Lana Del Rey discusses fame and the power of the internet with Madison Beer

In the latest edition of Interview Magazine, Lana Del Rey meets Madison Beer. At first, the duo touch on Beer's forthcoming album, with Del Rey praising her for her writing style – "I thought it was the perfect record" – and adding that it's important to trust your gut in the process: "I remember when I made Norman [Fucking] Rockwell!, I thought, “This is the best record I’ve made."

Later in their conversation, Del Rey brings up Beer's memoir, The Half of It: A Memoir, and the pair land on a discussion about the power of the internet and the dangers of growing up online. Noting that she didn't write the book in order to gain sympathy from anybody, she wrote it because she wanted to promote conversations about unprotected minors on the internet.

"I really wanted to do it because there’s been so many things thrown around about me over the years, whether it’s misconceptions, misjudgments, whatever. I never felt like going on Instagram Live or posting a TikTok was appropriate for the things I wanted to explain," she reveals. "I was discovered really young. I was signed and moved to L.A. when I was 12. Ever since then, I’ve grown up online."

Del Rey notes that whilst she grew up online in her own way, at the dawn of social media where, "everyone was learning about themselves and about these cross-sections of humanity at the same time", and she can't imagine what it's like to be 14 and growing up on the internet.

Lana Del Rey tells Madison Beer her upcoming album ‘Silence Between Songs’ is “beautiful”:

“I listened to your entire record twice, and I think it’s so beautiful. It was super unexpected.”

🔗: https://t.co/EdO8HObkxK pic.twitter.com/HXlc8l42je

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 12, 2023

"I want to be able to show other artists, and just females in general, that we have to be there for each other, and we have to love one another. Life is too short for envy," Beer says, before Del Rey jokes about setting up a book club for a group of singers that she loves. "I’ll choose the members. You can lead the meeting, but I’ll be the gatekeeper."

Extending some advice she gave to Billie Eilish, Del Rey says: "You don’t need to be a good person to become a good singer.” But when you get the unique blend of someone who has a good heart and a good voice, there’s absolutely nothing like it. Anytime you feel like you don’t have all the answers, you can fall back on having good intentions, a good heart, and a good fucking voice".

"I try and remember my blessings every time I get worried, because the amount of polarizing information that was out there for the last 13 years was wild. When I read something about myself I don’t like in a publication, I call them. It doesn’t mean that it changes, but I have my own voice and my own opinion. I’m not afraid of being what some people would consider hotheaded or rude, because that’s how I feel," adds Del Rey.

In a final offering of reassurance, Del Rey says: "It can feel painful to be misunderstood, but once you get through it, as long as you persist, there’s no wrong way to do it. Listening to the album and reading what the memoir was about, I feel like you’re going to continue to feel less and less pressure, because the more information you have out about yourself, the easier it’s going to get."