I Lauv You, Mean It

With leaves turning gold and fallen ones crunching beneath our steps, autumn settles in with a quiet calm. Within this gentle serenity, we naturally find space to reflect on ourselves — and Lauv’s first full-length album, ~How I’m Feeling~, does just that, delicately capturing the inner reflections of youth through his six distinct characters. Together with the Sungkyun Times (SKT), explore this colorful album and discover moments of comfort and empathy.

Lauv = Love

-From Ari to Lauv

If a clean, gently bouncing melody in a café has ever caught your ear, chances are it was Lauv. Lauv — born Ari Staprans Leff — is an American singer-songwriter. His stage name carries fateful symbolism: Ari, his given name, means “lion” in Hebrew, and his zodiac sign is Leo — another reference to the lion. With such symbolic ties, it seems almost destined that he would choose Lauv, derived from the Latvian word lauva, meaning lion, as his stage name. Just as his name seemed inevitable, so too did his early pursuit of music. Lauv studied piano and viola before picking up the guitar at the age of 11, and by 14, he was already writing his own songs. Having shown such musical talent from an early age, he majored in Music Technology at New York University. Later in 2015, Lauv’s debut single The Other quickly went viral and soon made its way onto the Spotify Global Chart, marking the start of his career as a solo artist. After graduating from university, he released I Like Me Better, which became a breakout hit. The track marked his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and led to an eight-city United States tour. Building on this success, Lauv has since expanded his global influence with hit songs such as Paris in the Rain and All 4 Nothing. Particularly in Korea, Lauv has gained significant attention through various collaborations with famous K-pop groups. The Make It Right remix with BTS and I GOT YOU with TWICE significantly boosted his presence in Korea, earning enthusiastic responses from K-pop fans. He further strengthened his standing with multiple sold-out concerts in Korea, including his first solo show in 2023 and another in 2025.

-Feelings in Every Color of Sound

Lauv’s music is more than just something to listen to; it invites listeners to feel seen and understood. Much of this emotional depth comes from his tone, which shapes the entire mood of each track. Lauv’s voice is smooth and tender, flowing seamlessly between rhythm and blues (R&B) and indie pop. In the lower register, it offers a sense of warmth and comfort, while in the higher range, it bursts with raw emotion that resonates deeply with listeners. This emotional quality shines in his 2022 release All 4 Nothing, where his captivating pop vocals evoke the feeling of falling in love. Lauv’s strength also lies in his lyrics, which reveal emotions with honesty and clarity. As a singer-songwriter, he weaves his own experiences into his lyrics, allowing him to connect with listeners in a genuinely sincere way. Above all, what sets Lauv’s music apart is its confessional themes. While many pop artists focus mainly on love and heartbreak, Lauv delves deeper, touching on intimate subjects like self-identity, mental health, and insecurity. This broad thematic range elevates his songs beyond simple pop tracks, turning them into mirrors that reflect the inner lives of listeners. In this way, Lauv has carved out a distinct musical identity and established himself as an artist who resonates with listeners worldwide.

~How I'm Feeling~

No exploration of Lauv’s musical world would be complete without his first full-length album, ~How I’m Feeling~, released in 2020. Until then, he had mainly released singles and playlists, but with this 21-track album, he brought his personal story together into a complete body of work for the first time. The album’s most distinctive feature lies in its six color-coded characters, which cycle through the album to express his personalities. The six color-coded personas are: Purple, the practical and rational side; Blue, the hopeless romantic; Red, the strong and assertive; Yellow, the eternal optimist; Green, the naive and awkward; and Orange, the reckless bad boy. Each character was designed as a miniature version of Lauv and appeared not only within the tracks but also on the album cover art and across promotional visuals, becoming a central symbol of the album’s identity. With these six personas at its core, the themes and content of the album are intensely autobiographical. It is more than a simple collection of 21 songs; rather, it unfolds as his emotional journey. On one end of the spectrum are bright, upbeat pop tracks, such as Feelings and Tattoos Together, which capture the thrill of love and fleeting happiness. In contrast, songs such as Changes and Modern Loneliness lay bare feelings of solitude and anxiety, portraying the irony of a generation that is constantly connected yet still profoundly lonely. In this way, ~How I’m Feeling~ is not simply an album, but an introspective chronicle of Lauv exploring his inner world and tracing the flow of his emotions.

Something to Remember

Lauv’s authentic charm shines most vividly in the finer details of his tracks. To capture this essence, the SKT has selected three songs from his album ~How I’m Feeling~ that best reflect his world. By the end of these songs, you may find yourself deeply moved by Lauv’s words of love, comfort, and self-reflection — not only as his story, but also as your own.

-Feelings:“But girl let me change your mind”

Feelings is the track that best embodies Lauv’s Blue character — the hopeless romantic among his six personas — telling the story of a man completely swept up in new love. As the lyric “But girl let me change your mind” suggests, the song’s protagonist is portrayed as bold and impulsive, charging in with reckless confidence. Listening to this track, one cannot help but feel that fluttering, love-struck rush. Notably, Feelings is the only track that Lauv mixed himself, pouring extra care and attention into it and, ultimately, shaping one of the album’s most genuine and vivid emotions.

-Tattoos Together:“Let’s get tattoos together, something to remember”

Tattoos Together is a song drawn from Lauv’s own real-life love story. Inspired by the impulsive moment when he fell for someone so deeply that he got his very first tattoo — something entirely out of character for him — the track captures the reckless yet powerful emotions of that time. It most clearly reflects the personality of his Yellow character, the eternal optimist, as it playfully conveys the spontaneity and joy of falling in love while embodying the reckless passion of youth. Just like its short but addictive chorus, “Let’s get tattoos together, something to remember,” the song becomes a lasting record of a fleeting yet unforgettable moment of youth.

-Changes:“But it’s killing you to stay the same”

Unlike the upbeat energy of the earlier tracks, Changes carries a far more introspective, somber tone. Lauv wrote the song with nothing but a small keyboard during a period when he spent over a month confined to his bed, grappling with the shadows of depression. Clinging to hope, he eventually completed the track and recalled how, in that moment, he felt a happiness he had not experienced in a long time. Born in despair but ending in hope — the irony permeates the song from beginning to end. Representing his Purple character — the practical and rational side of himself — the track reflects an attitude of confronting reality head-on rather than turning away from it. As the lyrics “But it’s killing you to stay the same” suggest, Changes speaks to the fear of change, yet also the desire to heal and grow through it.

“The things you feel inside, I feel too,” a line from Lonely Eyes, captures the very essence of ~How I’m Feeling~. Through this album, Lauv goes beyond personal confession, transforming universal emotions into songs that resonate deeply with listeners. Kingos, this fall, why not take a moment to look back on your own feelings through the stories woven into Lauv’s music — and perhaps discover a color you never realized was yours?