Lauv
| Lauv | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ari Staprans Leff |
| Born |
August 8, 1994[1] San Francisco, California, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Labels | https://twitter.com/lauvsongs |
| Website |
lauvsongs |
Ari Staprans Leff (born August 8, 1994), known by his stage name Lauv, is an American musician. His debut EP, titled Lost in the Light,[2] was released in 2015.[3][4] He is best known for his 2017 single, "I Like Me Better", and "The Other".
Early life
Leff was born in San Francisco, in 1994. As a child, he was interested in music and took piano and viola lessons before learning how to play the guitar at the age of 11.[5] At the age of 14, before he ever had any sort of relationship, he was obsessed with writing love songs and breakup songs.[6] When he was attending high school, he played in several bands and studied jazz before moving on to electronic music.[5]
Leff graduated from New York University, majoring in music technology.[5]
Career
During his college years, Leff strayed from his intensely personal song-writing style and focused on writing and producing for other artists. But during his sophomore year, he stumbled upon an illuminating interview with Paul Simon, in which Simon described his song-writing approach as a process of uncovering his innermost buried feelings. The interview helped Leff to get in touch with the way he used to write.[6]
Shortly after, Leff adopted the stage name Lauv, Latvian for 'lion'. This is a nod to his mother's heritage and to his own zodiac sign, Leo.[6][7]
Then, while recovering from a break-up in 2014, he revealed his feelings through co-writing "The Other" with Michael Matosic.[5]This was a fusion of rhythm and blues and indie-pop with influence from jazz guitar. He felt that the song was special to him, so he did not want to give it up to another artist.[8] He released the song under his stage name. The song gained blog attention and went viral, peaking at number three on blog aggregator Hype Machine,[9] and hitting the Global Top 100 on Spotify.[6]
After graduating, Leff signed to the publishing company Prescription Songs.[6]
In 2015, Leff released his debut EP, Lost in the Light, which featured "The Other".[2]
Then, apart from releasing a single titled "Question" featuring Travis Mills, Leff worked on writing and producing songs for other artists. Most notably, he co-wrote and co-produced "No Promises" for Cheat Codes and Demi Lovato.[7]
On May 19, 2017, Leff released the single "I Like Me Better",[10] an up-tempo track which also achieved popularity. The song was inspired by his relationship which started two months after he had first moved to New York City to further his studies.[7]
In the same year, he headed his own Late Nights, Deep Talks tour in which he performed in 8 cities across the United States. The tour began on May 23 in Los Angeles and concluded on June 7 in New York City. On July 9, he also performed in Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[10]
Discography
EP
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Lost in the Light[2] |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Bub. [11] |
AUS [12] |
AUT [13] |
CAN [14] |
DEN [15] |
GER [16] |
NZ [17] |
SWE [18] |
SWI [19] |
UK [20] | ||
| 2016 | "Question" (featuring Travis Mills)[21] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| "Breathe"[22] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "The Other"[23] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2017 | "I Like Me Better"[24] | 16 | 45 [25] | 37 | 62 | 31 | 26 | 34 | 55 | 50 | 64 |
Writing credits
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | "All My Love" (featuring Conor Maynard)[26] | Cash Cash |
| "Boys"[27] | Charli XCX |
References
- ↑ California Birth Index, 1905-1995
- 1 2 3 Lauv (3 October 2015). "Lauv - "Lost In The Light - EP" (Official Full Stream)". Retrieved 27 May 2017 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "On The Rise: An Interview with Lauv".
- ↑ "Lauv - Biography & History - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 "Spotify". play.spotify.com. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Lauv | Summerfest, The World's Largest Music Festival". Summerfest - The World's Largest Music Festival. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- 1 2 3 "INTERVIEW: LAUV Reveals The Touching Inspiration Behind 'I Like Me Better' | 103.5 KTU". 103.5 KTU. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ↑ "INTERVIEW: LAUV Reveals The Touching Inspiration Behind 'I Like Me Better' | 103.5 KTU". 103.5 KTU. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
LAUV's first single "The Other," was the first song that felt special enough to him that he didn't want to give it up to another artist
- ↑ "I'm watching Lauv at Ones To Watch!". Ones To Watch. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- 1 2 "Lauv Premieres New Song 'I Like Me Better' Before Upcoming Tour: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
- ↑ "Lauv – Chart history (Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles)". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ↑ "Discographie Lauv – austriancharts.at". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ↑ "Lauv – Chart history (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ↑ "Track Top-40 Uge 31, 2017". Hitlisten. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ↑ "Lauv – Offizielle Deutsche Charts". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ↑ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
- ↑ "Discography Lauv – swedishcharts.com". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ↑ "Discographie Lauv – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- ↑ "Lauv | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ↑ Lauv (9 June 2016). "Lauv - Question feat. Travis Mills (Official Audio)". Retrieved 27 May 2017 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Lauv (7 October 2016). "Lauv - Breathe (Official Audio)". Retrieved 27 May 2017 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Lauv (6 March 2017). "Lauv - The Other (Official Audio)". Retrieved 27 May 2017 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Lauv (18 May 2017). "Lauv - I Like Me Better (Official Audio)". Retrieved 27 May 2017 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ↑ LAUV (7 July 2017). "All My Love - Cash Cash (feat. Conor Maynard)".
- ↑ LAUV (26 July 2017). "Boys - Charli XCX".