On Wednesday, Lana Del Rey asked fans on Instagram Live not to listen to a leaked version of her ninth studio album, which she says recently began circulating after her laptop, camcorders, and hard drives were stolen out of her car. “A few months ago, I parked my car on Melrose Place, and I stepped away for a minute,” the singer said in the since-deleted video, in which she alleged that someone smashed her windows and stole her backpack. “Please don’t listen to the music if you hear it, because it’s not coming out yet.”
Del Rey released her two latest albums, Chemtrails Over the Country Club and Blue Banisters, in 2021. In her Live, she said music from her upcoming record was loaded onto the laptop she had to remotely wipe but that “people are still able this week to access my phone and leak our songs and personal photos.” In addition to the lost music, the singer said she lost 200 pages of an in-progress manuscript she was working on for Simon & Schuster, which published her debut poetry collection, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass, in 2020. “It has been a challenge,” said Del Rey, adding that she “loved the book I lost with all my heart” and now has to start over on the project.
“I don’t even think a plea for privacy would do anything,” Del Rey continued, explaining that this is the “third time” something like this has happened and that she has experienced “the same issues at the house.” In spite of the ordeal, she says she plans to continue her work on the album: “I just want to mention that despite all of this happening, I am confident in the record to come,” Del Rey said. “I really want to persist and make the best record I can … Obviously, I won’t ever leave anything in the car again — even if it’s just for a moment.”