The rise of Laufey (pronounced lāy-vāy) in the popular sphere, particularly among young people, is both the story of unexpected success and that of the hard work of a determined artist. Because if we did not necessarily expect it in the world of mainstream music, where jazz hardly ranks in the highest ranks, it is not entirely by chance that Laufey got to where she is today. ‘today, with a Grammy award to his name, an ongoing world tour and nearly 6 million followers on TikTok, at just 25 years old. Born in Reykjavik to an Icelandic father and a Chinese mother, Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir, her full name, was predestined to music: her mother is a classical violinist, her grandfather was a violin professor at the Conservatory of music in China, his twin sister is also a violinist. At age 4 she took up piano, at age 8 she took up cello, and then graduated from Reykjavik College of Music. At age 15, she was a cello soloist with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. At the same time, she made it to the final of the television show Ísland Got Talent, then to the semi-final, the following year, of The Voice Iceland. These first forays into mainstream broadcasts began his transition from the more reclusive world of classical and jazz music to that of popular music. Its goal is clear: to bring jazz to the ears of the widest possible audience. “[Taylor Swift] did for pop and country music what I hope to do for jazz,” she explained to Billboard magazine in a 2023 interview. “She managed to bring people together from all over the world [around her music], which is one of my main goals as a musician. »
As with many recent popular success stories, the TikTok platform has a lot to do with Laufey’s success. Generation Z loves Icelandic music, this jazz pop which blends with classical music, between old school and modernity, while putting forward a unique and contemporary voice which, for its part, has never been no label. Her text-stories, à la Taylor Swift, also have everything to please. The one who began building her audience on social networks during the pandemic (when she released her song Street by Street) has never stopped nurturing this vein. She started posting covers of jazz classics, from Ella Fitzgerald to Billie Holiday, on Instagram and TikTok. Soon, record company representatives noticed his growing popularity and made him offers. She surrounded herself with a team, continued to build her musical and public identity, continuing to focus mainly on social networks, interacting with her fans and regularly publishing new videos. She now has 13.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Nearly 4 million people follow her on Instagram. His Tiny Desk concert (to see!) has 3.5 million views on YouTube. “Even if you gave me all the money in the world, I don’t think I could come up with a better strategy than Laufey’s,” his agent, Max Gredinger, commented to Billboard magazine. A jazz ambassador on TikTok, Laufey, however, has a reach that has quickly transcended the limits of the platform to reach the “real world”. The proof: his second album, Bewitched, has ranked very high in sales in several countries since its release last September (notably at number one in the American Indie and Jazz rankings). If his TikTok videos work happily, Laufey also convinces young listeners to listen to his music elsewhere than in catchy clips lasting a few seconds, giving jazz a modern air again.
After her first album Everything I Know About Love (2022), the one she released just a year later, Bewitched, earned Laufey her first Grammy award for best traditional pop album. She succeeds Joni Mitchell, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and Natalie Cole, who have all received this award in the past. In addition to convincing social networks, Laufey has now acquired recognition that no one can deny. If it had been a long time since jazz had been so appreciated, Laufey’s success seems to be part of a whole new trend that we also notice with the popularity of the young American jazz singer Samara Joy, who received last year’s Grammy Award for Best New Artist and who also fills concert halls, particularly in Montreal. But Laufey is even more present in pop music. Artists like Billie Eilish and Willow Smith have praised her work, accolades that have helped propel her rise. Many magazines published flattering portraits describing his unexpected success. Many agree that Laufey makes young listeners nostalgic for an era that they never really knew, the one when jazz was in vogue, titillating this increasingly widespread fiber which wants young audiences to is interested in what is “vintage” (in fashion, in music, in literature, etc.). “I feel like I’ve become the artist I missed when I was younger and that makes me really happy,” Laufey said in an interview this year with the Guardian. Every night I look out at my crowd, I feel like I’ve built the community I always wanted but never had. »
Laufey’s fans are also showing up in concert halls, another sign of her phenomenal success beyond social platforms. Her audience is young and devoted. It’s those who follow her on TikTok who buy her concert tickets. “Since my first shows in 2021, they’ve always been sold out,” she told the Guardian. “I don’t get nervous before I play, because as soon as I’m on stage, it’s an immediate release to be able to sing and connect with the audience. That’s what I love most about being a musician,” she added. As if she were born for it, the singer demonstrates an ease that can only captivate. On stage, she plays the piano, cello, electric guitar or sometimes lets her voice carry all the emotions she conveys in her music. The Montreal audience will also be treated to two performances at the Jazz Festival in two different venues… on a single day.
