Lauv, Potential | Song Review 🎵

Pop singer/songwriter Lauv is his truest self on the rewarding and thoughtful “Potential,” embracing his sexuality without any reservations.

In 2020, on his debut album, ~how i’m feeling~, Lauv (Ari Leff) sang about “Changes” he was making regarding clothing, alcohol, and mental health.  It was an honest, relatable song. Since then, more changes have affected the 29-year-old pop singer/songwriter.  The changes referenced in his single, “Potential” regard his sexual orientation. In 2023, Leff appeared to come out as bisexual. Since then, in 2024, he’s come out as gay, something that “Potential” addresses without the lyrics explicitly stating.  To his friend, in the first verse, he admits, “Never told you why / Always held inside / No more tears to cry / I’m not afraid, I gotta say / Oh, damn, I think we got potential.” Leff penned “Potential” alongside Michael Pollack, Madison Love, Kii Kinsella, Castle, Tenroc (Jason Cornet), and producers Ojivolta (Mark Williams and Raul Cubina) and Twisco (Jarrod Morgan).  Lots of cooks in the kitchen, but the potential is ‘through the roof!’

For Lauv, on “Potential,” there appears to be no more hiding or masking who he is.  He’s embracing it and revealing his feelings to someone of the same sex.  The second verse reveals genuine emotions regarding his revelations (“Had a heart attack / When I told you that / That I loved you back”). Of course, the chorus is the centerpiece of this potential, with no shortage of damns from Lauv: “Like damn, I know we could be special / I’ll sell you on the vision, but this heart is not for rental…”  The bridge also shows even more transparency from Lauv without crossing any lines: “With a body like that, body like that / I just can’t keep my hands to myself.” Furthering this coming out narrative, and potential budding romance is a sweet music video, by far the queerest yet by the artist.  Vocally, he sounds true to himself, soundly and convincingly selling the lyrics and his feelings.  Furthermore, the melodies are sweet and the production sleek.  Hearing Leff embrace his true self is the biggest triumph of  “Potential”.

Lauv // “Potential” // Lauv / AWAL Recordings America, Inc. // 4.24.24

[📷: Brent Faulkner/The Musical Hype; Lauv / AWAL Recordings America, Inc.; Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Królestwo Nauki, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pete Linforth, Tumisu from Pixabay]