A British songwriter has revealed how Lana Del Rey's breakthrough hit Video Games was almost shelved by label bosses.
Justin Parker was nominated for a prestigious Ivor Novello on Tuesday (17Apr12) for his part in co-writing the track with Del Rey, but he admits the song was almost a flop.
It took Parker just three hours to compose Video Games with Del Rey but Interscope executives weren't impressed with their efforts.
He explains, "No one liked it. We thought it was really special but they didn't think it was a single...
"I wrote the chord sequence for the verse at home in Lincoln and thought, 'That sounds like a Lana song to me.' She was amazing, she followed every chord. She wrote the lyrics and it was all written in three hours. There's a melancholic side to her and we've both had dark times so it was a natural progression for the song to feel that way."
The singer then used vintage movie clips to make her own music video, which she uploaded to YouTube.com and watched as it became a viral hit.
Parker recalls, "It just took off. Then they had to release it then, they had no choice."
The 34-year-old former soccer player admits he never expected his Novello nod, adding, "I'm just in it to make a living as a songwriter. A year ago I was doing very little, just writing songs without a purpose."
The Ivor Novellos, which recognise excellence in British music writing, are expected to be dominated by Adele next month (May12). The soul star is nominated in four categories.