LAUV

As if narrating from a journal out loud, Lauv crystallizes vivid memories and formative experiences in his music. In one breath, he’ll drop back into a middle school dance only to recount a wild New Year’s Eve adventure south of the border or reflect on the bliss of new love in the next. For as much as he’s known for intriguing and inventive soundscapes, the multiplatinum chart-topping singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist asserts himself as a storyteller, first and foremost. His stories continue to enchant audiences everywhere.

Lauv spent 2022 telling his most personal story yet, his second full-length album – All 4 Nothing, a chapter of music that celebrated the innocence of youth, untangled the complexities of adulthood and once again pushed the boundaries of pop.

“The album is about the death of a dream I was chasing and waking to that dream that was already there,” he reveals. “Up until now, I spent so much time trying to be something that I was actually ignoring what was right in front of me. If you want to really experience the magic of life, you don’t get to choose. You can’t pull magic from places where it doesn’t exist. You just have to be aware of its presence in your life, play with it, and create something with it. Ultimately, this album is all about surrendering to love and surrendering to life.”

Lauv has consistently converted the magic around him into generational anthems. After introducing himself with viral sensation “The Other,” he landed a global smash in the form of “I Like Me Better.” It tallied over 2 billion streams, reached the Top 10 on Top 40 and Top 5 on Hot AC radio, went quintuple-Platinum in North America and Platinum in twelve other countries. He served up the Gold-selling 2018 playlist I Met You When I Was 18 and a procession of hits, including the double-Platinum “I’m So Tired” with Troye Sivan as well as Platinum-certified single “Fuck, I’m Lonely” [feat. Anne-Marie] and Gold-certified single, “There’s No Way” [feat. Julia Michaels].

In 2020, his Gold-selling full-length debut album, ~how i’m feeling~, bowed in the Top 20 of the Billboard Top 200 buoyed by “Who” [feat. BTS], “El Tejano” [feat. Sofia Reyes], “Canada” [feat. Alessia Cara], and “Mean It” with LANY. Inciting tastemaker applause, NME hailed it as “a powerful, beautiful debut,” while FADER coined it “replay-able pop.” Additionally, Teen Vogue called the record “21 tracks of emotionally-cathartic pop bangers that unpack everything from modern-day romance to love song fatigue.” In between selling out headline tours and supporting Ed Sheeran in stadiums, he performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!, The Late Late Show with James Corden, and more.

As the global pandemic descended upon the world, Lauv found himself at a crossroads as he wrote in his basement studio.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, I started digging in to find the story of this album,” he explains. “On one level, we were all alone, and everyone was rebooting. On another level, it starts from the point of me wanting to be a musician. On the third level, it was about me being a little kid up until now. As these levels crossed one another, I started to realize there are cycles in life. In 2020, I was reassessing the things I wanted when I was younger. I thought about what I left behind. I really needed to reconnect with my inner child.”

In order to do so, he also needed to let go and open up his creative palette.

“It was super different,” he notes. “I was a lot more hands off on the production. I realized I was giving up on the version of myself I thought I was—the person who’s control-heavy. The process pushed me and allowed me to experiment on the mic, and a lot of the songs were actually written from freestyles. Instead of controlling every little thing, this album was me rediscovering my roots as a person. For a long time, I thought my identity was being in-control of the creative process. But my identity is just me, and I let myself go free.”

Such freedom defines All 4 Nothing. The first single “26” glides along on a dazzling double-time guitar riff as he offers a series of plaintive confessions over glitchy synths and skittering bass. From the jump, he sings, “Can I tell you a story about a boy who broke his own heart and he always blamed everybody else, but the truth is that he did it to himself.”

“The song was freeing,” he admits. “It’s basically about conflicting feelings you experience when you look back at your life. You got what you wanted and are grateful, but you still feel like shit. I needed somewhere to put the pain. It was a ‘What the fuck?’ moment.”

Meanwhile, the track “Kids Are Born Stars” shines with neon keys and glassy beats as a nostalgic hook echoes.

“It’s about being young and awkward,” he elaborates. “One line remembers my eighth grade dance. I was in middle school, and I had a crush on this girl. I reminisced on wanting to be important back then, because I was rejected by her.”

Then, there’s “All 4 Nothing (I’m So In Love)” with its shimmering harmonies as eighties keys glisten through a dancefloor-ready beat.

“That’s a song that’s about one of those deep falling in love moments,” he smiles. “I wrote the whole chorus in one go.”

Lauv not only embraces, but also realizes his potential on All 4 Nothing. “There’s an unspoken magical feeling to this album,” he leaves off. “It curates an energy of openness, wonder, and excitement, but also vulnerability and realness. I hope it opens up a vortex to something you haven’t felt in a while—a place where you can build yourself up from.”