Bewitched is the second studio album by Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey,released on 8 September 2023 through AWAL. Described by Laufey as "a love album,whether it be a love towards a friend or a lover or life",Bewitched deals with a variety of romantic themes in its songs.
Musically,Bewitched consists of jazz pop ballads,predominantly written by Laufey and collaborator Spencer Stewart,and produced by the duo along with Philharmonia Orchestra and Dan Wilson. The album was met with acclaim from music critics,who complimented the songs for their modern spin on jazz and nostalgic quality at the same time;Laufey's technical skills were also a subject of praise in the reviews. It won Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.[4]
Four singles preceded the album:"From the Start","Promise",[5] "Bewitched" and "California and Me",[6] the first of which marked Laufey's first song to chart on record charts. Bewitched peaked at number one on the Icelandic albums chart and was Laufey's first album to chart in Australia,Canada,New Zealand,Ireland,Scotland,the United Kingdom,and the United States. Additionally,the album topped the Australian Jazz &Blues Albums chart. In 2024,to support the album,Laufey embarked on a worldwide concert tour.[6]
On 6 March 2024,Laufey announced the reissue of the album Bewitched:The Goddess Edition,which was preceded by the single "Goddess".[7]
Background
With the announcement,Laufey described Bewitched as "a love album,whether it be a love towards a friend or a lover or life". She reflected on her first album's theme of becoming an adult and contrasted it with having since "experienced a little bit more of that,and [...] writing about the magic in the love of being young".[8]
Shortly prior to releasing the album,Laufey made the sheet music available to fans.[9]
Bewitched received a score of 83 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on six critics' reviews,indicating "universal acclaim".[10]Uncut felt that "if these [tracks] feel like throwbacks,they're no more so than Norah Jones' best work,and there's nonetheless something timeless about the breezy 'While You Were Sleeping' and,with its chugging guitars,'Lovesick'".[14] In a five-star review,Hannah Mylrea of NME described Bewitched as "confident and musically ambitious,melding jazz,pop and modern classical composition",throughout which "Laufey's impressive technical ability shines".[12]
James Hickey of DIY wrote that Laufey's "crystalline voice and effortless charisma make this album into a gorgeous display of a unique talent",which he also described as "stuffed full of immaculate jazz ballads,shot through with luscious strings and swooning stories of hopeless love".[11]The Line of Best Fit's Matthew Kim opined that Laufey "improves on her already effective formula in just about every department",and while she does not "reinvent the wheel when it comes to the antique jazz-pop sound that she's already mastered","she certainly diversifies her palette".[2] Alex Ramos of Pitchfork found it to be "bolder and more intentional" than Everything I Know About Love as "here,Laufey doesn't simply let jazz inform the work;she uses it as a vehicle to enact fantasies and ambitions,lending her contemporary musings a misty,out-of-time quality".[13]
Bewitched debuted at number 23 on the US Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Jazz Albums charts with 23,000 album-equivalent units.[20] The album also broke records as the biggest debut for a jazz album on Spotify in the platform's entire history. Bewitched debuted at number 2 on Spotify's Top Album Debut Global chart (just behind Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS album.)[21] The deluxe version,Bewitched:The Goddess Edition debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200 chart and debuted at number 13 on the Official UK Albums chart,marking her first top 20 appearance on both charts.[22]Bewitched also charted in Canada,Ireland,New Zealand,and Sweden,and was particularly successful in Iceland,where it reached number 1 and remained in the top 20 for both 2023 and 2024.
With Bewitched,Laufey became the most-streamed artist from Iceland worldwide. The album's prominent single,From The Start holds the title of the most streamed jazz song in 2023 and one of the most streamed jazz songs of all time.[23] As of July 2025,From The Start has been streamed over 767 million times on Spotify with 900K streams daily,it's Laufey's most streamed song,followed by Falling Behind and Valentine. The entire album in total has 1.8 billion streams,with From The Start,Promise and Lovesick being the 3 most streamed songs from the album (as of June 2025).[24] These achievements highlight Laufey's significant influence in bringing jazz to a new generation of listeners.
Bewitched earned a Gold RIAA Certification on March 11th,2025 being Laufey's first album to earn a Gold RIAA Certification. The first 2 singles from the album,From The Start and Promise both earned RIAA Certifications as well. Promise earned a Gold certification,while From The Start went Platinum twice.[25]
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
References
1 2 Bewitched: The Goddess Edition (Media notes). Laufey. AWAL. 8 September 2023.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
↑ Horowitz, Chris Willman,Jem Aswad,Thania Garcia,Steven J.; Willman, Chris; Aswad, Jem; Garcia, Thania; Horowitz, Steven J. (11 December 2023). "The Best Albums of 2023". Variety. Retrieved 18 January 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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