Lana Del Ray Reveals Why She Was Working at Waffle House in Viral Photo

Lana Del Rey's stint at Waffle House was short-lived.

The singer finally spoke about her internet-famous shift at an Alabama Waffle House. She told The Hollywood Reporter that she never intended to work behind the counter at the diner chain, but after a week in an Alabama town and a few hours at the restaurant with siblings, Del Rey decided to shake it up a bit. 

“We were on our third hour, and the servers asked, ‘Do you guys want shirts?’ ” Del Rey told The Hollywood Reporter of her visit to a Waffle House in Florence, Alabama. “Hell yeah! We were thrilled,” she continued.

The manager of the Waffle House posted a short clip of the “Summertime Sadness” singer to Facebook in July. A fan account also shared some snaps of the singer preparing coffee and posing with fans to Instagram.

After seeing Del Rey donning the chain’s blue button-up uniforms, many fans thought the singer might be switching to a career in serving, but she revealed that it wasn’t nearly that serious.

“This guy, a regular, comes in every day and orders two things, so they were like, ‘Just go get it for him!’” Del Rey told THR. “I brought him a Coke. No ice. And an empty cup,” that she explained was used as a spittoon for chewing tobacco.  

Reflecting on the reaction to her appearance at the restaurant, Del Rey joked, “I wish my album had gone as viral.” 

“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!’” the singer explained before joking she’d say, “Did you hear the new album?”

Jack Antonoff, a producer of three of Del Rey’s albums, explained to The Hollywood Reporter that she is a talented vocalist and creative — but also the kind of person who "likes to roll around in her truck and drink gas-station coffee. That can disarm people, but there’s no bit.”

When the singer isn’t dropping into a Waffle House, she might just be doing a pop-up performance at a dive bar. 

In early September, Del Rey serenaded the crowd at Robert’s Western World with a cover of Tammy Wynette’s classic country song “Stand by Your Man.” Fans captured footage Del Rey performing in the iconic 150-capacity venue. 

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As she walked up on the dive bar stage, the "West Coast" musician received a sweet introduction: “If you guys cheer loud enough, she might move all the way to Nashville, Tennessee. She is a sensation, she is the most country motherf---er in Robert’s tonight, Lana Del Rey.” 

After seeming to confirm with the guitarist that the band knew how to play the 1968 Wynette country-pop hit, the alternative artist, who donned a bow in her hair and sported a sweater, floral skirt and cowboy boots, took to the microphone. Frequently smiling throughout the surprise performance, Del Rey thrilled the crowd when she crooned the song’s powerful chorus. 

In clips that surfaced of Del Rey’s Nashville appearance, many of Robert’s Western World’s patrons sang and danced along to the cover.