Rarely has a pop star just starting out been as loved and as loathed as Lana Del Rey.

The 25-year-old has filled acres of newspaper column inches even before her debut album, Born To Die, hits shelves in the US and UK this week.

First came the "breakthrough", when her video for the song Video Games was viewed millions of times on YouTube after it was released last June, leading to the sultry chanteuse becoming the talk of the music business.

A few months later, she was scooped up by Interscope Records.

That success prompted the question "just who is Del Rey?", and inquisitive fans quickly found out that the New York native, whose real name is Elizabeth Grant, is the daughter of wealthy Internet domain investor Rob Grant.

Then, it was revealed that she had previously been signed to a label, which fuelled debate about her authenticity as an indie music artist garnering success through a viral video.

The backlash picked up steam after Del Rey's recent shaky singing as the musical guest on US sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live.

It was attacked with vitriol by fans and critics alike.

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