Laufey | |||||||||||||||
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Background information | |||||||||||||||
Birth name | Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir / 林冰 [1] [2] | ||||||||||||||
Born | Reykjavík, Iceland | 23 April 1999||||||||||||||
Genres | |||||||||||||||
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 2020–present | ||||||||||||||
Labels | AWAL | ||||||||||||||
Website | laufeymusic | ||||||||||||||
Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
Chinese | 林冰 | ||||||||||||||
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Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir (Icelandic: [ˈlœyːveiˈliːnˈjounsˌtouhtɪr̥] ; Chinese :林冰; pinyin :Lín Bīng; born 23 April 1999), known as Laufey ( /ˈleɪveɪ/ LAY-vay), is an Icelandic singer and musician. She achieved prominence in the early 2020s for her success as a jazz-inspired pop artist, with critics stating that her jazz-inflected songs have received considerable success for a genre that has largely declined commercially.
Having performed as a cello soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra at age 15, Laufey was a finalist in the 2014 edition of Ísland Got Talent (Iceland's Got Talent ), and a semi-finalist on The Voice Iceland the following year. She released her debut EP, Typical of Me (2021), and graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Her debut album, Everything I Know About Love (2022), charted in Iceland and the United States. Its follow-up, Bewitched (2023), won Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards (2024) and its single "From the Start" found moderate chart success in Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir was born on 23 April 1999 in Reykjavík, Iceland's capital. Her father is Icelandic and her mother is Chinese, [3] hailing from Guangzhou. [4] Her mother is a classical violinist and her grandfather, Lin Yaoji , was a violin educator at the Central Conservatory of Music in China, which Laufey credits as partly inspiring her love of music. [5] [6] She has an identical twin sister named Júnía Lín Jónsdóttir, who is a violinist and serves as her creative director. [7] [8] She lived in Washington, D.C., for two years and then moved back to Reykjavík in 2008, where she studied at Háteigsskóli. [9] Laufey started learning the piano at the age of four and the cello at the age of eight. She graduated from the Reykjavík College of Music, where she also studied singing, in 2018. [10] She spent her childhood moving between Reykjavík and Washington, D.C., as well as visiting Beijing. [11]
At age 15, Laufey performed as a cello soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. [12] While in Iceland, Laufey participated in the 2014 edition of Ísland Got Talent—the Icelandic version of Got Talent —where she ended as a finalist. The following year she also appeared as a contestant on The Voice Iceland and reached the semi-finals. At the time, she was the youngest competitor in the series' history. [13]
Laufey graduated with a presidential scholarship from the Berklee College of Music in 2021. As of October 2023 [update] , she resides in Los Angeles. [4] [14]
On 6 April 2020, Laufey released her debut single, "Street by Street", which charted at number one on Icelandic Radio. [15] She then launched her first EP, Typical of Me, which she calls her little baby, on 30 April 2021. It includes "Street by Street" and six other songs, many of which were written in her college dorm room. Rolling Stone particularly praised her rendition of "I Wish You Love". [16] American Songwriter included the EP in its list of best albums of 2021. [17] Additionally, Typical of Me received attention from musicians such as Billie Eilish. [7]
The same year, Laufey hosted a weekly music show on BBC Radio 3 during spring and summer (and once again during December for a Christmas special) called Happy Harmonies, on which she highlighted uplifting music in a wide variety of genres. [18] [19] In November, Laufey performed at the London Jazz Festival. [6] Around the same time, she collaborated with the London Philharmonic Orchestra to release her song "Let You Break My Heart Again". [7] In December, she collaborated with singer Dodie to release another single, "Love To Keep Me Warm", their cover of "Winter Weather" by Ted Shapiro. [20] [21]
Laufey's United States network television debut was in 2022 when she appeared as the musical guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on 21 January; she played her song "Like the Movies" from Typical of Me. [22] Her debut album, Everything I Know About Love , was released on 26 August 2022 via AWAL to critical acclaim. [23] On Billboard's Alternative New Artist Album chart, the album peaked at number one on its debut. [24]
In August 2023, it was announced that Laufey had signed a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music (WCM). [24] Her second album, Bewitched , was released on 8 September 2023. [25] A week before the release, she leaked the sheet music for fans to be able to pre-save the album. [26] It was met with critical acclaim and garnered Laufey's first Grammy Award, for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, [27] where she performed with Billy Joel on his closing number, "Turn the Lights Back On". [28]
Although Laufey was influenced by classical music, classical artists such as Frédéric Chopin, [29] and played it from an early age, she turned to her father's records of female jazz musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday to develop her musical style. [4] She has cited Fitzgerald and Chet Baker as her biggest artistic influences, naming the former as her favorite musician. Laufey also cited Taylor Swift, Norah Jones, and Adele as inspirations for her musicianship; she said "[Taylor Swift] has done for pop and country what I hope to do for jazz. She has managed to unite people across the world which is one of my main goals as a musician." [30] [31]
The genre of Laufey's music style has been subject for debate. She describes her genre as jazz or jazz pop, while organizations such as National Public Radio, [32] the New York Times , and The Sydney Morning Herald [33] have noted that her music includes elements of jazz, pop, bossa nova, and classical, describing the entirety as traditional pop or old-time pop due to the blend of styles in her songs into one. [34]
Many critics such as Maura Judkis, an editor at the Washington Post , [35] and editor Murray Stassen from Music Business Worldwide [36] noted that Laufey is "bringing back" jazz to Gen Z, as the genre has largely declined commercially, and has received less recognition than other genres when compared to its heyday. In a 2023 article, Music journalist Michael Dwyer of The Sydney Morning Herald described her as a "TikTok jazz ambassador". [33] Organizations such as Billboard and National Public Radio opined that Laufey created a blueprint for the success of jazz in the music industry today, helping push the genre back into the mainstream scene. [31] [37] Her second album, Bewitched , received praise from critics due to its composition and her take on jazz. The album received a score of 83 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on six critics' reviews. [38] Morgan Enos, writer at Grammys.com, wrote that Bewitched's success shows Laufey has left "jazz neophytes spellbound". [39]
Laufey is characterized by her simple and casual fashion style, [40] mixing elements such as lace, pastel colors, and bright metallic elements into her clothing. [41] Vogue and the South China Morning Post have described her fashion style as an "extension to her music", [11] citing a blend of lukewarm colors and jazz-esque clothing incorporated to her clothing during appearances and stage performances. [8]
Laufey discography | |
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Studio albums | 2 |
Live albums | 1 |
EPs | 4 |
Singles | 22 |
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||
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ISL [42] | AUS [43] | CAN [44] | NZ [45] | UK [46] | UK Indie [47] | US [48] | US Indie [49] | US Jazz [50] | ||
Everything I Know About Love |
| 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — [upper-alpha 1] | — | 3 |
Bewitched | 3 | 6 | 38 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 18 | 1 | 1 |
Title | Details |
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A Night at the Symphony (with Iceland Symphony Orchestra) |
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Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
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US Jazz [50] | ||
Typical of Me |
| 2 |
The Reykjavík Sessions |
| — |
A Very Laufey Holiday! |
| — |
Christmas with You (with Norah Jones) |
| — |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||
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AUS [55] | CAN [56] | NZ Hot [57] | UK [58] | UK Indie [59] | US Bub. [60] | US Rock [61] | ||||
"Street by Street" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Typical of Me | |
"Someone New" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Best Friend" | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"Let You Break My Heart Again" (with Philharmonia Orchestra) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
"Love Flew Away" (with Adam Melchor) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Love to Keep Me Warm" (with Dodie) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | A Very Laufey Holiday! | ||
"Valentine" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Everything I Know About Love | |
"Everything I Know About Love" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Fragile" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Dear Soulmate" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Falling Behind" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Ain't Christmas" (Alexander 23 with Laufey) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
"The Christmas Waltz" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | A Very Laufey Holiday! | ||
"Valentine" (Live at the Symphony) (with Iceland Symphony Orchestra) | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | A Night at the Symphony | |
"From the Start" | — | 85 | 8 | 92 | 39 | 1 | — | Bewitched | ||
"Promise" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Bewitched" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"California and Me" (with Philharmonia Orchestra) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"A Night to Remember" (with Beabadoobee) [65] | — | — | 3 | 84 | — | 17 | 25 | TBA | ||
"Christmas Dreaming" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | A Very Laufey Holiday! | ||
"Winter Wonderland" | 69 | 55 | 7 | 26 | 3 | 2 | — | Spotify Singles Holiday | ||
"Goddess" | 2024 | — | — | 12 | — | — | — | — | Bewitched: The Goddess Edition | |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
NZ Hot [66] | |||
"Dreamer" | 2023 | 26 | Bewitched |
"Second Best" | 28 | ||
"Haunted" | 32 | ||
"Lovesick" | 21 | ||
"Bored" | 2024 | 13 | Bewitched: The Goddess Edition |
Award | Year | Work | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grammy Awards | 2024 | Bewitched | Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album | Won | [67] |
Icelandic Music Awards | 2024 | Herself | Pop, Rock, Hip Hop, and Electronic Performer of the Year | Won | [68] |
Pop, Rock, Hip Hop, and Electronic Vocal Performance of the Year | Won | ||||
Icelandic Optimism Award | 2024 | — | Won | [69] | |
President's Export Prize | 2024 | Honorary award | Won | [70] | |
MTV Video Music Awards | 2024 | "Goddess" | Push Performance Of The Year | Pending | [71] |
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Everything I Know About Love is the debut studio album by Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey, released on 26 August 2022 through AWAL. The deluxe version was released on 14 October 2022.
Typical of Me is the debut extended play by Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey, released on 30 April 2021. The EP was self-published by Laufey and later released on 12-inch vinyl through AWAL.
"From the Start" is a single recorded by Icelandic singer Laufey. The song was released via AWAL.
This gamine persona belies a business savvy aided by her partnership with her creative director: twin sister (and accomplished violinist) Junia Lin Jónsdóttir.