24-year-old-singer-songwriter Lauv, born Ari Leff, gained fame from his debut song “I Like Me Better” in 2017 A ‘sleeper hit’, a term used in the entertainment industry to describe a popular song or movie that is successful for a long period of time and becomes a big hit, 

“I Like Me Better” had a steady 35-week-climb to the top 10 on the US Billboard top 100 and reached 75 million streams on YouTube. Lauv’s career has since skyrocketed and he has appeared on shows like The Tonight Show, performed at the Teen Choice Awards, opened for Ed Sheeran, and written songs for artists like Charlie XCX and Demi Lovato. 

Lauv’s newest album How I’m Feeling (stylized as ~how i’m feeling~) has been released as a 9 song mini-album, and the full album comes out on March 6 with a total of 21 songs. His title track, “Tattoos Together” is a bouncy, feel-good song about getting a tattoo with a significant other. 

The lyrics are a sweet love song, telling a wonderful story about getting matching tattoos on a whim, and talks about how in love he is with his significant other. The song was written after he had gotten matching tattoos with a now ex-girlfriend of his, Lauv stated in an interview with MTV. 

“To me, it wasn’t a bad idea because it was such a special time in my life when we were really happy together,” Lauv reveals in his MTV interview. “I think everybody’s different. And it’s a really cute tattoo. It’s not, like, names or something. I think names is where I draw the line.”

The music video to “Tattoos Together” has the same upbeat, happy vibe that the song gives off. Done in one take, the blissful, carefree feelings are clearly shown in how Lauv dances through the neighborhood. Inspired by a scene from the movie 500 Days of Summer, the endless flash mobs and sunny colors provide a great backdrop for the song. The music video ends in a plot twist when Lauv goes to propose to the girl he fell in love with and catches her cheating. 

“I wanted the video to feel like you’re so in love and it’s so perfect, and then had the idea to shatter it at the end with the cheating,” Lauv said in the interview with MTV.

The way the song makes listeners travel into a world where they are happy and in love is something only a master songwriter could do, and I commend Lauv for doing so. His clever storyline, cute catchy lyrics, and wonderful melodies make a great song and a great earworm, sure to be stuck in my head for weeks. The songs Lauv has released so far has shown his talents and I await the release of the full album, March 6.