Join us as we dive deep into the world of Lauv, the persona of Ari Staprans Leff, a rising star in the music industry. Known for his nostalgic heartbreak pop and soulful lyrics, Lauv has captured hearts around the globe. But who is the man behind the music?
In this exclusive interview with Esquire Philippines, Lauv sits down in a luxurious hotel room high above the Makati skyline to share his journey of self-discovery, fame, and personal struggles. From his early days at NYU’s Steinhardt School to his breakout hit "I Like Me Better," he opens up about the rapid rise to stardom that changed his life forever.
Discover the story behind his latest single "Potential," a reflection on unexpected feelings and personal acceptance. Lauv candidly discusses his battles with depression, alcoholism, and the pressures of instant fame, revealing a side of him that few fans ever see.
In this exclusive interview with Esquire Philippines, Lauv sits down in a luxurious hotel room high above the Makati skyline to share his journey of self-discovery, fame, and personal struggles. From his early days at NYU’s Steinhardt School to his breakout hit "I Like Me Better," he opens up about the rapid rise to stardom that changed his life forever.
Discover the story behind his latest single "Potential," a reflection on unexpected feelings and personal acceptance. Lauv candidly discusses his battles with depression, alcoholism, and the pressures of instant fame, revealing a side of him that few fans ever see.
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FunTranscript
00:00 I feel bad that I leave and I go home back to LA and do my thing, which I guess I gotta do that.
00:07 But I really love being here and I feel very humbled and thankful every time I'm here.
00:26 Yeah, well I'm doing some shows, some concerts in certain parts of Asia.
00:32 And in between that, just doing some promo and press and stuff for my new song, "Potential" just came out.
00:37 I figured while I was here, I might as well just do as much as I can.
00:40 Well first of all, it's a song about realizing you have feelings for people that you didn't.
00:48 Maybe you thought of as friends before.
00:51 And it's this process of me realizing that there's a lot more going on inside of me than I thought.
00:58 And just dreaming about what that would be like to be with that person that you feel like you have potential with.
01:03 This album is just me finding a big piece of myself that I was shutting down for a long time, for really my whole life.
01:11 So it's really exciting and this is just the beginning, the taste of it.
01:17 Honestly, just on a day-to-day basis, I feel like I stress about it so much.
01:22 And not stress, but I care so much about how everything is going to happen.
01:26 I'm always thinking about what song is going to come when and why.
01:30 Maybe I want to tell this part of the story now. I kind of obsess over it because it just does matter a lot to me.
01:35 So with "Potential" I definitely was nervous and so excited for such a long time.
01:40 But yeah, I'm glad that it's finally out.
01:43 Definitely not that it's not at all.
01:45 I would say there's some vibes that are similar.
01:50 There's a lot of different sounds on the album, a lot of different genres and vibes.
01:54 The themes are very much on curiosity and self-discovery, metamorphosis and stuff like that.
02:00 I feel like basically the album is about me.
02:08 I feel like basically what happened for me was I was in college, right?
02:15 And then I was releasing some early songs as Lauv.
02:18 Doing that still felt like already making music.
02:20 Then my music started to blow up as Lauv.
02:22 And especially with "I Like Me Better".
02:24 And I don't think I realized it.
02:26 I definitely didn't realize it at the time, but my life changed so rapidly and so intensely.
02:30 I think I always was like, "No, this isn't going to make a difference. I still feel like me."
02:35 But looking back over the past five, six, seven years, there's definitely a handful of years where I look back at photos and I almost don't even recognize myself.
02:43 I'm like, "Whoa." Just the look in my eyes and stuff.
02:46 Not in such a bad way, but just in a way of like, I don't know, I feel like I substituted something for myself.
02:51 Getting myself back has been the most key.
02:54 I feel like that's going to be a lifelong thing for me, is always just trying to stay close to my true self.
02:59 [Music]
03:05 I feel like, honestly, I wish I could just be even closer.
03:07 I feel bad that I leave and I go home back to LA and do my thing, which I guess I got to do that.
03:14 But I really love being here.
03:16 I feel very humbled and thankful.
03:19 I feel like everyone here knows y'all sing so well.
03:23 Being in Manila for sure, and then also being in Cebu and just having the best time.
03:27 It's just always feels so welcomed and I feel very not judged and I feel very thankful for that.
03:31 So I feel like the relationship is one that it just kind of naturally does its thing.
03:36 I'm really thankful for it.
03:38 I think it's going to be, I know it's going to be lifelong.
03:41 [Music]
03:46 I feel like I know that I have what it takes to be around for a long time, but what I don't know is how that looks.
03:52 I feel like I can't predict how, like who knows, maybe I'll be making music in a totally different way in five years or in 10 years.
03:59 Or maybe I'll be, I know what I love and I know that it's just creativity.
04:04 So I feel like as long as AI is being used as a tool to aid creativity and not being used that I guess don't do that.
04:12 Or that aren't respecting other, you know, creators, like actual human creators and like crediting people and making sure people are paid.
04:20 I know, you know, there's a lot of work being done, I think, into making sure there's a system to put in place for that.
04:28 But at the end of the day, like I don't really know, I don't know that much about AI.
04:32 So it's hard for me to say fully, but I do know that like there's a really fun opportunity to be able to do something like that for the Korean version of Love You Like That.
04:40 I think there's room for both like, you know, actually learning languages, but then also like experimenting.
04:46 [Music]
04:50 I actually have not met that many. I mean, I met and spoke to Zach.
04:55 We haven't caught up in a while and I'm super open.
04:58 I would love to, I think especially like, I think it'd be cool to learn more about like sonically, like what, you know, like what makes the culture of music and stuff.
05:06 [Music]
05:12 I wouldn't say like the experiences are really a whole lot different.
05:17 And when it comes to that, I would just say like some of these, I think because everybody's so busy.
05:22 Some of my collabs have happened where it's like we've been in person together and made this song and then some have happened to be like, oh, we'd love to do something together.
05:29 Send an idea. I'll work on it and then send it back.
05:32 And I feel like there's been kind of some of the differences, but both are really fun.
05:36 Like I really like collabing a lot because I feel like it takes the pressure off of me being self-conscious as much.
05:41 Like I feel like I can just do me and like have fun and, but there's also somebody else doing them and it's just like perfect.
05:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]