Lana Del Rey *finally* explained her random waffle house waitressing shift

Lana Del Rey was a waitress wearing a white dress—okay, not literally, but she did have a brief waitressing gig at a Waffle House in Alabama this summer. In the Hollywood Reporter’s latest cover story, the “Candy Necklace” singer talked about music critics, returning to live TV after her 2011 SNL appearance, and what really went down at Waffle House.

So many questions have swirled in our minds since videos and pics of LDR at the Southern food joint went viral in July. Like, how did she end up there, how long was she there for, and why was she sporting a uniform after she had just dropped her album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard? I now present you with the unexpectedly iconic footage of LDR working at the beloved diner: 

The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Lana didn’t intend to pick up a shift at the Waffle House and that she had just been “shooting the shit” with her siblings in a booth when one of the employees asked if they wanted to rock the chain’s blue polyester uniform shirts. “We were on our third hour, and the servers asked, ‘Do you guys want shirts?’” Lana explained. “Hell yeah! We were thrilled.”

“This guy, a regular, comes in every day and orders two things, so they were like, ‘Just go get it for him!’” the Grammy winner continued. “I brought him a Coke. No ice. And an empty cup,” she added, saying that she “didn’t see anyone take a video” of her as she did it. 

The video in question, along with fan-made TikToks and selfies, made its rounds on the internet and fans were straight-up obsessed with the singer’s small-town energy. Honestly, there’s nothing more ~Americana~ and Lana Del Rey than randomly picking up a diner shift in rural Alabama. 

You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. “I wish my album had gone as viral,” Lana told the outlet. “I woke up to, like, 10,000 texts the next morning—some from folks I had not heard from for 10 years. ‘Saw your picture at the Waffle House!’ I was like, ‘Did you hear the new album?’”

According to Billboard, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd earned Lanaher biggest opening week in the U.S. since she dropped Honeymoon in 2015. Her music video for “Candy Necklace” with Jon Batiste also snagged the Best Alternative award at the 2023 VMAs. So while her latest musical release may not have “gone as viral” as her Waffle House stint did, LDR is still doing pretty well for herself.