Lana Del Rey credited with shaping pop

Lana Del Rey was pulled into a fresh round of pop-lineage debate on May 23 after an X thread credited her with shaping parts of Taylor Swift’s *folklore* era, Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license” and Billie Eilish’s style. The post, from user @antonio_thom4s, drew about 2,400 likes and spread through adjacent fan arguments about who gets credited for recent pop trends. The thread’s core claim was blunt: Del Rey is “the most influential artist in pop.” That argument was fan commentary, not a new statement from Del Rey or the artists named in the thread. But it landed on top of a record of public praise from Swift, Rodrigo and Eilish that helps explain why the post traveled. Those past remarks do not prove direct authorship of specific songs or eras. They do show that all three artists have publicly linked Del Rey to their own listening, writing or musical worldview. ### What exactly did the viral post claim? The May 23 post on X tied Del Rey to three specific examples: Swift’s pivot on *folklore*, Rodrigo’s breakout ballad “drivers license,” and Eilish’s broader style. The thread framed those examples as evidence that Del Rey’s writing, vocal approach and aesthetic had been absorbed across mainstream pop, according to the social-media briefing and the linked post. The thread’s reach was modest by platform standards, at roughly 2,400 likes, but it became a reference point in wider fan exchanges because it named three of the biggest pop stars of the last decade in one argument. (eonline.com) ### Did Taylor Swift ever say Lana Del Rey influenced her? Taylor Swift publicly praised Del Rey years before this weekend’s thread. In her 2019 Billboard Women in Music speech, Swift said Del Rey’s “vocal stylings, her lyrics, her aesthetics” had been “echoed and repurposed in every corner of music,” according to an account of the remarks. (today.com) June 2024 brought another public link between the two artists. In a BBC interview cited by entertainment outlets, Del Rey said Swift had told her “so many times” that she wanted success “more than anyone,” and Swift has also collaborated with Del Rey on “Snow on the Beach.” None of those remarks specifically says Del Rey caused Swift’s *folklore* pivot, but they show mutual admiration and a documented artistic relationship. (eonline.com) ### Where does Olivia Rodrigo fit into this argument? Olivia Rodrigo has made the most direct songwriting comment of the three artists cited in the thread. In comments reported in 2023, Rodrigo said Del Rey’s work taught her “how effective sentimentality can be in songwriting” and praised her for making work that is “fresh, adventurous and unabashedly feminine.” (eonline.com) “Drivers License,” released in January 2021, quickly became Rodrigo’s breakout hit, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and posting 76.1 million U.S. streams in its first week, Billboard reported at the time. Fans often use that song as shorthand for Rodrigo’s confessional ballad style, which is why it appears so often in Del Rey influence debates. (nme.com) ### What has Billie Eilish said about Lana Del Rey? Billie Eilish has been explicit about Del Rey’s importance to her. In comments reported by NME from a Dua Lipa podcast appearance, Eilish said Del Rey’s *Born to Die* “changed music” and “especially changed music for girls and the potential of what is possible.” (billboard.com) February 2023 added a more personal example. In an *Interview* conversation with Del Rey, Eilish said Del Rey had been the lock screen on her first phone and recalled singing Del Rey’s songs at talent shows and filming covers of them. That is the clearest published evidence behind fan claims that Eilish’s early artistic identity was shaped by Del Rey’s work. (nme.com) ### Why do these arguments keep resurfacing? Lana Del Rey addressed this kind of credit directly in a 2023 interview cited by NME. Del Rey said that hearing artists such as Rodrigo and Eilish call her an inspiration was “fucking awesome,” and added that she had long felt “like the older sister to pretty much everyone I ever met.” (interviewmagazine.com) May 23’s X thread is likely to keep circulating in fan spaces because the underlying source material is already public: Swift has praised Del Rey, Rodrigo has credited her songwriting, and Eilish has described her as formative. The next stage of the story is less likely to be a formal response than more reposting of those past interviews and speeches by fans of all four artists. (nme.com)