Holly Phan

COLQ 1020 Final

Professor Boudreaux

20 November 2024

Laufey: A Jazz-Inspired Pop Artist

Laufey (pronounced lāy-vāy) is an Icelandic-American singer and songwriter. She was

born in Reykjavik, Iceland on April 23, 1999. She is both a cellist and a pianist. She started

learning the piano at the age of four and cello when she was eight. Her love of music was

ingrained in her from a young age as many of her family members were musicians. Her mother,

born in China, was a classical violinist, and her father was a music producer. Her grandfather

was a violin teacher at a local Chinese music conservatory. Her twin sister, Junia, is also a

violinist, and today, she also serves as Laufey’s creative director. Junia created Laufey’s

signature style known as “Laufey-core” composing of ruffle socks, puff sleeves, and pleated

pants, an encompassing wardrobe to Laufey’s music.

Laufey graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2021 with a degree in Music. At

Berklee, she received the presidential scholarship for her studies. She originally planned to study

economics in Scotland for the sake of financial security. However, her sister Junia expressed that

“the world seemed to redirect her towards music.” At the age of 15, Laufey performed with the

Iceland Symphony Orchestra as a cello soloist. She also was a finalist in the 2014 Iceland Got

Talent and a semifinalist in The Voice Iceland. She was the most streamed jazz artist on Spotify

in 2022, and she recently won her first Grammy award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for

her record-breaking sophomore album, Bewitched. Bewitched made history as the biggest debut

for a Jazz album with over 5, 7 million day-one streams.

which evoke a sense of calm and introspection featured in much of her work. She claims her

work was “inspired by jazz greats and classical masters while possessing a point of view that

could only be conveyed by a 21st-century twentysomething.” Her music is characterized by her

conversational storytelling and expressive voice. Heavy jazz influences are evident through

songs like “Falling Behind” and “From the Start.” Her music embraces the nostalgia of vintage

Hollywood channeling the elegance of the times. However, many of her songs carry universal

meanings from across times. She states her only goal of being a musician is “to bring these older

styles of music to a new audience and frame it as something that’s new and relevant and cool.”

Many of her songs are based on personal experiences but written as if they are fiction making

them relatable to young adults especially. She writes her songs with the intention of “music for

swooning” claiming they act as a soundtrack of life, setting the scene for one’s own experiences

to unfold.

Laufey released her first EP, Typical of Me, in 2021. This EP followed the release of her

first single, Street by Street. Many songs on this EP were written in her college dorm showcasing

Laufey’s goal of making jazz more accessible even early on into her career. Prominent songs on

this EP include “Like the Movies” and “I Wish You Love.” Later, Laufey released her first

album, Everything I Know About Love, in 2022. She describes this album as the “very hopeless

romantic” lacking from the world today. This theme is highlighted in songs such as “Valentine”

and “Falling Behind” which deal with how to grapple with young, first loves. Her most recent

release, Bewitched, first came out in September 2023. Laufey later released the deluxe “Goddess

Version” in April 2024 featuring new songs such as Goddess and Bored. This album focuses on

many of the same themes as her first album. However, one way Laufey differentiated the release
of Bewitched was by “leaking” all the songs from the album in the form of sheet music. This ode

to her musical background showcases the importance of her family’s influence and young

exposure to music on her artistry.

Laufey’s first single, “Street By Street,” grapples with much of the rebuilding that comes

with a breakup. The song starts as she reminisces on their relationship and the love she felt in it.

The song’s beat begins slow as if she is just lethargically moving through the motions of life.

However, as she sings “step by step, brick by brick, I’m reclaiming what’s mine” the beat picks

up showcasing how she is growing into a new routine, outside of her former relationship. She

gains a pep in her step realizing that she can continue her life apart from this relationship and that

her life no longer revolves around her ex. The city she walks around reminds her of her former

lover while also serving as a milestone of her growth since then. One of my favorite lines from

this song is “It's like a game of Monopoly/Except I steal back all my property.” This line

highlights how her past relationship felt like they were playing games, composed of a constant

give and take, but now she’s taken back control over her life on her own terms. In the song,

Laufey spins the memories from her past as potential for liberation through her process of

“taking back [her] city/taking back [her] life.”

Laufey again portrays her innocent view toward love in her song “Like the Movies.” In

this song, she describes her movie-like perception of love filled with “slow dances under stormy

skies” and “gazes at the stars surrounded by fireflies.” However, she expresses that this hyper-

fixation on a picture-perfect romance creates idealist images in her mind that can never be filled

with real life. This desire to find “the one” prevents her from even giving love a chance as “no

one’s ever good enough.” Her desire for a “love like I’ve seen in the movies” prevents her from

finding just that, and although she acknowledges this as an issue through this song, she is unable
to change her perception towards love as it was ingrained in her with fairytales from a young

age. Another notable feature of this song is Laufey’s scatting break. Scatting is a common vocal

technique in jazz where singers create melodies and rhythms without using real words. The

vocalist attempts to imitate an instrument, and they improvise on the spot as if they are a horn

player being given a solo. Scatting is a common feature of many of Laufey’s songs and is a

reminder of her love for jazz and her intentions of creating more contemporary expressions of

the genre.

Another one of Laufey’s more famous songs is “Letter to My 13 Year Old Self.” This

song deals with many coming-of-age themes such as feelings of isolation and a desire for

belonging. Although this song is very personal to Laufey’s own lived experiences, the internal

messages include many shared sentiments between immigrant children and young girls

especially. Laufey talks about her experience as a young girl living in Iceland as her classmates

attempt to say her ethnic Chinese name. She describes feeling isolated from her peers of “big

blue eyes, and long blonde hair, and boys that stare.” However, she tries to remind her 13-year-

old self that things will get better, and her dreams will come true despite this. Later in the song,

Laufey sings “little girls will scream your name” showcasing how instead of this ethnic name

being something her peers once made fun of, it is now a source of love and hope for her fans

today. One of my favorite lines in this song is “keep on going with your silly dream/life is

prettier than it may seem.” I see this line as a beautiful reminder to appreciate the small moments

of life. Although it may seem difficult now, everything happens for a reason, and Laufey reminds

us of this through “Letter to My 13 Year Old Self.” This song acts as a beacon of hope for young

girls going through the same difficult times, and it also serves as a full-circle moment for Laufey

herself. Bewitched, the album this song is featured on, was record-breaking in many aspects, and
this success provides a milestone for Laufey to recognize her fan’s desire to hear about her story

and dreams even at thirteen.

Laufey’s most well-known song “Falling Behind” again grapples with her inexperience

and fears regarding love. She sings about how it feels like everyone around her is falling in love

while she feels left behind in the process. Even “the sun’s engaged to the sky,” with nature

having the ability to fall in love before she can. She wishes for the love she sees around her, but

she is stuck to experiencing it through the movie or as her “best friend’s found a new guy.” The

lyrics and the beat of the song, however, are a dichotomy as the upbeatness of the song seems to

indicate her contentment with her current life. This façade of happiness with the song’s beat

showcases the front Laufey must put on in her real life as her friends expect her to be happy for

the love they found in their own lives. In this song, Laufey again references the influences of

jazz in her life as she listens to “Bossa Nova in my room” to cope with the absence of love in her

life. Bosssa Nova’s style is similar to “Falling Behind” as the beat is light and happy with lyrics

being more emotionally charged and vulnerable. The song grapples with feelings of a desire for

love which rings true for many young listeners of Laufey’s music today.

Laufey’s music serves as a much-needed dose of romanticism missing from the world

today. Her distinctive voice and jazz influences infused throughout her discography provide

feelings of innocence and nostalgia for listeners. Laufey touches on many issues young girls deal

with growing up, and she uses her own life experiences to allow other girls dealing with the same

thing to feel a little more comfortable with growing up and changing. Her music style is a mosaic

of various influences from her family, jazz greats, and contemporary artists today. This blend of

styles creates a new niche only Laufey herself can fill. Her music serves as a beautiful reminder
that life itself is beautiful and that it is okay to just slow down and observe it falling into place

around you.
 Works Cited

Interview. Conducted by Maura Judkis. Chinese-Icelandic Jazz Singer Laufey Wants Gen Z to

Fall in Love, The Washington Post, 14 Sept. 2023,

www.washingtonpost.com/style/2023/09/14/laufey-iceland-love-bewitched/. Accessed 14

Nov. 2024.

Telma. "Laufey: From Icelandic Sensation to Global Fame." Iceland Review, 21 Mar. 2024,

www.icelandreview.com/travel/laufey-from-icelandic-sensation-to-global-fame/

#:~:text=Laufey's%20ascent%20to%20musical%20stardom,influence%20on%20the

%20global%20stage. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.