THE fans’ screams grew louder and louder, filling the entire concert hall last May 21, Tuesday night at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino. Everyone was eager to catch American singer, songwriter and record producer Lauv perform live in the Queen City of the Philippines.
As the soft spotlight hit Lauv—dressed in a plain white tee, black baggy athletic joggers and his favorite classic sneakers paired with white high socks—the 24-year-old captured fans’ hearts while singing the first few lines of his latest single “Drugs and the Internet.”
Ari Staprans Leff, better known as Lauv, shared in an interview before the show how he discovered songwriting when he was in his teens.
“I picked up a guitar when I was 13 or something, and I just started to try putting random words to the chords and that was kind of how it started. I made my first song and it was really bad but I was proud of it, you know? And from there I just kept doing it,” he said.
Taking inspiration from “literally everything” in his life, Lauv wrote about his personal experiences with love, his parents, his favorite bar, his dog and even his experiences from the internet, making his songs highly relatable to the younger audience.
“The last album (“I met you when I was 18”) was all about one relationship. It was about when I turned 18 and moved to New York City and fell in love for the first time. This [new record] is just so much broader now.”
Back in 2015, Lauv uploaded the track “The Other” in SoundCloud, a music and podcast streaming platform. He remembered being overwhelmed the day after he uploaded it because producers and music labels started calling and wanted to work with him immediately. Lauv shared that it took him almost two years to wrap his head around it whether he wanted to work full time on music as it was just more of a side, fun project thing for him. Then one day, all of a sudden, he was ready and he started doing it full time.
The stage bled with blue, Lauv’s signature color, with the occasional green, red and violet. Even after performing in Manila the night before, the “I Like Me Better” singer performed enthusiastically, jumping around and singing his heart out. Of course, the crowd didn’t fail the artist as they, too, sang along to their hearts’ content!
Surprisingly, Lauv also shared that the Philippines feels like a second home to him. He’s been visiting the country since 2017 and he’s experienced how people are so sweet and hospitable.
In the second portion of the interview, SunStar Lifestyle had the chance to ask him “This or That,” getting to know the artist even more.
SunStar LIVE!: Most memorable song in “I met you when I was 18” and why?
Lauv: Probably “Breathe” or “Never Not” just because those were the perfect summations of how much I loved the person but how much I needed to do my own thing.
SL: Are you a morning person or a night person?
L: I’m a morning person.
SL: Sunrises or sunsets?
L: Sunrise
SL: Beach or mountains?
L: Beach
SL: Horror films or comedy?
L: Horror
SL: Sweet or savoury?
L: Sour
SL: To love or be loved?
L: To love
SL: Someplace cold or tropical?
L: Tropical
SL: What’s your favorite movie?
L: Oh, man! I don’t know. Uhh, “Boogie Nights!”
SL: Favorite song?
L: The new Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber song I Don’t Care.” It’s such a banger
SL: Are you single?
L: No
SL: Would you date a fan?
L: I guess, hypothetically if I were to be single... maybe? I don’t know! It just depends.
SL: Lights on or lights off?
L: Lights on!
The future looks bright for Lauv as it was evident in his concert last Tuesday. So, what should we expect from him in the future? “I wish I could tell you—I don’t even know what to expect from myself! No, I’m just kidding. Well, you know my album, “How I’m Feeling” all the songs off of that, you should expect that it’s gonna be much broader than anything else I’ve ever done genre-wise and topic-wise. I’m probably going to have some side projects as well, like other artist projects I’m working on. Trying to start my own record label. And eventually, I’ll develop a pasta sauce company!”