It was 2011 when Lana Del Rey exploded into out of the NYC scene with her debut track “Video Games.” It was her side-eyed, siren-esque melodies and the way her storytelling delicately unravelled, each word dangling like a fly in a black widow’s web, that set her apart. Pop had never been so gloomy, so alternative, or so old-Hollywood before, and it shook the music industry right to its core upon release.
“Video Games” catapulted Del Rey into viral success, earning her a deal with Interscope Records and serving as the lead single off her 2012 sophomore album, Born To Die. The song perfectly outlined the LP’s melancholy aesthetic as a cinematic reflection on the highs and lows of love. Imbued within each song are deeply personal feelings of romantic longing, social disconnection, and a sense of fleeting joy that Del Ray desperately tries to recapture.
Beneath washed layers of harp strums and orchestral strings, the focus of “Video Games” sees Del Ray facing the reality of being in love with someone who solely exists in a world of their own. This emotional disconnect is furthered by the track’s sparse instrumentation and downtempo swing, offering the origin story for her artist persona, one brewed from romantic drama and steeped in nostalgia in the decade since its release.
“Video Games” holds a unique space in Del Rey’s artistic journey, not just for being part of her prolific debut, but becoming a touch piece for countless artists since. She’s been cited as both a major influence on the modern soundscape of alt-pop and as a glass ceiling shatterer for women in music, introducing darker, more mature themes that paint her as the anti-hero of her own stories. Artists like Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo have pointed towards Born To Die as the springboard for their own music careers, paving paths where Lana Del Rey first walked.
There is a universal beauty to “Video Games.” It’s a reminder that love is often complicated, that memories are subjective, and that comfort is a feeling found in fleeting moments of connection.