Will Lana Del Rey finally win her first Grammy for ‘Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’?

Jaime Rodriguez
·4 min read
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Lana Del Rey is back. After her 2021 release “Blue Banisters,” finally we have more new music from the singer-songwriter. Her ninth album, titled “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd,” was released on March 24 and has so far been very well received. The album is acclaimed, as per usual with Del Rey, and it has actually garnered a lot of public attention, with the single “A&W” going viral online. But while most of Del Rey’s albums have been admired by critics and fans alike, her Grammy track record is a bit spotty and she has yet to win. Will that change in 2024?

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First things first, the competition. So far this year has turned out to be slower than the last two years in terms of high-profile Grammy contenders, with the only sure bets for general field nominations being Taylor Swift, SZA, and Miley Cyrus. Del Rey is on top of the list of artists who could capitalize on that wide-open playing field. She’s a previous nominee — established names tend to do better than newer artists — and she’s also not a stranger to surprise nominations, netting one for Best Pop Vocal Album in 2017 for “Lust for Life,” as well as a surprise 2019 Song of the Year nom for “Norman F*cking Rockwell” to go along with its parent album’s Album of the Year bid. It also helps Del Rey that she’s a recognizable name near the top of the alphabetical ballot. So even voters who aren’t super enthusiastic about “Ocean Blvd” might slot her in if they’re struggling to fill their ballot.

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Lana Del Rey is also notoriously Grammy-less, and the industry might be aware of that egregious oversight. This year there’s room to reward her, especially in the alternative categories if she finally competes there (she usually gets slotted in pop). With the alt field likely being led by newer artists like the uber-acclaimed Boygenius and Caroline Polachek, perhaps voters would rather go for a familiar option, especially if they know said option is already long overdue an award. Granted, this doesn’t always help: Wet Leg beat Bjork this past year despite being a new band up against an overdue veteran. But Del Rey has a more popular album than Bjork did, debuting in the top-three of the Billboard 200 (compare that to Bjork’s album’s number-100 peak).

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But most importantly, the album stands on its own. “Ocean Blvd” is a breath of fresh air in Del Rey’s discography, blending her soft style with top notch production by frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff into something perhaps more appealing than some of her other recent releases. It was also one of Del Rey’s most anticipated albums, building hype right from the announcement of the title alongside the release of the title track. It’s time for voters to acknowledge Del Rey, and what better way to do so than to pick one of her best and most daring records. Plus, as the years go by, we see the impact Del Rey has had on alternative and pop music, being cited by artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift as an inspiration.

Realistically, Del Rey could max out with four nominations: Best Alternative Music Album and Album of the Year for “Ocean Blvd,” and Best Alternative Performance and Song of the Year for “A&W,” which could be the first submission on the latter category’s alphabetical ballot. Let’s hope that voters finally recognize her insane artistry, especially in a year when she’s already been honored as a Music Visionary by Billboard. Maybe it is time for the singer to finally get her flowers after all.

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