Long before the flower crowns of Coachella or the moody trap-beats of Born to Die, there was a girl with bleach-blonde hair living in a trailer park in New Jersey. She wasn't quite Lana Del Rey yet. She was Lizzy Grant. And she had an album—a real, professionally produced studio album—that basically vanished from the face of the earth just weeks after it dropped.
If you're a fan, you've probably seen the grainy yellow cover. It's her, looking kinda startled, with the text "Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant" splashed across it. Yeah, she even spelled "Ray" with an "a" back then.
Honestly, the mystery surrounding this record is what makes it so legendary. People talk about it like it's some cursed artifact or a "lost" masterpiece. But the truth isn't some dark conspiracy. It's actually a pretty standard story of an indie label running out of cash and a young artist realizing she was about to become a much bigger deal than a digital-only release on a tiny label could handle.
The 5 Points Records Era: Making the Lana Del Rey Lizzy Grant album
In 2008, Elizabeth Grant signed a deal with 5 Points Records, an independent label run by David Nichtern. They gave her a $10,000 advance. To a girl living in a trailer, that felt like a fortune. She used that money to move into a trailer park and started working with David Kahne, a heavy-hitter producer who’d worked with legends like Paul McCartney and Regina Spektor.
Kahne actually got her vibe. He didn't try to polish her into a Top 40 pop star. Instead, they spent three months making something "cinematic." The result was the Lana Del Rey Lizzy Grant album, also known by its shorter title, Lana Del Ray.
The sound is... weird. In a good way. It’s got these bouncy, surf-rock guitars mixed with lounge-singer vocals and lyrics about "Queen of the Gas Station" and "Pawn Shop Blues." It's way more "trailer park chic" than "Old Hollywood."
The Short-Lived Release
The album officially hit the iTunes Store and Amazon on January 4, 2010. It cost $9.99. Her dad, Robert Grant, even helped with the marketing. But there was a problem. The label was tiny. They didn't have the money to promote it properly or even get a physical CD into stores.
📖 Related: The A Wrinkle in Time Cast: Why This Massive Star Power Didn't Save the Movie
Then, everything changed.
Lizzy got a new manager. She started working on a new sound—slower, darker, more orchestral. She changed the "a" in Ray to an "e." And just two months after the Lana Del Rey Lizzy Grant album went live, it was pulled from all digital shelves.
Why Did It Disappear?
There’s a lot of talk that Lana "scrubbed" her past to seem more "authentic" or "indie" when she re-emerged with "Video Games." But she’s actually been pretty open about it. She told the BBC back in 2012 that the label simply couldn't fund it.
She eventually bought the rights back herself.
"People act like it's so shrouded in mystery, the 'forgotten terrible album,'" she told the press. "But if you look on YouTube, all 13 tracks are available with millions of views."
Basically, she wanted a clean slate for the Born to Die era. She didn't want a "failed" indie release cluttering up her discography while she was trying to launch a global career. It was a business move, plain and simple.
👉 See also: Cuba Gooding Jr OJ: Why the Performance Everyone Hated Was Actually Genius
The Tracklist: What You're Missing
If you haven't scoured YouTube for the leaks yet, here is what the original 13-track version of the Lana Del Rey Lizzy Grant album looked like:
- Kill Kill (The jazzy, dark opener)
- Queen of the Gas Station (Pure Americana kitsch)
- Oh Say Can You See
- Gramma (Blue Ribbon Sparkler Trailer Heaven)
- For K Part 2
- Jump
- Mermaid Motel
- Raise Me Up (Mississippi South)
- Pawn Shop Blues (Arguably one of her best songs ever)
- Brite Lites
- Put Me In A Movie
- Smarty
- Yayo
Wait, "Yayo"? Yeah. That song has a life of its own. It originally appeared here, then she re-recorded it for the Paradise EP in 2012. Most hardcore fans actually prefer the Lizzy Grant version because it sounds more raw and desperate.
Can You Actually Buy the Lana Del Rey Lizzy Grant album Now?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: Unless you’re willing to spend hundreds (or thousands) on a rare promotional CD from 2010, you can’t buy it officially. It isn’t on Spotify. It isn’t on Apple Music.
Every few years, a rumor starts that she’s going to "finally" re-release it. In 2012, she said it was coming "late summer." It never did. In 2026, we’re still waiting.
But here’s the thing—the "unreleased" nature of the album is part of the brand now. It’s like a secret handshake for fans. If you know "Pawn Shop Blues," you're not just a casual listener; you’re part of the cult.
✨ Don't miss: Greatest Rock and Roll Singers of All Time: Why the Legends Still Own the Mic
How to Listen to the Lizzy Grant Era
Since you can't just hit play on a streaming app, you have to be a bit of a digital detective.
- YouTube is your best friend. Most of the tracks have been uploaded hundreds of times. Look for high-quality rips to avoid that "recorded on a toaster" sound.
- SoundCloud. Fans frequently upload the full album as a single "podcast" or track to bypass copyright strikes.
- Vinyl Bootlegs. You might see "Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant" on vinyl at your local record store. Just know—those aren't official. They’re bootlegs, usually pressed in Europe. The sound quality is hit-or-miss, but the covers look great on a shelf.
The Lana Del Rey Lizzy Grant album isn't just a curiosity. It’s the blueprint. You can hear the beginnings of everything she became in these songs. The obsession with older men, the fascination with trashy Americana, and that specific way she uses her voice—shifting from a baby-doll coo to a deep, sultry alto.
It’s not a "terrible forgotten album." It’s the origin story.
If you want to understand the Lizzy Grant era properly, don't just look for the album. Look for the "Kill Kill" music video. It was filmed by Lana herself on a webcam and edited with stock footage. It’s low-budget, it’s messy, and it’s arguably more "Lana" than anything she’s done with a multi-million dollar budget.
Next Steps for Fans
To truly experience this era, start by listening to "Pawn Shop Blues" and "Kill Kill." These two tracks bridge the gap between Lizzy the waitress and Lana the icon. Once you've done that, search for the Sirens demo album, which predates even the Lizzy Grant era, to see just how far the transformation really went.