Brooklyn Baby

"Brooklyn Baby" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey for her third studio album Ultraviolence (2014). It was written by Del Rey, and Barrie O'Neill, while production was handled by Dan Auerbach.^[2] The song was released on June 8, 2014, by Polydor Records and Interscope Records.^[3] The song's lyrical content is notable for its satirical elements targeting the New York hipster subculture:^[3] its chorus highlights "a stable of cliches about hipsters, Brooklyn, millennials and other things Del Rey herself is known to idolize".^[4]

"Brooklyn Baby"
Single by Lana Del Rey
from the album Ultraviolence
Released	June 8, 2014 (2014-06-08)
Studio	Easy Eye Sound (Nashville)
Genre	Dream pop[1]
Length	5:52
Label	Polydor Interscope
Songwriter(s)	Lana Del Rey Barrie O'Neill
Producer(s)	Dan Auerbach
Lana Del Rey singles chronology
"Ultraviolence" (2014) "Brooklyn Baby" (2014) "Wait for Life" (2015)
Licensed audio
"Brooklyn Baby" on YouTube

Composition

Miriam Coleman of Rolling Stone described Del Rey's vocals as "breathy" and called the melody of the song "reminiscent of 1960s girl-group hits".^[3] In the song, Del Rey pokes fun at New York City and celebrates hipster subculture, referencing several cliches about them, Brooklyn, and Millennials.^[5] Del Rey said that she wrote the song with Lou Reed in mind. She was supposed to work with him and flew to New York City to meet him, but he died the day she arrived.^[6] He is referenced in the line "And my boyfriend's in a band/ He plays guitar while I sing Lou Reed".^[7]

Critical response

The song received widespread critical acclaim. Miriam Coleman of Rolling Stone described it as a "dreamy song... with a breathy vocals and a melody before moving into Del Rey's typically languid, dreamy soundscape". Duncan Cooper of The Fader stated that "Brooklyn Baby" is the standout track of Ultraviolence, pointing out the "uncharacteristically self-assured gem", "Yeah, my boyfriend's pretty cool/ But he's not as cool as me."^[8] Sharan Shetty of Slate complimented the melody of the song, however disliked the lack of "big, chewy vocal hooks".^[9] The song was placed at number twenty two on Rolling Stone's 50 Best Songs of 2014 list.^[10]

Track listing

Digital download^[11]

1. "Brooklyn Baby" – 5:52

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Ultraviolence.^[12]

Performance credits

• Lana Del Rey – vocals, background vocals
• Seth Kauffman – background vocals

Instruments

• Dan Auerbach – electric guitar
• Seth Kauffman – electric guitar, percussion
• Leon Michels – mellotron, tambourine, percussion, tenor saxophone
• Nick Movshon – upright bass, drums
• Russ Pahl – pedal steel guitar, acoustic guitar
• Kenny Vaughan – acoustic guitar
• Maximilian Weissenfeldt – drums

Technical and production

• Dan Auerbach – production
• John Davis – mastering
• Collin Dupuis – engineering
• Robert Orton – mixing

Charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[13]	35
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[14]	64
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[15]	32
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[16]	60
CIS Airplay (TopHit)[17]	341
Finland Download (Latauslista)[18]	6
France (SNEP)[19]	33
Italy (FIMI)[20]	50
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[21]	87
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22]	19
Russian Digital Songs (Lenta)	10
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[23]	36
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24]	16
UK Singles (OCC)[25]	86
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[26]	1

Certifications

Certifications for "Brooklyn Baby"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[27]	Platinum	70,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[28]	2× Platinum	120,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[29]	Platinum	30,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[30]	Gold	30,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[31]	Gold	400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[32]	Platinum	1,000,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Worldwide[11]	June 8, 2014	Digital download	Interscope Polydor