50 Best Albums of 2019 | 2019 | 3 | |
The Best Albums of the Decade: The 2010s | 2019 | 89 | ||
The New York Times | Jon Caramanica's Best Albums of 2019 | 2019 | 6 | |
Jon Pareles' Best Albums of 2019 | 2019 | 7 | ||
Paste | The 50 Best Albums of 2019 | 2019 | 19 | |
The 30 Best Pop Albums of the 2010s | 2019 | 17 | ||
The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2024 | 151 | ||
Pitchfork | The 50 Best Albums of 2019 | 2019 | 1 | |
The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s | 2019 | 19 | ||
Rolling Stone | The 50 Best Albums of 2019 | 2019 | 3 | |
The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s | 2019 | 32 | ||
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | 2020 | 321 | ||
Slant Magazine | The 25 Best Albums of 2019 | 2019 | 1 | |
The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s | 2019 | 3 | ||
Time | The 10 Best Albums of 2019 | 2019 | 4 |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Q Awards | Best Album | Nominated | |
2020 | Grammy Awards | Album of the Year | Nominated | |
NME Awards | Best Album in the World | Won |
Norman Fucking Rockwell! debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 104,000 album-equivalent units (including 66,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week, [79] becoming Del Rey's sixth US top ten album on the chart. [79] In its second week, the album dropped to number nine, earning an additional 35,000 units. [80]
In the United Kingdom, Norman Fucking Rockwell! debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 31,000 copies, becoming her best sales week in the country since Ultraviolence (her following album, Chemtrails over the Country Club , would open up with higher weekly sales than Norman Fucking Rockwell!). [81] [82] The album became Lana Del Rey's fourth number one album in the UK, tying Taylor Swift as the female artist with the most solo number one albums in the UK during the 2010s. [83] In France, the album sold 8,000 copies in its first week, 800 more than Lust for Life 's first week. [84]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Norman Fucking Rockwell" |
| 4:08 | |
2. | "Mariners Apartment Complex" |
|
| 4:06 |
3. | "Venice Bitch" |
|
| 9:38 |
4. | "Fuck It I Love You" |
| 3:38 | |
5. | "Doin' Time" |
| 3:22 | |
6. | "Love Song" |
|
| 3:49 |
7. | "Cinnamon Girl" |
|
| 5:00 |
8. | "How to Disappear" |
|
| 3:48 |
9. | "California" |
|
| 5:05 |
10. | "The Next Best American Record" |
|
| 5:49 |
11. | "The Greatest" |
|
| 5:00 |
12. | "Bartender" |
|
| 4:23 |
13. | "Happiness Is a Butterfly" |
|
| 4:32 |
14. | "Hope Is a Dangerous Thing for a Woman Like Me to Have – but I Have It" |
|
| 5:24 [d] |
Total length: | 67:43 |
Notes
Credits adapted from official liner notes. [85]
Technical
| Musicians
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [139] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
Belgium (BEA) [140] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
Canada (Music Canada) [141] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [142] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
France | — | 31,000 [143] |
Italy (FIMI) [144] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV) [145] | 2× Platinum | 40,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [146] | Platinum | 300,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [147] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
"Doin' Time" is a song by American band Sublime, appearing as the closing track on their self-titled third album. The lyrics tell of a cheating girlfriend, whose infidelities and poor treatment of her lover make him feel like he is in prison. It was released as a single on November 25, 1997; the disc contained alternate versions of the song by Wyclef Jean and the Pharcyde. Additional versions appeared on the post-Bradley Nowell compilation album Second-hand Smoke and several bootlegs, including one with Snoop Dogg.
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant, known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-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 awards 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".
"Video Games" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. The song was produced by Robopop, while the lyrics were written by Del Rey and Justin Parker. It was first released to the Internet on May 5, 2011, and was later released on her extended play, Lana Del Rey. The song was re-released as the lead single from her second studio album, Born to Die, on October 7, 2011, through Interscope Records. "Video Games" is a baroque pop, dream pop, and downtempo ballad.
Born to Die is the second 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 extended play (EP) titled Paradise.
American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey has released nine studio albums, three extended plays (EPs), 41 singles, 18 promotional singles, and one box set. She also has one leaked demo album, which was not released officially. According to Universal Music Group (UMG), Del Rey has sold over 41 million albums worldwide and has garnered over 58 billion streams worldwide. In the United States, Del Rey has sold over 48 million certified singles according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Billboard ranked her as the 37th Top Rock Artist of the 2010s. Del Rey has also sold 7.1 million singles units, and 4 million albums in United Kingdom.
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.
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.
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.
"Venice Bitch" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on September 18, 2018, through Polydor and Interscope Records, as the second single from her sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019). The song was written and produced by Del Rey and Jack Antonoff. The song was met with unanimous praise from music critics and was ranked by numerous publications amongst the best songs of the year and decade. The song title references Venice, Los Angeles.
"Norman Fucking Rockwell" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey from her sixth studio album of the same name (2019). The track was written and produced by Del Rey and Jack Antonoff.
Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass is the debut book by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. A poetry collection featuring over 19 original poems, 10 haikus and photography, including "13 longer poems" and several short pieces, the collection is Del Rey's first published work and was released by Simon & Schuster on September 29, 2020.
"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.
"Fuck It I Love You" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released as the first promotional single from her album, Norman Fucking Rockwell!, along with "The Greatest". On August 22, 2019, Del Rey released a "double feature" music video for both songs. Later that day, she released the two as a joint-single on digital outlets.
"Cinnamon Girl" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey from her sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019). The song was written and produced by Del Rey and Jack Antonoff.
The Norman Fucking Rockwell! Tour was the fifth headlining concert tour by American singer Lana Del Rey, in support of her sixth studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019). The tour began at the Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York, on September 21, 2019, and concluded at the Du Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on November 30 of the same year.
Norman Fucking Rockwell is a 2019 American short music film directed by Chuck Grant, written by her sister, Lana Del Rey, who also stars alongside Ashley Rodriguez and Alexandria Kaye. The film is based on three songs from Del Rey's Norman Fucking Rockwell!, the album's title track, "Bartender", and "Happiness is a Butterfly". It was released on YouTube on December 20, 2019.
Chemtrails over the Country Club is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on March 19, 2021, by Interscope and Polydor Records. Del Rey enlisted producer Jack Antonoff as her co-producer for the majority of the album, after working with him on her previous studio album, Norman Fucking Rockwell! (2019), while previous collaborator Rick Nowels produced one of the album's tracks. The album features collaborations with Nikki Lane, Weyes Blood, and Zella Day.
"Chemtrails over the Country Club" is a song by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on January 11, 2021, by Interscope Records and Polydor Records as the title track and second single from her seventh studio album of the same name. The song was written and produced by Del Rey and frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff.
Blue Banisters is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on October 22, 2021, by Interscope and Polydor Records, seven months after her previous record, Chemtrails over the Country Club. The album was produced by Del Rey, Zachary Dawes, Drew Erickson, Loren Humphrey, Mike Dean, Barrie-James O'Neill, Rick Nowels, and several others.
Did You Know That There's a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. Released on March 24, 2023, by Interscope and Polydor Records, the album features production by Del Rey, Mike Hermosa, Jack Antonoff, Drew Erickson, Zach Dawes, and Benji. It includes collaborations with Jon Batiste, Bleachers, Father John Misty, Tommy Genesis, SYML and Riopy.
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