Think about the Yankees or the Kardashians—you either love them or you can’t stand them. The same can be said about Lana Del Rey.

Coming off as a bluesy vocalist with a retro-glam style, Lana began her career under her real name, Lizzie Grant. She went for an ultrapop, Lady Gaga style, which failed in the long run.

Elizabeth Woolridge Grant changed her name, hair, style and lips and became the singer we know as Lana Del Rey.

The name actually came from Interscope records, as well as her rumored makeover. Although Lana confesses to living in a trailer park, her father is actually a multi-millionaire who is rumored to have backed her career.  

Still love her? Maybe not.

In Lana's defense, many celebrities have changed their look—Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Pink, and virtually every rapper. However, none of them made it on to the biggest stage, "Saturday Night Live," without a full length album released (and subsequently do extremely poorly). 

The booking of SNL was a genius promotional move on Interscope’s part. With thrift shops and Urban Outfitters popping up all over the country, the industry of indie-pop listening hipsters were looking for a new face.

ALSO SEE: Lana Del Rey Does Her Thing At The El Rey Theatre

In essence, Lana came onto the scene at the perfect time, and the buzz generated over her playing on SNL only helped her to gain distinction.

However, what is amazing is that even though she was one of the worst performers in SNL history, her album, “Born to Die,” went on to sell almost 3 million copies making it one of the most successful albums of 2012 thus far. 

This past September, “Ride” was released as the first Rick Rubin produced single on “Paradise.” Although seemingly dull, as soon as the verse “I’ve been out on that open road” begins, your eardrums are seduced by the lounge singer vocals. Don’t get too creeped out by the music video and how she is looking for “a full time daddy”—it fits along with the tone and lyrics of the song, as well as her narration. And it wouldn’t be a Lana Del Rey video without an American flag somewhere.

Speaking of the flag and a fetish for old men, “Cola” is like a continuation to the previous song, except it is quite a bit more risqué. 

And then there is the song “American”—do you see the trend here? This number is by far one of the strongest of the new album.

Once you get to the line "Springsteen is the king, don't you think?," forget it, you’re entranced. "American" may be too slow to be a radio hit, but the “oh oh oh” chorus makes it a memorable, infatuated love song that reminds you to “Be young, be dope, be proud like an American.”

Another glamorized track on the album is “Blue Velvet.” It was a song originally sang in 1950 by the Clovers. She performed this effortless track for the H&M Fall and Winter commercial in which she signed on to be a model for their campaign. Jaguar is also using her in advertisements as well and she was named the GQ "Woman of the Year" in the UK.

As for more tracks, “Burning Desire” is a fantastic mix of a building rhythm and Lana’s smoky vocals. It is certainly is an intense track that will delight listeners. “Gods and Monsters” narrates her loss of innocence due to the fact she went to bars at an extremely young age and developed an alcohol addiction at the age of 14.

Other tracks include “Yayo” and “Bel Air,” both of which may be classified as downtempo pop. By that, it means the songs, although lyrically decent, are quite dulling. They’re not necessarily poor, it just should be recommended not to drive or operate heavy machinery while listening to them.

Still love her? Maybe.

In case you missed "Born to Die," don’t fret because it is being re-released with "Paradise" again—buy it. You’ll want to listen to “Summertime Sadness” while “crusin’ down the coast goin’ bout 99” and jam to the sassiest breakup song in “Radio.”

ALSO SEE: Lana Del Rey's Debut "Born To Die" Doesn't Meet Its Hype

“Video Games” is a classic and perhaps still her best, with almost 30 million hits on Youtube. "National Anthem" is another outstanding song that yet again incorperates the American glamour theme, with a Kennedy twist. Lastly, “Born to Die” is both an intense and elaborate video, but also one of those songs that will get stuck in your head for a minimum of five hours.

Lana’s music is the perfect blend of old, Hollywood glam and a smoky cabaret singer, narrated with stories from a harsh past of lost love and the struggles of life (she often mentions death and being crazy). The self-professed “gangster Nancy Sinatra” certainly has a different style of music, a sound that has not been really broadcasted since perhaps the 1940s or 50s.

Critics will judge and fans will applaud. Lana Del Rey will keep writing and producing excellent songs, and probably mention America or insanity a few more times.

Still love her? Yep.

Buy "Paradise" on Amazon or iTunes.

Read more of NT's album reviews here.

Reach Staff Reporter Jillian Morabito here.