▲ I Like Me Better Single Cover

The rising new face, Lauv (pronounced as [lāwv]), is a triple threat due to his being talented in all three areas of production, writing and singing. Lauv and his trademark airy sound put his name up in lights. Rightfully drawing his own frontier somewhere between the genres of the mainstream pop and indie music, one name is not enough to pin his style down. What the singer has shown the world so far of his music is the mere tip of his iceberg; there is much to delve into about Lauv, the romantic who loves the idea of love.

The twenty-three year old prodigy Ari Staprans, or Lauv as he is known in the music scene, is the mastermind behind the creation of his own music. Despite the geographical implications of “Paris in the Rain,” his music is inspired by the ambience of none other than New York City where he also spent his years studying musical production in New York University (NYU). He may be a new face on the music scene, but his musical talent was evident through his childhood years when he managed to play the piano, the viola and guitar by the age of nine.

“All these emotions were coming at me, and it was like they were flying around the room and I was trying to capture them,” said Lauv to describe the process of writing his renowned single “I Like Me Better” (2017). And indeed he did encage those emotions into the words of his songs. His lyrics alone are enough to set him apart from other writers and singers such as Charlie Puth and Shawn Mendes, whose names are often brought up in comparison to his color in the music market.

▲ Lauv in his music video for Paris in the Rain

What provides him with a sturdy, separate ground apart from other artists is the piercing juxtaposition of metaphors and similes which have the power to evoke both the traditionally poetic images as well as the very much relevant emotions all at once. His words are not fancy, but they are delivered very much to the point, which is difficult to achieve in music, another complicated form of poetry.

However, he has not started out his career by writing for himself. In fact, his assumptions were that his career would be set to writing for others, even as he had spent his time studying music in NYU. Before his break onto the music scene, he had experience in writing for others. One of the most renowned works of his is the collaboration with Cheap Codes on the hit track, “No Promises” (2017), sung by the pop sensation Demi Lovato.

When asked about his goal throughout his musical career in an interview with EDM Tunes, Lauv replied, “Personally, my biggest goal is just to reach as many people as possible with the music. I hope I can continue putting out music that people can resonate with. I just want to keep everything I do real and put out songs so I can grow with all my friends and fans.” With such a goal in mind, he is surely one of the figures in music to keep an eye on.