"Video Games" | ||||
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Single by Lana Del Rey | ||||
from the album Born to Die | ||||
B-side |
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Released | October 7, 2011 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:42 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Robopop | |||
Lana Del Rey singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Video Games" on YouTube |
"Video Games" is the debut single by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. The song was produced by Robopop, while the lyrics were written by Del Rey and Justin Parker. It was first released to the Internet on May 5, 2011,[1] and was later released on her extended play, Lana Del Rey. The song was re-released as the lead single from her second studio album, Born to Die, on October 7, 2011, through Interscope Records. "Video Games" is a baroque pop, dream pop, and downtempo ballad.
"Video Games" has received widespread critical acclaim, with many critics praising the uniqueness of Del Rey's vocal performance and the song's cinematic production. The song is considered Del Rey's "breakthrough hit" and was a commercial success, peaking at number one in Germany, Iceland, and Luxembourg, and reaching the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It peaked at 91 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Its accompanying music video was directed and edited by Del Rey herself, combining scenes of her performing the song filmed on a webcam with clips of archive footage.
"Video Games" won an Ivor Novello Award for "Best Contemporary Song" in 2012 and was nominated for several other awards shortly after its release. The song was named "Song of the Decade" at the Q Awards 2019[2] and was ranked ninth on Pitchfork's 100 Best Songs of the 2010s.[3]