Lana Del Rey Covers ‘Complex’, Talks Critics, Chain-Smoking & Being The Other Woman

Lana Del Rey has already amassed more than her fair share of media coverage during the Ultraviolence era (often for the wrong reasons) but her interview with Complex magazine is refreshingly upbeat and free of death references. The 27-year-old even looks unusually serene on the cover — wrapping herself in an orange blanket in front of a crashing wave. (Although, that’s a pretty bleak metaphor when I think about it).

While there is a slightly disturbing answer to a question about the relationship between violence and love (“I like a hands-on love”), the “Shades Of Cool” diva seems to be in a better place. For starters, she has come to terms with the critical response to Born To Die. “The good thing about catching so much grief from critics is that you literally do not fucking care,” Lana admits. “That’s what I expect now from my career, that the music is going to be great and the reaction’s going to be fucked up.”

Other topics include her penchant for smoking on stage (“I’m a chain-smoker”) and her reason for covering Nina Simone‘s “The Other Woman” on Ultraviolence. “I relate to being the person who people come to for ‘such a change from the old routine,’ but not being the main thing,” she reveals. “I had a long-term relationship for seven years with someone who was the head of a label and I felt like I was that change of routine.” But the “West Coast” hitmaker doesn’t stop there. “I have slept with a lot of guys in the industry, but none of them helped me get my record deals. Which is annoying.”

Read the full interview over at Complex and let us know what you think of her revelations in the comments below.

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