NEARLY THREE MONTHS ago, Laufey became the youngest singer to win the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album category at the 2024 Grammys, where she also performed onstage with American icon Billy Joel. Since then, she’s featured in Rodarte’s fall/winter ’24 campaign, appeared on Elton John‘s podcast, been announced on the 2024 Lollapalooza lineup, released a music video directed by Past Lives writer-director Celine Song, and turned 25. Today, she has released Bewitched: The Goddess Edition, an expansion of the album which won her that Grammy; and sold out tickets to the Australian leg of her Bewitched: The Goddess Tour in mere minutes.
It’s safe to say it’s been a very busy and successful few months-and years-for the Icelandic-Chinese composer, singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. But if you’ve somehow not yet stumbled across Laufey (pronounced lay-vay), allow us get you up to speed. Born Laufey Ln Bing Jnsdttir in the Icelandic capital city Reykjavk, she and twin sister Jna (pronounced yoon-e-ya) were raised with an appreciation of classical music from an early age. When she was 15 years old, Laufey was a finalist in Iceland’s Got Talent, and at 16, she was the youngest competitor in the history of The Voice Iceland, where she reached the semi-finals.
In 2020, she released her debut single, followed by her first EP, Typical of Me, in 2021, which was praised by the likes of Billie Eilish and Willow Smith on TikTok; a platform through which Laufey has garnered a huge following of fans (4.6 million, to be precise). Her music is a spellbinding blend of pop and jazz-think Ella Fitzgerald meets Taylor Swift-with sprinklings of classical and modern influences that bring an old-timey romance to the conundrums of modern dating, which she describes in chart-topping songs like “From The Start” from her 2023 sophom*ore studio album, Bewitched: “Oh, the burning pain / Listening to you harp on ’bout some new soulmate / ‘She’s so perfect,’ blah, blah, blah,” she croons over a bossa-nova type beat.
Laufey’s been praised for the way she’s given jazz a fresh, new edge, using her extensive knowledge of the genre to take the key elements and spin them into something that feels both classic and distinctly modern. It’s that kind of innovation, surely, that allowed her to beat Bruce Springsteen in their esteemed Grammys category-one which boasts previous winners like Frank Sinatra, Joni Mitchell, Michael Bubl, and Lady Gaga.
“It feels unbelievable,” she told Harper’s BAZAAR Australia/New Zealand a few weeks after her win. “I think it also speaks to an exciting time in music and pop music. I think modern audiences are really, really versatile. And I think they’re willing to listen to a lot of different genres of music and mixes of genres as well.”
She also says she has social media to thank for that breakdown of genre, and for allowing her to prove that there’s a place for her music in today’s world. “I don’t think labels or people in the industry would have believed in this project four or five years ago at all,” she tells me over Zoom. “But I was able to use [TikTok] as proof that there was interest for this kind of music, because it was consistently going viral on social media.”
Today, she continues the journey with the release of Bewitched: The Goddess Edition, with which she will tour Australia in September this year. The album features four new songs she wrote after Bewitched, which she felt the need to give to the world sooner rather than later. “It felt like a continuation of the stories that I was telling in Bewitched, so I guess the story wasn’t finished,” she says.
Ahead of the album’s release, we sat down with Laufey to discuss the gradual breakdown of distinct genres in music, the positive and negative influences of TikTok for modern artists, and what she’s looking forward to achieving next.
Harper’s BAZAAR: With your Grammy win, you became the youngest person to win the award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album-how does it feel to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Joni Mitchell and Tony Bennett?
Laufey: I mean, just, it feels unbelievable. It’s such validation. It feels so special and it’s something that I never could have ever expected. And it’s like you mentioned, the category is very like, seasoned musicians that I’ve known of since I started to speak and think. So the fact that I got to be honoured in such a category and I keep on forgetting that I’m the youngest one, that’s really cool. I think it also speaks to an exciting time in music and pop music. I think modern audiences are really, really versatile. And I think they’re willing to listen to a lot of different genres of music and mixes of genres as well. Which is just, you know, regardless of myself, exciting.
And like you say, with this new era of music, so many artists are stepping away from choosing a singular lane and sticking to it, genre-wise. That’s something you do yourself, dabbling in pop, jazz, classical, musical theatre, bossa nova-and it’s occurring throughout the industry too, like with Beyonc and Cowboy Carter, or someone like RAYE bringing back this big band side of jazz. Why do you think this shift is occurring right now?
I think there are many reasons to this. I think artists have so much more freedom nowadays because we have social media, so we have these direct lines of communication with fans. And I think also with the rise of streaming, audiences have so much access to different genres of music that it’s all kind of melded into each other. Also with streaming, it’s less about turning on the radio to the genre of music you prefer-you don’t necessarily turn to the country radio or to the pop radio or the classical radio, you know?
And you don’t go as much to a record store anymore, and go to your favourite genre to discover music. You discover music on social media or on streaming services. And I think because of that, it’s just all kind of melded into each other.
Modern audiences are really VERSATILE. And I think they’re willing to listen to a lot of DIFFERENT genres of music and mixes of GENRES
I think people care a lot more about mood and feeling than they do genre. You know, you could turn on a rainy day playlist and you have a Phoebe Bridgers song, next to a Carole King song, next to a Ella Fitzgerald song, next to a Taylor Swift song-and they all fit under the mood of like, a “rainy day playlist”. But if you were to categorise those into like more traditional genres, it would be all over the place. I think that’s why.
Absolutely. What are the kind of moods you like exploring?
Oh my God, it really just depends. I love an uplifting kind of, walking down the street, happy kind of playlist. I love playlists like, the French Riviera, you know-it’s like Franoise Hardy or something, and you can just imagine that you’re in some sort of French nouveau film or something. Sometimes I turn on a hype playlist, like, I’m going on a walk and I just want to listen to Doja Cat or something. Or, you know, of course I’m a jazz singer. I love a rainy day playlist.
It’s so true, I feel like all my playlists are categorised by the vibe I’m looking for, or the mood.
Yeah, it’s like, “sitting on the balcony in a funk”. It gets so specific, it’s so much fun!
It makes it so fun to curate music as a listener in this new way, I think.
It does, because music is so much about supporting a feeling and supporting a mood. If you’re sad, you want to listen to sad music. If you’re happy, you want to listen to happy music. It’s kind of something to support.
Music is so much about SUPPORTING a FEELING and supporting a MOOD
It is! So, back to your Grammy win. In your speech, you thanked your twin Jna, who is your creative director. How does it feel to be able to have her on this journey with you, and what are the realities of working with your sister?
I mean, the realities of working with my sister are the same realities of sisterhood. You know, it’s the best part, and sometimes the worst, in that we’re just very close-so we’re very honest with each other. But nothing’s surprising in that sense-we’ve been working together since we were little kids, we always played together growing up. And even when she was still in uni, she was like, taking album cover photos for me. The Typical of Me artwork, me and Jna made together; she took the photos. It’s very fun.
That’s wonderful that you guys can work together so harmoniously. And also at the Grammys, you got to play onstage with Billy Joel-what was it like to have that recognition alongside such an icon of the industry?
It’s so surreal. It’s so surreal. I mean, those artists like, you know, Billy Joel or working with Norah Jones-those are people I’ve known of for so long. So it feels so surreal, and hearing from them in any way just has an extra layer of validation because they’ve just been doing it for so long, so they’ve seen everything. So when they say something nice or support me, I know it’s coming from a very genuine place, and I know it’s coming from a lot of knowledge and wisdom.
You also mentioned earlier that this shift in genre and artists’ approach to music generally is partially due to social media. You're quite active on TikTok, which is an interesting platform that has sparked a lot of debate recently about how it can help or harm new artists. What are your feelings about it?
Yeah, I mean, TikTok and social media artists are definitely very conflicted about it. I feel inclined to be conflicted about it sometimes as well, but it’s very difficult to ignore the fact that social media has given artists like myself an opportunity to build a career off of posting videos online, and build a career off of a community. The reason I was able to move from Iceland to Los Angeles was because I was posting videos on TikTok and Instagram, and it drew attention and kind of grew like that. I’ve definitely been given some of the most amazing opportunities because of that.
TikTok gives an artist a voice. I’m very careful to be very authentic on there-everything I do comes from me, nobody ever tells me to make TikToks. I do everything on my own, and all the language is my own. And I wouldn’t do it if someone was telling me to do it! It has to come from the heart, but I think it can give artists their own voice. Like, I have a direct line of communication with my fans, which artists didn’t have before.
My genre of music-I don’t think labels or people in the industry would have believed in this project four or five years ago at all. But I was able to use [TikTok] as proof that there was interest for this kind of music, because it was consistently going viral on social media. I’d grown such a large group of followers, there was clear evidence that it was working, and it was a hunger for this kind of music-and it came from the people, it came from audiences, instead of coming from, you know, a person that runs a label.
And then in turn, I’ve been able to keep my masters, keep my publishing, and so I’m an independent artist. I’ve never signed to a major label, and therefore have been able to completely make my own decisions. And that’s all because of social media. So again, it’s kind of a double-edged sword, but I think for me, it’s very difficult to hate on it because it’s given me so much.
I think if you’re able to harness it in the way you have, there’s no denying its power. Now, you’re about to release Bewitched: The Goddess Edition, which is so exciting. What drove you to write and release the four new tracks on the album?
I just wrote more after I’d finished the album and I just wanted to put it out there. And it felt like it belonged to Bewitched rather than a brand new project. It felt like a continuation of the stories that I was telling in Bewitched, so I guess the story wasn’t finished.
Is there a particular new song that you’re quite excited for fans to hear, or one that’s particularly close to your heart?
I mean, “Goddess” is maybe my favourite song I’ve ever written. [In the song,] I use this relationship as a device to kind of explain this conflicting feelings I think you can get from being in the spotlight very quickly. When I’m on stage, or when I’m at a fashion show or something like that-you know, you’re all dressed up, you’ve been sitting in hair and makeup for six hours, and you do feel like a goddess on stage, and very celebrated. And then I come back home and I’m like, the same person as I always have been, and am, and hope to be. But I kind of use this relationship as a device for that.
And then I also think it just speaks to the female experience of the way we portray ourselves on Instagram, or in a photo, or at a party-we get dressed up, and we’re this this beautiful thing that we spent a lot of time on to make ourselves feel and look like a goddess. And we may be perceived as that by other women or men, but then at the end of the day, we all go home and we take our makeup off, and we take our clothes off, and we’re just sitting in our sweats and we’re like, I’m just human. So there are multiple layers. I love songs that I write where it’s up to the listener how they hear it. So it means one thing to me, but it may mean something else to someone else. And that’s my favourite part of songwriting.
It can be so many things to so many people. Like you say, it touches on your experiences rising to fame quite quickly-how has it been adjusting to that?
It’s definitely been odd. But I’ve been touring almost the whole time, so life has just been odd in general. But the one consistency is every single night, I get to go on stage and look out and see my fans, and they just sing along to the music-and it truly is about the music. At the end of the day, the music is the guiding light, so I feel very lucky. It’s good. I feel very excited about it, and I hope I never lose that excitement.
One of the really special songs on the original Bewitched album, and of course on the Goddess Edition too, is “Letter To My 13 Year Old Self”. But even since you wrote and originally released that song to the world, your life has changed a lot. You’re just about to turn 25, so what would you say in a letter to your pre-Bewitched self?
Wow. Huh, that’s a great question … I mean, enjoy the slow moments, because they’ll get increasingly rare. They’ll get very rare. Enjoy the walks to the farmer’s market. And enjoy the four hours sat outside a coffee shop, wondering if I’ve possibly overstayed my welcome with a book and people watching.
That’s a new song right there. So, moving forward, it feels like the whole world is your oyster-you’ve said you’d love to do a James Bond song, or write a musical, which I’d love to see. But what’s the next thing you’d love to achieve, music-wise or life-wise?
Oh my god, I mean, I’m really excited to tour. I’m very excited to see more of the world, and see fans in the cities that I haven’t been to, and also see fans in the cities that I’ve been to that I haven’t played Bewitched for. So I think that’s kind of top of mind right now. This isn’t directly answering your question, but I think I just really hope to continue to stay authentic to myself when it comes to writing music. I always want to do that.
I just really HOPE to continue to stay AUTHENTIC to myself when it comes to WRITING music. I ALWAYS want to do that.
And when you look back on your life, much later in your life, is there something you’d love to be remembered for, or a certain legacy you’d love to leave?
Yeah. I think to have-oh my God, I’m going to conjugate this wrong-but to have shined a light on classical music and jazz music. That’s my hope. That’s why I do this, you know, and I don’t mean my own music, I mean music of the past that I love so much. And I think [to have made] made classical music and jazz music more accessible-and music education, a combination of all of those things.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
