Laufey (singer)
Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir (/ˈleɪveɪ/ LAY-vay, Icelandic: [ˈlœyːvei ˈliːn ˈjounstouhtɪr̥]; born April 23, 1999), known by the mononym Laufey, is an Icelandic singer-songwriter.[2] She achieved notability in the early 2020s, and describes her musical style, a mixture of jazz pop and bedroom pop, as "modern jazz".[3]
Laufey | |
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Laufey in 2021 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir / 林冰[1] |
| Born | 23 April 1999 Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2020–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | laufeymusic |
Having performed as a cello soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra at age 15, Laufey was a finalist in Ísland Got Talent (2014) and semi-finalist on The Voice Iceland (2015). In 2021, she released her debut EP Typical of Me and graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, United States. Her debut album, Everything I Know About Love, was released in 2022 and charted in Iceland and the US. It was followed by Bewitched, which was released in 2023 to critical acclaim; the single "From the Start" found moderate success in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Laufey has cited Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Chet Baker and Taylor Swift as sources of influence.
Early Life and Education Edit
Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir was born on April 23, 1999. Her father is Icelandic and her mother is Chinese.[4] The maternal side of her family is from Guangzhou.[5] 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.[6][7] She has an identical twin sister named Júnía Lín Jónsdóttir, who is a violinist.[8] Laufey started learning piano at the age of 4 and the cello at the age of 8 and graduated from the Reykjavík College of Music in 2018. There she also studied singing for two years.[9] She spent her childhood moving between Reykjavík and Washington, D.C.[10]
At age 15, she performed as a cello soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.[3] While in Iceland, Laufey participated in the 2014 season of Ísland Got Talent—the Icelandic version of Britain's Got Talent—and 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.[11]
Laufey graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2021. She currently resides in Los Angeles.[5]
Career Edit
Laufey released her debut single, "Street by Street", in 2020 and it charted at number one on Icelandic Radio.[12] She launched her first EP, Typical of Me, on 30 April 2021. It includes "Street by Street" and six new songs. Many of these tracks were written in her college dorm room. Rolling Stone particularly praised her rendition of "I Wish You Love".[13] American Songwriter included the EP in their list of best albums of 2021.[14] Additionally, Typical of Me received attention from musicians such as Willow Smith and Billie Eilish.[8]
Laufey performed in the London Jazz Festival in November 2021.[7] Around the same time, she collaborated with London's Philharmonia Orchestra to release "Let You Break My Heart Again".[8] In December 2021, she collaborated with Dodie to release another single, "Love To Keep Me Warm", a cover of the original by Irving Berlin.[7]
On the spring through summer of 2021 (and later again on December for a Christmas special), Laufey hosted a weekly music show on BBC Radio 3 called Happy Harmonies, where she highlighted uplifting music in a wide variety of genres.[15][16] She also has a significant following on TikTok and Instagram, where she frequently hosts live sessions.[5]
She made her United States network television debut when she appeared as the musical guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on 21 January 2022. She played her song "Like the Movies" from her debut EP, Typical of Me.[17] Her debut album, Everything I Know About Love, was released on 26 August 2022 via AWAL to critical acclaim,[18] and debuted at number one on Billboard's Alternative New Artist Album chart.[19]
Laufey's second album, Bewitched, was released on 8 September 2023.[20] As of August 2023, Laufey has signed a global publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music (WCM).[19]
Influences Edit
Although Laufey was influenced by and played classical music 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.[5] She has cited Fitzgerald and Chet Baker as her biggest artistic influences, naming the former as her favorite musician. Laufey also cited Taylor Swift as an inspiration for her musicianship, saying: "[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."[2]
Discography Edit
| Laufey discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 2 |
| Live albums | 1 |
| EPs | 3 |
| Singles | 15 |
Studio albums Edit
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICE [21] | AUS [22] | CAN [23] | NZ [24] | UK [25] | US [26] | US Heat. [27] | US Sales [28] | ||
| Everything I Know About Love |
| 15 | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 50 |
| Bewitched |
| 3 | 66 | 38 | 17 | 89 | 23 | — | — |
Live albums Edit
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| A Night at the Symphony (with Iceland Symphony Orchestra) |
|
Extended plays Edit
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Typical of Me |
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| The Reykjavík Sessions |
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| A Very Laufey Holiday |
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Singles Edit
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [30] | NZ Hot [31] | UK [32] | UK Indie [33] | US Bub. [34] | ||||
| "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 | ||
| "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) | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||
Other charted songs Edit
References Edit
- ^ "Orchestra celebrates the nation's musical youth".
- ^ a b Pirovic, Jasmine (13 September 2023). "Laufey shares the song that always makes her cry". Russh. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ a b Wu, Ali (13 October 2021). "Meet Laufey, the Gen Z Artist Making Us Fall in Love With Jazz All Over Again". onestowatch.com. Live Nation Worldwide, Inc. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Jacob Ugalde (30 April 2021). "Interview: Laufey and the beauty of making it up as you go". From the Intercom. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d Ugalde, Jacob (April 2021). "Interview: Laufey and the beauty of making it up as you go". fromtheintercom.com. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ "林耀基中國音樂基金 - Lin Yao Ji Music Foundation of China". linyaoji.com. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
- ^ a b c Kent, Matthew (3 December 2021). "On the Rise: Laufey". thelineofbestfit.com. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ a b c Holbrook, Emma (13 August 2021). "TREMORS// Laufey is revitalising jazz for the 21st century". thefortyfive.com. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ "Á forsetastyrk til Berklee". www.mbl.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ Neil Z. Yeung. "Laufey Lin Biography". allmusic.com. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
- ^ Sue, David (6 July 2020). "Introducing – Laufey Lin". newsoundsmag.co.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ Ugalde, Jacob (3 March 2021). "Laufey charms us all on the heartfelt "Best Friend"". fromtheintercom.com. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Leight, Elias (30 April 2021). "Hear Laufey's Reverent Version of 'I Wish You Love'". The Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ American Songwriter (17 December 2021). "The 41 Best Albums of 2021". americansongwriter.com. Savage Media Holdings. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ "Happy Harmonies with Laufey". BBC Radio 3. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ Sang, Ray. "Laufey". 1883 Magazine. 1883 Magazine. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ Laufey – Like The Movies on YouTube.
- ^ Cordelia Lam (24 August 2022). "Laufey – Everything I Know About Love review: an ode to the magic of life's little moments". NME.
- ^ a b "Warner Chappell Music Signs Global Publishing Deal with Rising Jazz Star Laufey". warnerchappell.com. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Laufey | Official Website". Laufey. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ . plotutidindi. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 18 September 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1750. Australian Recording Industry Association. 18 September 2023. p. 6.
- ^ "Billboard Canadian Albums: Week of September 23, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Laufey". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ @billboardcharts (18 September 2023). "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200..." (Tweet). Retrieved 19 September 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Heatseekers Albums: Week of October 1, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "Top Album Sales: Week of October 1, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ "Bewitched - CD".
- ^ "Billboard Canadian Hot 100: Week of September 23, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 24 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ "Laufey | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "Bubbling Under Hot 100: Week of September 23, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ "Canadian certifications – Laufey". Music Canada. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.