As Billboard.com and other news sites have noted, Lana Del Rey is one of the artists who have been 'snubbed' by the 2016 Grammy Nominations (alongside Madonna, Carly Rae Jepsen, Future and Justin Bieber). Del Rey did receive a nod for her work on The Weeknd's Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), however, which was nominated for Album of the Year. Del Rey had been nominated in 2014 for Best Pop Vocal Album (Paradise) and Best Song Written for Visual Media ('Young and Beautiful').
This may be somewhat surprising. Based on critical appreciation, Del Rey has steadily gained praise from album to album. Born to Die (2012) has a metascore of 62, Paradise (2012) has a metascore of 64, Ultraviolence (2014) has a metascore of 74, and Honeymoon (2015) has a metascore of 78. Claire Lobenfield of FactMag.com notes that Honeymoon was "by far Del Rey’s most beautifully made and cohesive album", while Rob Tannenbaum of Billboard.com has commented on the depth beneath her signature sadness (which tends to be overlooked): "Under the cover of midnight, Del Rey has been exploring big ideas about eroticism, drugs, myth, the empty promise of YOLO, what it means to be a woman, and the American soul. But sure, keep writing her off as “sad.”"
And yet, I think Del Rey can up the ante further. While she has certainly matured as an artist and performer, she also hasn't been scoring particularly noteworthy hit singles since 2013, when the Cedric Gervais remix of 'Summertime Sadness' and 'Young and Beautiful' were certified platinum. Her last two albums have a more retro, introspective quality that lacked some of the arresting urgency that characterized early singles like 'Video Games', 'Born to Die' and 'Blue Jeans'. While I still enjoy her music, I haven't been as excited to listen to her recent albums as I was when she first debuted.
While I am a fan, I can see why Honeymoon didn't receive a nomination for Album of the Year, and why 'High By the Beach' didn't receive a nomination for Record of the Year or Song of the Year: they didn't clearly stand out among the competition. But it seems as though Honeymoon could have earned a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album, which went to the following:
• Piece By Piece Kelly Clarkson [19/RCA]• How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful Florence + The Machine [Republic]• Uptown Special Mark Ronson [RCA Records]• 1989 Taylor Swift [Big Machine Records]• Before This World James Taylor [Concord Records]
The other issue is that its not only Del Rey's iconography as a pop star that defies characterisation; Del Rey's music also spans multiple genres and seems to be moving further and further away from pop (Metacritic classifies her as Pop/Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock). But then, Florence + the Machine also crosses over into rock, indie and alternative, and I'm not certain that is 'alternative enough' to be a strong contender for the Best Alternative Album category (Alabama Shakes, Björk, My Morning Jacket, Tame Impala and Wilco were nominated for this category). Honeymoon
In any case, Del Rey seems to be heading in the right direction, maturing as a lyricist and vocalist while quelling all the initial doubts that people had about her aesthetic integrity. I'm hoping that her next album will finally take her into indisputable Grammy-deserving territory - although musicians shouldn't judge their aesthetic worth purely through the awards they win. The path to undisputed critical recognition doesn't come easily to most artists. But Grammy or no Grammy, I hope Del Rey keeps working hard for her aesthetic vision. As the lyrics in 'Born to Die' go: The road is long/ We carry on/ Try to have fun in the meantime.
