The Roxy Still Rocks At 50: Why The Sunset Strip Staple Remains A Music Mecca | GRAMMY.com (2024)

A rite of passage for countless bands over the decades and a touchstone for myriad genres, Los Angeles venue The Roxy still rocks at 50.

When the intimate club opened on Sept. 20, 1973 with a three-night stand by Neil Young and the Santa Monica Flyers (who had just finished recording Tonight’s the Night nearby at Studio Instrument Rentals), the sidewalk beneath the marquee was jammed with thousands of people hoping for a ticket.

Neil and Crazy Horse baptized the venue with a blistering garage rock set, while Graham Nash and Cheech & Chong opened. (The Roxy appeared in the comedy duo’s debut movie, Up in Smoke, a few years later.)

The Roxy's opening day┃Mark Sullivan/Getty Images

In its first decade, a who’s who of legends played The Roxy, including: Billy Joel, Jimmy Cliff, the Ramones, Patti Smith, Ettta James, B.B. King, Prince, Herbie Hanco*ck, and the late Jimmy Buffett. Fifty years since Lou Adler opened the doors at 9009 Sunset Boulevard, live music still reverberates inside its four walls.

The legendary venue survived while countless clubs shuttered, thanks to Adler’s passion. The astute entrepreneur and 2019 GRAMMY Trustee Award recepient eventually bought the building — guaranteeing control and preventing a landlord from ever telling him to go.

The club is part of the cultural fabric of the Sunset Strip along with the Whisky A Go Go and the Troubadour. Today a mix of local acts, national touring artists and legends take the stage— earlier this year, two-time GRAMMY winner Shooter Jennings paid tribute to Warren Zevon with a set devoted to the LA songwriter.

A new exhibit at the GRAMMY Museum will pay tribute to the club's legendary past and continued relevance. "Roxy: 50 and Still Rockin’" opens Sept. 18 and runs until Jan. 7, 2024. The exhibit includes behind-the-scenes photos of celebrities at On the Rox (the exclusive club above The Roxy), photos chronicling the original production of "The Rocky Horror Show," plus historic memorabilia from Lou Adler’s archives.

Bringing The Roxy To The Sunset Strip

Catching up with Adler finds the octogenarian in good spirits. Sporting a white toque and white sunglasses that match his goatee, Adler reminisces about The Roxy’s early days, its rich history and its legacy. A framed promotional poster for Up in Smoke hangs on the wall behind the club owner, who discovered the comedic pair at the Troubadour and directed their screen debut. Cheech & Chong returned the favor in 2013 when they inducted Adler into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

These days, Adler leaves the running of The Roxy to his sons. At 89, he prefers to get his live music fix at Coachella. The impresario never imagined the club he opened along with Elmer Valentine (who founded the Whisky) — with additional financial help from a trio of original investors: David Geffen, Elliot Roberts and Peter Asher — would last 50 years.

"I was just looking for next week!," Adler laughs when asked about The Roxy’s golden anniversary. "It is pretty amazing, but it does not feel like forever that I opened the doors. I just took it decade by decade. You put it all together and it adds up to 50."

Lou Adler┃Bezjian/WireImage

When Adler and his partners took over the lease at 9009 Sunset Boulevard, the building housed a strip club called Largo. Adler already co-owned, along with Valentine and Mario Maglieri, the Rainbow Bar & Grill next door. Opening a rock club next to the popular eatery frequented by rock stars and their groupies made sense. The Roxy never played favorites.

"It's based on music … and the music is always evolving," says Lou’s eldest son Nic, who took over ownership of The Roxy in 2000. "We are agnostic when it comes to genre; it's a room that works great for jazz, comedy, hard rock or hip-hop. We are defined by a collection of history rather than by genre."

And, if you attend an event at the storied club, you are a part of that history. "You are never at a show at the Roxy, you are part of the show," adds Nic, who was born the same year The Roxy opened.

David Wild attests to The Roxy’s mojo. Born and raised on the East Coast, Manhattan’s Bottom Line was his touchstone when it came to live music. The music critic and author saw many historic shows at this now long-gone New York City venue before moving to Los Angeles in 1991 to cover the Sunset Strip music scene for Rolling Stone. Arriving in Hollywood, he was well aware of The Roxy’s reputation. Two of his first three dates with his wife happened at the club. The shows were Japanese pop-punk band Shonen Knife and San Francisco alt-rockers Wire Train. Local rock band the Eels were also Roxy regulars in the 1990s and lead singer E (Mark Oliver Everett) played the Wild’s wedding.

In those days, the journalist was a club fixture and treated well. Except, for one strange night.

"I arrived and the doorman said, ‘I’m sorry Mr. Wild, but you are already here," he recalls. "That’s the only time in my life that this has ever happened; there was a David Wild impersonator! They found the guy who had a fake press card and removed him."

To commemorate The Roxy’s 50th, Neil Young’s name returns to the marquee 50 years to the day he inaugurated the joint. On Sept. 20-21, Neil and Crazy Horse will play a pair of sold-out benefit shows. Micah Nelson replaces longtime Crazy Horse member Nils Lofgren, who is currently on tour with Bruce Springsteen.

Springsteen and the E Street Band also have a history with The Roxy. During the 1975 Born to Run tour, the songwriter did a four-night residency there. Three years later he returned for a three-hour set that KMET FM broadcast live. This concert was one of the most popular bootleg tapes Springsteen fans traded for decades until its official release in 2018.

Asked to name a couple of his favorite nights at The Roxy, Lou Adler is quick to answer. "First, Bob Marley, mostly because you had heard about him, heard the music and read about the culture, but then all of a sudden there he was and he brought all of that to the stage. Second, The Clash at Midnight [April 27, 1980]. That was exceptional. Just shy of 500 [people] is what we are told we can put in that room. For The Clash at Midnight show there were 1,300!"

"The Rocky Horror Picture Show": Born At The Roxy, Not In Transylvania

From the outset The Roxy hosted a variety of entertainment, from stand-up comedy (it’s here back in 1981 where Paul Reubens introduced — and perfected — his Pee-wee Herman character) to live theater. "The Rocky Horror Show" opened its inaugural North American run at the club in 1974 before it was made into the cult classic movie. Adler was with his wife in London when she took him to see this off-the-wall musical. He fell in love with the story and songs and inked a deal backstage that same night with the producer to bring the satiric production to America.

For The Roxy Theater one-year run, Tim Curry played the lead role. On opening night, an A-list of Hollywood celebrities attended, including Mick Jagger, Cher, and Jack Nicholson. "The Rocky Horror Picture Show’s" first North American run is also where a young pianist and composer named David Foster got his big break.

Tim Curry performs in a stage production of "Rocky Horror"┃Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

"Everything I have today, really, came from that one year in that tight, little confined space in the Roxy’s balcony playing keyboards in the house band in 'Rocky Horror,'" says Foster in an original documentary short film made exclusively by the GRAMMY Museum to commemorate the Roxy at 50. "That’s where I met everybody. The balcony was probably supposed to sit four people and we were like eight. The two background singers had to stay in the hallway stairs right behind the balcony. That’s where they performed. Somehow we managed to get drums, bass, a saxophone, and two keyboards up there.

"It was tight, but again, I didn’t care," he continues. "I was on my way. And Lou (Adler) probably doesn’t even know this, but he gave me the greatest break of my life when he suggested I be the piano player on the [Rocky Horror Picture Show] album. To my recollection, none of the other players in the band were asked to be on the album. Somehow, I’d managed to get his attention and playing on that album was the start of me doing sessions."

The Roxy Rocks On

Due to The Roxy’s incredible acoustics, dozens of live albums have been recorded there over the past half-century, including: Genesis, Social Distortion, Patti Smith, the Smithereens and Bob Marley and the Wailers. Besides the Neil Young and Crazy Horse 50th anniversary shows this fall, The Roxy will hosting other celebratory concerts including the Wallows and Ricky Lee Jones. Stephen Marley's performance will commemorate his father’s famous set there with the Wailers in 1976.

"The Roxy has had a rich history of legendary shows, including Bob and the Wailers," says the eight-time GRAMMY winner Marley. "I can remember hitting that stage two decades ago with The Melody Makers & The Ghetto Youths Crew. What a night! I am excited to come back and perform new songs from my forthcoming album ‘Old Soul,’ as well as some of my dad’s classics to commemorate 50 years of this iconic venue."

The gravitas of The Roxy as an aspirational venue is not lost on expat Americans. Take musician Bill King. The conscientious objector to the Vietnam War arrived in Toronto in the early 1970s along with his young bride. Despite making his home in Canada for the past 50 years, King returned to the U.S. for many gigs. Playing The Roxy on his 30th birthday (Jan. 28, 1977) as the Pointer Sisters music director was one such show; it was also one of the most memorable moments of his life — and not just because he got to meet a pair of his professional basketball heroes: Julius "Dr. J" Irving and George McGinnis, who were in the crowd.

For the two-night stand, King played grand piano and clavinet along with an all-star band that included James Jamerson (bass); David T. Walker (guitar) and James Gadson (drums). Sonny Burke, Smokey Robinson’s music director, also played the Fender Rhodes.

"That gig was one momentous lesson about groove and pocket," King recalls. "As soon as the band hit the downbeat, I felt something different from the standard jam pocket. It was broader. Gadson played down front of the beat and Jamerson behind. As I’m adjusting to the beat, Jamerson says to me. ‘Gadson is out in front of the beat, and I’m back here — all the real estate in between belongs to you. Build wisely!’ I took a deep breath and searched for that comfort zone between greatness. A pocket so wide you could have a smoke and a beer before the next beat."

People love nostalgic tales like King’s story. This fall music fans, who never experienced the club in its first few decades, can feel what it was like in its heyday at the GRAMMY Museum's "Roxy: 50 and Still Rockin.’"

"I think Lou has the ability to tap into the cultural zeitgeist by setting the right tone with that space," says Jasen Eamons, Chief Curator, Vice President of Curatorial Affairs, GRAMMY Museum. "What he and Elmer [Valentine] wanted from the beginning was to create an intimate space, but also treat the artist with respect by designing dressing rooms where they felt like they were valued."

Many of the photos in the GRAMMY Museum exhibit take you backstage, including a shot of Ronnie Wood paying respect to Muddy Waters and Ringo Starr with his key in the door to On the Rox.

"This is all about Elmer Valentine," comments Lou Adler. "Originally a cop from Chicago, he turned the lights on in L.A .when it came to music venues, starting with P.J.s, followed by the Whisky, the Rainbow and eventually the Roxy. He loved music and loved musicians. He is really responsible for everything that happened and continues to happen on the Sunset Strip. That should not be lost."

As to what the next 50 years hold for The Roxy, it’s anyone’s guess, but as long as there is an Adler interested in the music and the business (Besides Nic, Lou has six other sons and seven grandchildren) the venue’s legacy will endure.

"It’s a family business," Nic concludes. "As long as there is somebody in our family discovering music for the first time — and getting that feeling that you can only get from being five feet from your favorite band — there will always be an Adler to keep the club going."

K-pop idol Im Nayeon is a pioneer with many firsts attached to her name: She was the first to become a member of TWICE, the first from the group to go solo, and was the first-ever K-pop soloist to enter the Billboard Top 10. Now, Nayeon is the first member of TWICE to release a second solo album.

Nearly two years after her solo debut, Nayeon arrives with a new mini-album, NA — the title a play on her name and the Korean word for "me." The seven-track record highlights the singer’s unapologetic nature, exploring themes of self-confidence, romance, and tenacity. Nayeon has certainly had to be tenacious in her road to the new EP.

"I don’t know if you can tell, but I really can’t believe that this moment is [finally] happening," Nayeon tells GRAMMY.com. "I really wanted to showcase myself as a confident woman this time around."

NA contains a mix of English and Korean language tracks alongside collaborations with prominent Korean artists. Throughout, the singer tackles pop, R&B, dance and electro-pop with ease. Lead single "ABCD" takes inspiration from 2000s era pop divas, adding hints of hip-hop as Nayeon teaches the A-Zs of love with witty lyrics and a magnetizing rhythm. While Nayeon has previously sung about love with flirtatious undertones, "ABCD" shows the singer's straightforward intentions.

It seems becoming a superstar was fated for the Seoul native. When she was young, Nayeon caught the attention of agents at JYP Entertainment from a modeling contest — however, given her age, her mother refused to let her sign with an entertainment agency. At 14, Nayeon defied her mom's decision and snuck out of her home to attend JYPE’s 2010 open casting, where she passed the audition and ranked in second place. With her strong ambition to pursue an idol career, Nayeon decided to join JYPE as a trainee that same year.

After three years of training, she was slated to debut as a member of a girl group 6MIX. However, the debut was scrapped afterJYPE was unable to find replacements for members that exited the project. In 2015, Nayeon was chosen from a pool of trainees to enter JYPE’s survival program "Sixteen," and became the first member chosen for nine-piece girl group TWICE. Nayeon is the group's face, as well as its eldest member, lead vocalist, and dancer.

Nayeon has since become one of the most recognizable members of TWICE, best known for her impressive vocal range and warm essence. Her public image became the epitome of an animated K-pop idol, always exhibiting her youthful personality and sunny disposition to everyone she encounters. Over the course of nine years together in TWICE and hundreds of releases later, Nayeon has proved herself to be the spine of the global girl group.

Read more:

Nayeon introduced herself to the world as a soloist in June 2022 with her debut album IM NAYEON, a high-spirited and feel-good summer EP that showcased her perky identity. The album hit No.1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart — the highest-selling album in the week of its release — and debuted No .7 on the Billboard 200. Lead single "POP!" has since turned into a fan-favorite, and remains a singalong anthem at TWICE’s concerts two years later.

While IM NAYEON built off her easy going nature, NA will leave fans enamored by Nayeon’s artistic awakening and newly matured chapter in her solo career. The album’s trailer and concept photos unveiled Nayeon’s assured, hip and hot appeal — a side she has yet to show as a soloist.

GRAMMY.com caught up with Nayeon via Zoom to learn more about the creation of NA, and how the past two years have impacted her as a soloist and individual.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Is there anything that feels different in terms of releasing NA nearly two years after your solo debut album?

Because my first solo album was the first solo work ever done by a member of TWICE, the pressure was pretty high. There was fear in me, as well, to try something completely new. But since [NA] is my second album as a soloist, I did [my best] to enjoy the ride more this time around.

I can't say that I'm completely comfortable right now being a solo artist. But compared to [IM NAYEON], I'm much more at ease about it.

Is there anything new you wanted to showcase this time around in NA?

The performance for the title song "ABCD" is quite different from what I have typically been showing [as TWICE]. So [in that essence], this is what’s new and challenging for [NA].

The performance itself is very powerful, and I wanted to express a bold and cool side of me. Of course, I have shown that side of me [before] during TWICE concerts or performances, but with "ABCD," I want it to be different from [IM NAYEON] specifically, which was just a totally different vibe [in comparison].

Does it feel easier to showcase this bolder side of yourself now that you've been a soloist for a few years?

Since I have been working as one of the members of TWICE for so long, I think it feels more meaningful if I show a different side of me through my solo work. So [while] it's new and fun, I can't say that it's easier.

I think it'll be fun for our fans. They receive it really well when we show off a different side of [ourselves]. [Our fans] encourage us a lot so I think it's a great change of pace.

You collaborated with a variety of artists on NA, including American singer/songwriter Sam Kim and K-pop artists Lee Chan-hyuk (AKMU) and Julie (KISS OF LIFE). How was that experience for you?

When I work as [TWICE], there are so many of us that it's really hard to collaborate with other artists. We don't really get that opportunity that often. But when it comes to solo work, it's a really fun and rewarding experience to work with many different artists.

I haven't really gotten the chance to meet and talk with the artists featured on my album, but it was me who initiated the collaboration process. I specifically asked Lee Chanhyuk, Julie, and Sam Kim to collaborate with me. [That] was a really new experience for me and it just felt great.

I’ve been a huge fan of Lee Chanhyuk for a very long time, so that’s why I specifically asked for him to [help produce] in ["HalliGalli"]. For the song "Magic," we were looking for a female rapper and I had my eye on Julie from KISS OF LIFE. After seeing her perform, I loved [her]! So I very strongly suggested my opinion to have her feature with me on this track.

Read more:

It seems like you’re revealing more of yourself with NA. Would you say that this new album is an extension to IM NAYEON?

Oh, of course! The concept and overall theme is much different from [IM NAYEON]. But since both [albums] focus on me as an artist, I think you can say that some parts are an extension while other parts reveal a different side of me.

Were there any expectations or challenges you faced during the album-making process?

Although "POP!" also featured intense choreography, "ABCD" demands a different kind of expression — prompting me to focus more on the performance aspect.

Additionally, as this is a solo album, I must exert more energy compared to performing with a group. I have to command the entire stage alone for one song. Consequently, I am somewhat concerned that people may perceive me as exhausted, though I will do my best to prevent that!

Since the release of IM NAYEON, how have you evolved as a person and an artist?

Many people saw that [IM NAYEON] really suited me and my public image. In [NA], I’m revealing a more confident and new side of me. The performance and concept challenged me to evolve [as an artist] in that aspect.

I have grown a lot as an individual. I released my first solo debut album, and in TWICE, we just completed a huge scale world tour. Next year marks the 10th anniversary for [TWICE] as well. These past few years have been a period of self reflection with the opportunity for [more] growth.

I have really come to realize why I chose this profession. That realization became a drive as an artist to keep moving forward and improve [upon] myself.

Read more: Inside SoFi Stadium At TWICE’s Record-Breaking L.A. Show

Over the course of your career, are there important lessons or insights you’ve learned?

I think one of the biggest insights I’ve noticed in the past few years is how valuable the members of TWICE are [to me]. There are things that I cannot do alone but am able to do because TWICE are right beside me. I realized that my fears go away when I’m with the TWICE members. I have come to appreciate them even more over the last few years. I realized even more now how important their existence is to me while working as a solo artist.

It seems as if TWICE are your encouragement and driving force.

Yes, they really are!

TWICE's Jihyo Takes Steps Into Her 'Zone' On Debut EP

When it comes to exploring Lana Del Rey's discography, it can be hard to know where to start. The pop songstress has a sprawling catalog, consisting of nine albums, four EPs, and a handful of other standalone singles.

You could begin with Born To Die, her highly influential major label debut, or its moody follow-up, Ultraviolence, her first to top the Billboard charts and ultimately establish her staying power as an artist. Perhaps you choose to start with her Album Of The Year GRAMMY nominees Norman F—ing Rockwell! or Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd.

Or maybe you're an incredibly diehard fan with encyclopedic knowledge who wants to start where it all began, on Rey's first album Lana Del Ray (note the spelling difference), which never saw official physical release and contained just a rough draft of the cultural force Del Rey would become.

Following Del Rey's career is rewarding, but requires some commitment to listen to, and understand, everything she's put out. It can be intimidating to approach an artist with such a robust, varied catalog. You can go with more mainstream pop offerings like her collaborations with Taylor Swift and The Weeknd, or dive into something more inspired by the orchestra like early track "National Anthem." This is true for fans with any amount of exposure to Del Rey, from those just discovering her music to those looking to become an expert.

As Ultraviolence turns 10, GRAMMY.com presents the levels of Lana, a series of jumping off points to explore all the music Del Rey has to offer. Dig into three songs across four different levels of fandom — Beginner, Intermediate, Expert, and Diehard — to further your Lana knowledge. These songs give a peek into various aspects of Del Rey's body of work, and serve as encouragement to continue exploring.

Beginner

"Summertime Sadness," Born to Die (2012)

The Beginner Level of Lana is for those who have heard of Del Rey, but have never sat down with her music before. This makes "Summertime Sadness," her biggest song to date, the perfect place to start.

It's reductive to simply label Del Rey's oeuvre "sad girl music," but for the uninitiated, it's a simple descriptor to start with. "Summertime Sadness" combines the pop production, elements of classical music, and existential despair that is present throughout Del Rey's career. And Cedric Gervais' remix has turned "Summertime Sadness" into a club banger to help her appeal to those who gravitate more to the dance floor.

"Young and Beautiful," The Great Gatsby: Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film (2013)

It speaks to Del Rey's cultural reach and musical vision that a non-album single is one of her most iconic songs. Written for the 2013 The Great Gatsby movie adaptation, "Young and Beautiful" also serves as a helpful thematic introduction to Del Rey.

Throughout her writing, Del Rey examines youth, Americana, and the American Dream, and how each of these uniquely American ideals are full of decay and liable to corruption and disappointment. On "Young and Beautiful," she asks if her lover will still care when she's no longer either of those things, and the somber tone indicates the likely answer. This song will introduce fans to Del Rey's penchant for using orchestral backing for her music, and illustrate how intertwined with popular culture she really is.

"Mariners Apartment Complex," Norman F—ing Rockwell! (2019)

The past two songs have introduced Del Rey's "sad girl" persona, but over the years, she has evolved far past being so easily defined. "Mariners Apartment Complex" is the perfect next step for beginners, opening up the popular perception to her to reveal more of her complexity.

Lyrically, it finds Del Rey pushing back on sorrow being her only emotion. Musically, it's a great introduction to more of the ethereal, synth-filled sound that has come out of her partnership with superproducer Jack Antonoff. And in terms of placing her within the culture, "Mariners Apartment Complex" is the first single from her sixth album Norman F—ing Rockwell!, which earned Del Rey her first Album Of The Year nomination in 2019.

"Brooklyn Baby," Ultraviolence (2014)

At the Intermediate level, it's time to start getting into more of the nuances that Del Rey brings to her writing — and, in turn, how much she's influenced her peers, and how respected she is amongst them.

"Brooklyn Baby" is some of her sharpest writing, equal parts playful needling and affectionate tribute to the snooty New York art scene. One of the most indelible tracks off of Ultraviolence, the song epitomizes the entire record's move towards more rock instrumentation, with a guitar-based sound. It references legendary rock artist Lou Reed, who was slated to appear on the track before his death in late 2013, showing just how highly she's thought of by other artists.

"Love," Lust for Life (2017)

For as much as Del Rey recognizes how fallible many of our culture's ideals are, she's always been a romantic. "Love," the first single from 2017's Lust for Life, is a prime example of this.

The whole album is a big play on her love of classic Hollywood imagery, including the video for "Love," and the song is a dreamy throwback to '50s love songs. If "Mariners Apartment Complex" chides anyone thinking Del Rey can only be sad, "Love" is a full rebuke, as it's one of her most straightforwardly optimistic tracks. Commercially, "Love" was Del Rey's highest-charting feat since Ultraviolence (landing at No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100), further establishing that she had longevity.

"Chemtrails over the Country Club," Chemtrails over the Country Club (2021)

2020 and the pandemic did a number on everyone, radically altering lives and shaking faith in many of the institutions of everyday life. That unmooring is felt on Del Rey's seventh album, Chemtrails over the Country Club, and particularly on its title track.

Del Rey is as sharp as ever in exploring the pulse of American society on the dreamy, disaffected number. "You're in the wind, I'm in the water/ Nobody's son, nobody's daughter" is a breathtaking piece of writing that became a TikTok favorite, illustrating Del Rey's continuing ability to relate to the youth.

Expert

"F—ed My Way Up To the Top," Ultraviolence (2014)

As we enter the realm of the Expert Lana Del Rey fan, we're firmly out of album singles territory. From here, it's all deep cuts and non-album tracks.

Del Rey has been no stranger to controversy — some warranted, some not. An early knock against her was that the mid-20th century aesthetic and perceived submissiveness in her music was anti-women or anti-feminist, a surface-level reading that in the years since has been largely dispelled.

The singer has worked to combat it herself on tracks like Ultraviolence's "F—ed My Way Up To the Top," which takes that perceived notion to its extreme. At the same time, it's another in a long line of tracks in which Del Rey has embraced her own sexuality and sensuality as something to be celebrated and claimed, not something to be ashamed of.

"Art Deco," Honeymoon (2015)

2015's Honeymoon isn't necessarily underappreciated, as it received positive reviews upon release debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, but "Art Deco" isn't likely to appear on many playlists. It should, though, as the track illustrates how much of musical chameleon Del Rey really is, with a sultry, hip-hop inspired rolling beat.

It treads some familiar territory thematically with trying to find acceptance in night life, but Del Rey is really comfortable here. She shows more of her knowledge of art history by relating the subject of the song to the defining characteristics of the titular art movement, revealing just how much thought she puts into her aesthetic.

"Fingertips," Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (2023)

Did you know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd is arguably Del Rey's most intimate album, exploring details of her family and their history that fans have only previously seen brief glimpses of. At the same time, it is partially an examination of her own legacy and work, only natural for someone with as much output as Del Rey, let alone her frequent references to death and finality.

Both of these things combine in "Fingertips," a standout track from the album. A nearly six-minute long ballad, it's musically airy while emotionally devastating — and, for a true Del Rey fan, encapsulates so much of her legacy in just one song.

Diehard

"Yayo," Paradise (2012)

For fans in the Diehard level, everything before is old news. This is for fans who want to fully live the Lana life, who have all her albums on vinyl and have carefully built their image and fashion around her.

Speaking of her image, this section starts with "Yayo," an extremely early deep cut. This track originally appeared on Lana Del Ray before being reworked and rereleased on the Paradise EP in 2012. The song leans heavier than most into the '50s imagery and floats along at a dreamy, lilting pace. While not as refined as her later work, "Yayo" is an indicator Del Rey had a solid idea of who she wanted to be as soon as she started.

"Season of the Witch," Non-album Single (2019)

Del Rey has done several covers throughout her career, and quite successfully. Norman F—ing Rockwell! features her cover of Sublime's "Doin' Time," which is one of the highlight tracks from the record. Less known is Del Rey's spooky cover of '60s classic "Season of the Witch."

Written for the 2019 horror film Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, the song fits Del Rey's style perfectly. The Americana/flower crown aesthetic of her younger years always leaned witch-adjacent, and Del Rey takes her soft vocals into playfully sinister territory. It's a fun cover, and shows just how many gems Del Rey has in her discography for those fans willing to dig.

"Say Yes to Heaven," Non-album Single (2023)

"Say Yes to Heaven" was never supposed to be heard. A late cut from Ultraviolence, the track remained buried for years before being leaked in 2016. It lurked on the internet, only known to superfans, before gaining steam with the rise of TikTok and finally seeing an official release in 2023.

The deep cut is peak Del Rey ballad material, a tender love song imploring her partner to accept happiness. It's another rebuke of the idea that she can't be happy, and it gives insight into some of her earlier writing.

As a resurfaced older track, "Say Yes to Heaven" may not necessarily indicate the direction Lana Del Rey is set to go on her forthcoming album, Lasso (especially considering Del Rey has teased she's "going country" for her next release). But it's a beautiful reminder of the affecting narratives and arresting vocals that have made her beloved to so many, no matter the level of fandom.

Early in the spring of 2020, Angélica Garcia felt like she was being called back home. The singer/songwriter had spent the last three years in Richmond, Virginia, but her roots were firmly planted in California.

She’d spent most of her life in El Monte —the city in the San Gabriel Valley just 20 20 minutes east of downtown L.A., where she was raised by her parents and grandparents. (Her mother, also named Angélica, was a singer who had grown up performing rancheras with her siblings at rodeos around L.A. and Mexico.) Angélica spent most of her childhood moving around the city, learning how to fit in each time she enrolled in a new school. At 17, she followed her parents across the country to Accomac, Virginia — a tiny rural town on the state’s eastern shore.

"It was challenging, but I tried to always see the positive side of those experiences," she tells GRAMMY.com. "In some ways it was like traveling back in time to live there, but I also just thought, Wow, this is a whole different culture that I get to be a part of."

After high school, she moved to Richmond and fell into the city’s indie scene, performing in several bands while recording and releasing her own solo music. Her semi-autobiographical track "Jícama" made it onto President Obama's 2019 year-end music list, giving her a boost of recognition just before she released her 2020 album, Cha Cha Palace. The album was a celebration of her Salvadoran-Mexican heritage, bursting at the seams with influences from across the Latin American diaspora, merging cumbia, ranchera, and reggaeton with psychedelic rock and pop.

Just before the pandemic, Garcia felt as if she "was being called to start over in L.A." With COVID-forced closures throughout the city, it wasn’t quite the return Garcia had hoped for. It did, however, present an opportunity for grounding and reconnection — not just with Garcia's hometown, but with roots, culture, and voice.

She turned inward, dredging up gnarled, complicated feelings about her identity. She’d started to find success writing music that she felt deeply connected to, but Garcia was also grappling with the realization that it was written in a language neither of her grandparents spoke. She turned to poetry, trying to work through her feelings of grief and disconnect.

Slowly but surely, those words became the first inklings of Gemelo. Produced by Chicano Batman’s Carlos Arévalo, the 10-track album explores duality and belonging, following Garcia’s journey of acceptance from the ethereal musing of opener "Reflexiones," to the wild joy of closer "Paloma."

Her first album sung almost entirely in Spanish, Gemelo is Garcia triumphing over her doubts, following her intuition into an otherworldly pop soundscape that transcends borders.

Ahead of her upcoming tour dates opening for IDLES, Garcia spoke with GRAMMY.com about processing grief, writing in Spanish, and finding inspiration in her ancestors.

This conversation has been condensed and edited.

What inspired your move back to California?

I loved living in Richmond, but I was having a really hard time towards the end. Moving kind of felt like something that I had to do. That was one of the difficult things that I was navigating around the time of writing Gemelo.

The album touches on the concept of grief and loss, but also discovery. What was going on in your life as you were writing it?

The record feels like traveling through grief. In real life, I was processing some really difficult changes and adapting as a person. I felt like there was a version of me who was going through the motions and phasing in and out of grief. My body was there, but my mind was somewhere else. I felt like I was almost in a dissociative state.

How does that sense of self you were grappling with tie into the album’s title, Gemelo?

It’s funny, it almost feels like the album revealed itself to me over time. I was maybe three or four songs in before I really started to see a through line between them. I wasn’t sure they were going to turn into an album, but they started to feel like part of a body of work.

In the beginning, I think I kept noticing these themes of reflection, the idea of past lives, all these emotions that kept coming up. Later, I was searching and searching for a record title, and I kept seeing the word "twin." I hadn’t actually tried translating it into Spanish, but when I did, it was like a light bulb went off. I heard "gemelo," and everything made sense.

What about the concept of twins were you drawn to?

I often felt like I had this intuition guiding me and helping me through some of these decisions, and helping to protect me. That, to me, is my gemelo. We have the version of ourselves that exists in the physical world, and then we have an intuitive self, a spirit self, that’s guiding us, even when our tangible self is too confused to really understand everything.

Most of this album is in Spanish. What’s your relationship to the language? Did you grow up speaking it?

It’s always been a very core part of my childhood and my formative memories. Most of the people that I love speak Spanish. So even if I wasn’t always exercising it every day, anytime I spoke to the core people in my life — my grandparents, my mom, or my dad — I was always hearing Spanish. It’s also some of the first music that I learned how to sing, so it felt very natural to me to have it in my mouth and on my tongue.

I just realized I’d never actually tried to express myself as a writer, creatively, in this language. I really wanted to honor that side of myself and my family lineage, and give it a shot.

Would you say you express yourself differently in Spanish than in English?

I feel like maybe it was almost easier to write in Spanish. I’ve been a musician for so long that it can be really easy to be like, "Oh, this is how a song should go," or "I should have a chorus that sounds like this." In some ways, because I didn't have the same framework or rules with Spanish, I was leaning a lot on imagery and on concepts in a way that was a very fun and refreshing challenge.

I think it brought out a little bit more of my philosophical side, because I didn't feel the same pressures that sometimes I feel when working on music in English.

Did exploring that side of yourself also help you connect on a different level with your family and your roots?

I always felt a deep connection to my roots. It can be so easy to just get caught up in everyday life, so it's really fascinating when you look back, and you see the similarities between you. It really makes you wonder how much of it is nature and how much of it is nurture? And how many of these things I do were literally inherited, you know?

How did that seep into your writing for this album?

It’s funny, before I moved back to California, a really good friend of mine in Richmond got really into looking up their ancestry. We would just dedicate time to researching our family histories, and things like that. It was nice to do it with a friend, because you had somebody to talk to about it.

As I was learning, I was writing down the names of my relatives and putting them in a specific area in my room where I would meditate a lot. I would journal with the candles lit, and one day, I was sitting in front of that area and the song "Juanita" just poured out of me. The name came out so clearly.

Some songs you labor over for months, or even years, and they might not come out. This one just poured out like it was raining from the sky. Later, I was sitting around a coffee table with my mom and my grandma, and she was like, "Oh, yeah, your great great grandma, Mama Juana. Juanita …" and I was just thinking, Wait, what? My grandma was telling me how Juana was this mystical woman, and I thought, Wow, she really wanted a song.

In addition to "Juanita," your songs really tap into the stories of strong women, feminine joy, and feminine anger. How have the women in your family influenced your music?

I love the perspective of the women in my family because there’s so much personality and resilience. They’re badass. My grandmother would tell me stories about being a little girl in El Salvador selling coffee, and her whole journey to work at the U.S. embassy, which is eventually how she got to the U.S. And my mother, being a child performing rodeos, told me stories about walking from one gig to another in Mexico with my grandpa because the van had broken down.

Sometimes I feel like people like to focus on their material accomplishments, like money or degrees. But the story of my mom walking from a gig as a child in her rodeo outfit, or the fact that my grandmother went from selling coffee in the jungle in El Salvador to L.A.? That's an accomplishment. That's resilience.

They’re full of these vibrant stories, because they had to navigate through so many trials. Because of them, I experienced a lot of love and magic, care, and nurturing. It’s unfortunate to me that those traits are sometimes seen as soft instead of strong, when it’s both. They redefined strength for me.

Gemelo’s final track, "Paloma," feels like such a triumphant celebration. What significance does that song have for you?

I wanted to end with gratitude. "Paloma" is a song about seeing the divine reflected in each other, in the people you love, and how, even when we're extremely critical of ourselves, we all hold the divine within us. We’re all walking this earth with the power to do incredible things. That outlook has really gotten me through so much in life. It can be so easy to get lost in the grief, but the light is what cuts through all of it for me.

The Marías Plunge Into The Depths On 'Submarine': How The Band Found Courage In Collective Pain

Years before she was dubbed the "Queen of Christmas" or became the recipient of the Recording Academy's Global Impact Award, Mariah Carey was making a name for herself with R&B earworms and impressive vocal range.

Released 34 years ago today, the New-York native's self-titled debut album featured a tasteful mix of slower, emotional ballads and upbeat anthems. Mariah Carey's lead single, "Vision of Love," offered listeners a first taste of her infamous whistle register and incredible range — it also caught the ear of Academy voters.

Carey was nominated in five categories at the 1991 GRAMMYs, and took home golden gramophones for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. The album broke chart records, established Carey as a household name, and ultimately paved the way for her illustrious career.

"It seems like everything I did in the first year that I came out with my first album is like a blur because everything happened so fast for me and I never had the chance to sit down and go 'Wow, this is actually happening,'" Carey recalled in an interview with MTV. "I just, like, went straight ahead."

The success of Mariah Carey was a mix of fate, talent and perseverance. In 1988, a teenage Carey left her family home in Long Island to pursue a music career. She brought with her a four-song demo tape made during her high school years with songwriter/producer Ben Marguiles (who also co-wrote Mariah Carey with several other writers). She continued to shape up the demo tape as she worked multiple jobs, and eventually crossed paths with Latin GRAMMY winner Brenda K. Starr.

Read more: Songbook: How Mariah Carey Became The Songbird Supreme, From Her Unmistakable Range To Genre-Melding Prowess

Carey found herself singing back-up vocals for the artist at live performances, and caught Starr's attention with her astonishing voice. Recognizing her exceptional talent, Starr played a pivotal role in launching Carey's career to new heights.

"I really didn't want to do it, but I said it's gotta be better than what I'm doing now," Carey confessed of the audition in Chris Nickson's book, Mariah Carey Revisited: Her Story. "So I went to the audition, and Brenda was such a great person."

Eventually, Starr brought Carey along to an industry party, where she was able to get her demo tapes into the hands of Tommy Mottola, the then-president of Columbia Records. With stars in his eyes, Mottola listened to the tape and quickly signed Carey to the label.

Upon the album's release, critics overwhelmingly praised 20-year-old Carey's vocal prowess, noting how her debut set a new standard that raised expectations for artists across various genres to follow. The New York Times noted that the release came with "more fanfare and promotional hoopla than [Columbia Records] has bestowed on a new young talent in years." The paper continued to lavish praise on Carey's "pop-gospel voice that is impressive in its power and range and that has elaborate vocal embellishments strikingly reminiscent of Whitney Houston's."

The album featured a whopping four Hot 100 chart-toppers: "Vision of Love," "Love Takes Time," "Someday," and "I Don't Wanna Cry." The album itself spent 11 weeks atop the Billboard 200 — Carey's lengthiest No. 1 to date.

Read more:

Twenty-four years and 15 studio albums later, Mariah Carey transcends time. The album not only serves as representation of Carey’s unwavering determination, but a formative piece of art that jump started a truly spectacular career. While the five-time GRAMMY winner is duly given her flowers for her complex and sprawling catalog, an equal sized bouquet should be laid at the feet of her debut album, which remains a timeless paragon for R&B artists to draw inspiration from.

Black Sounds Beautiful: How Mariah Carey Went From Feeling Out Of Place To One Of The Bestselling Woman Artists Of All Time