Looking over the crowd, pop musician Lauv walks onto the stage as hundreds of fans cheer louder and louder. The concert was held on Oct. 11 at Terminal 5, a small venue with fans packed inside.
The energy and emotion Lauv put into his performance mesmerized everyone to focus solely on him. He danced, sang acoustic without background music, played instruments and even introduced an unreleased song. His performance made fans cry, dance and laugh at the same time.
While moving from one song to the next, Lauv gave his fans some insight into how he wrote the lyrics for this album.
Almost all of the songs are based on Lauv’s personal experience with mental health and how he took that first step to reach out for professional help. This album is his commentary on how mental health should be dealt with.
In a personal Instagram post earlier this year, Lauv wrote, “The biggest thing I learned from the past year was to not be afraid of your mind. To work with yourself and not against. To open the conversation more. To not be ashamed or afraid of help. Whether that be in the form of therapy, medication or anything else that works best for you personally. Mental health is a very real issue that needs to be approached with openness and love.”
Towards the middle of the concert, there was a slideshow starring Lauv. He explained the importance of destigmatizing mental health, “I realized that mental health needed to be approached like any physical illness or ailment; and that when your suffering, it doesn’t always make sense. Your mind can make you feel trapped and isolated, but I’ve found that opening up to the people around me was the best decision I’ve ever made.”
Lauv gave a mental health hotline number (LAUV 33222) so that anyone could reach out. There were two telephone booths at the entrance of the event, called “blue rooms,” where attendees could write down whatever they are feeling on a small piece of paper and put it into the box.
“Superhero,” one of Lauv’s top hits, was inspired by an anonymous note from the blue rooms.
The tour playlist includes songs from his new album “~how i’m feeling~,” which will be released in March of 2020, alongside songs from his previous album “I Met You When I Was 18 (The Playlist).”
Lauv mentions that his first gig was in New York City and now he’s back with so much more. He started playing in his New York University (NYU) dorm room and then became a multi-platinum pop artist after collaborating with top artists such as Demi Lovato and Charli XCX. His success kicked off with his debut single “I Like Me Better,” which passed 200 million views on YouTube.
Lauv is now on his “~how i’m feeling~” tour, which kicked off on Oct. 5 in Washington, D.C. and will continue for 19 shows before ending on Nov. 11 in New Zealand.
