Over the past few years, Lauv has taken the international pop space by storm and has fast-cemented himself as the biggest independent artist in the world right now. His debut album ‘~how i’m feeling~’ spawned an array of hit singles like ‘I’m So Tired’ with Troye Sivan, Feelings and the Anne-Marie-assisted single ‘fuck, i’m lonely’. The album, released back in March, quickly became a Top 20 album in 10 territories and has over 2 billion streams on the album to date. Now, as he continues to tap into the heartstrings of music lovers around the world, Lauv teams up with fellow pop-crooner Conan Gray for a powerful new single titled ‘Fake’.
The single drops alongside the track’s official music video which sees Lauv and Conan struggling to remain authentically themselves while being shuttled through increasingly more outrageous popstar settings.
As the single officially premieres, Lauv opens up about the single, writing the song and working with Conan Gray and shares a special message to his south African fans.
Talk to us a little bit about the lyrical content behind ‘Fake’.
‘Fake’ is literally about people who say one thing and then do the exact opposite. I think we all have people like that in our lives, unfortunately. I guess fortunately because I turned it into a song so let’s go!
What was it like working with Conan Gray on the track?
Honestly, Conan is amazing! We had been DMing for a while and I have been a fan of his music and then we started texting and we said we should FaceTime and try to write a song. So we got on FaceTime and tried to write something together but its difficult to write something over FaceTime, so we met up and the first day we got together we wrote the song. It was amazing.
Conan is a star on the rise. What attracted you to work with him and what is it about his music that makes him unique?
Where do I want to start with everything that I love about Conan? His voice is insane. The first time that I really heard him sing, aside from hearing his music, specifically ‘Maniac’, was on an online event we did together and his energy, his voice was incredible. I love everything he is doing – even the artwork for his album is super swag. Other than that, his voice is really unique, his writing style is incredible and when we were working together, he would play me demos and I feel like the music he creates is something only Conan Gray could sing so I love an artist like that.
Collaboration is something you’ve become quite accustomed to. What is your favourite thing about making music with other artists?
My favourite thing is that you learn something totally different every time. I love how all my collaborations came in a way when I wasn’t expecting them to happen. It wasn’t some pre-planned thing or something forced where I had to collaborate with this person. It was basically that we had become friends and that naturally turned into a collaboration. Every collaborator has a different process as well, which I really enjoyed learning from.
Which collaboration pushed you outside of your comfort zone the most?
Honestly, this one because I feel like I have never written a song like ‘Fake’ that calls people out. I am very soft, usually, in my songs that I write so Conan really pushed me outside my comfort zone.
How does it feel seeing so many people identify with your music and the messages you are spreading?
It’s kind of hard to really put into words. If you could feel this feeling I have, you’d know just how crazy it is. I mean, I have been making music in my bedroom since I was a little kid and I think I always wanted to make music that people would connect with but I spent many years when that wasn’t really happening and I almost gave up on the idea of being an artist for a while so to be in a place now where people love the music and they connect is amazing and I am really appreciative.
‘Love Somebody’ is just another way you have shared emotional stories through your music. Why do you think so many people connected with that particular song?
Because, whether or not people want to admit it, everybody has had that situation where they really want to love somebody very badly but, deep down they don’t really love that person or they’re not in a place where they can love that person. That was king of a weird song to write because I had been through that a few times and it has been a journey for me with myself where I could get to a place where I really could love somebody which is literally the best feeling in the world – which I hope many of you do know.
What’s one thing you’d like to tell your fans here in South Africa?
First of all, thank you all so much for your support! I wish I could have come to South Africa by now but I can’t wait to do so when its safe and to play shows. I love you all so much and I appreciate you for supporting me for so long.
Watch the official music video here:
