There are some celebrities, usually musicians, who are so mysterious and downright weird that I never thought they came to this Earth just like I did. People like Lady Gaga and Doja Cat didn’t come here from outer space, and are actually the mundane creations of two human parents wearing high-waisted jeans.
So, I imagine my surprise (and joy) when I discovered last week that one of my favorite enigmatic pop singers, Lana Del Rey, has a living, breathing father who dresses like Jimmy Buffett, sails boats, and is apparently already a recognizable, beloved figure. I can. his online fans. Now, the man partially responsible for helping us get the song “Summertime Sadness” leans on his nepo-dad status and launches a music career with the help of his Grammy-nominated daughter.
Technically, I’ve always heard that Robert Grant is part of Lana Del Rey (or Lizzy Grant) lore. In 2012, when he released his breakthrough album Born to DieA rich, white girl from upstate New York who started drinking at a young age and went to boarding school to sober up, her biography was the subject of discourse surrounding her privilege in the music industry and the reality of her “gangster Nancy Sintra” image. . I knew his father was working in some kind of lucrative, white-collar job (turned to investor in a managerial copywriting). But I only thought of him as a minor character in his depressing novel, which he describes as the life of Richard Yates.
Now, it has become much harder to ignore Grant. The 69-year-old distributes singles from her own debut album, mostly instrumental. lost at sea, with “daughter Lana Del Rey”. He has also been featured in magazines and sells “Nepo Daddy” t-shirts. “Nepo baba thing that I love,” she said GQ in one last profile. “Oh my god, I thought this would make a really great product.” This is where Del Rey inherited her online acumen and branding prowess.
He also gained some of his musical skills here. This GQ The article, which Del Rey also interviewed, describes the bond that father and daughter share while making music. Grant says he tried to become a country singer in Nashville at one point, but that “Big Bubba,” who had a chance at fame by a producer, was an offensive parody of the genre. (I love that they’ve both been called culture vultures at one point.)
More recently, he has joined Del Rey in some of the studio sessions. Their first collaboration was the song “Sweet Carolina” from Del Rey’s 2021 album. blue railings, Grant has writing credits. lost at seaFeaturing Del Rey’s vocals, the title song is another characteristically melancholy and captivating track that seems to have been written for any of the “Venice Bitch” singer’s latest record lines.
They both share a strong aesthetic passion. Personally, I really dig this guy’s sailor, Beach Boys-like vibes—mostly because he reminds me of the cover of my favorite Del Rey album. Norman Damn Rockwell.
All this is to say that it’s nice to see the positive nepo-dad representation. When I think of fathers who have earned fame and money with the labor of their children, I immediately think of bottom-fed leeches like Jamie Spears, Mitch Winehouse, and Michael Lohan. I also think of influencer parents who throw cheese slices on their babies for Instagram likes.
Now that I think about it, there isn’t a lot of positive nepo-paternal representation in the world. Culturally, the last time we celebrated a famous father of a daughter was an Oscar-winning movie. King Richardand we all know how it ends!
Let’s just say that Grant’s dreams of Billy Joel through his pop star daughter come true, Amy Winehouse’s father trying to be a jazz singer while her daughter lives in agony, I don’t know, is much more adorable.
In general I think you should when you’re an established adult (unless they’re bad for you) give it back to your parents in some way, shape or form. Del Rey helping her dad make and promote an album is literally his version of dad changing tires for his birthday. Also, anyone who gave birth to the songwriter of “Young and Beautiful” deserves an award.