Lana Del Rey’s ‘Brooklyn Baby’ Joins Spotify’s Billions Club
The song marks the singer’s sixth entry into the exclusive list.
Lana Del Rey’s “Brooklyn Baby,” featured on her wildly popular 2014 LP Ultraviolence, has become the latest track from the singer to join Spotify’s exclusive Billions Club.
The track which was co-written by Lana and Barrie O’Neill, featured production from industry veteran Dan Auerbach, celebrated for his work in The Black Keys and for his label, Easy Eye Sound. The song, according to Del Rey, was written for Lou Reed. A Guardian story from that era explained: “He’d [Lou Reed] wanted to work with Del Rey and so she’d flown over to New York to meet him. ‘I took the red eye, touched down at 7am … and two minutes later he died,’ she says.” The track features a touching tribute to the singer, as Lana sings: “And my boyfriend’s in a band/ He plays guitar while I sing Lou Reed.”
In a cover story with The Fader, she reflected on another line that was directed at the man she was dating at the time. She sings, “Yeah, my boyfriend’s really cool/ But he’s not as cool as me.” During her conversation with the magazine, she explained about the refrain: “That wasn’t even supposed to be there, and I kind of sang it with a smile, and Dan [Auerbach] was looking at me and laughing. I’m just kind of f_____g around.”
Since its release, the track has been certified Platinum and topped Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
“Brooklyn Baby” isn’t the only recent Lana Del Rey track to achieve a significant landmark on Spotify, nor is it the only Ultraviolence cut to do so. Back in May, another song from that LP, “West Coast,” joined the Club. At the time, it became the fifth song to earn the status with Spotify, following “Young And Beautiful,” “Video Games,” “Summertime Sadness,” and “Stargirl Interlude” with The Weeknd. “Brooklyn Baby” is now the sixth. Additionally, back in August, “Summertime Sadness” reached the two billion stream plateau.
New music is on the way from Del Rey, too, who has been teasing tracks from her 10th album, Stove. In August, she spoke with W and confirmed the new album title (previously to be called The Right Person Will Stay), while noting that it “will likely be released at the end of January.”
