"I was a bit scared of success": jazz-pop star Laufey talks about performing in arenas, dealing with mansplainers, and facing her critics.

One way to tell if someone has the boldness to be a great pop star is how they react when they overhear someone criticizing them. A few weeks ago, Icelandic-Chinese jazz-pop artist Laufey was at a coffee shop near her Los Angeles home when she heard her name mentioned (by the way, it’s pronounced “Lay-vay”). “I used to love her,” a young woman told her friends. “I’ve met her and she’s so sweet, but her music is unlistenable now.”

In that moment, Laufey realized she could either do the normal thing—slip away quietly and vent to her friends—or do the pop star thing. She turned to face the group. “I’m so sorry,” Laufey said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I try my best.”

The idea of being caught gossiping about a celebrity is enough to mortify most people, and I nervously laugh as Laufey tells me this story one morning in New York. She laughs too, maybe a little surprised by her own boldness. “I wasn’t even trying to clap back,” she says. “They didn’t know what to say; they were totally stunned.”

This challenges much of what I thought I knew about Laufey. The 26-year-old has built a devoted fanbase with her charming love songs, blending her jazz and classical background with catchy pop hooks. Her music immerses listeners in a retro-modern world of soft teen romance—think aurora skies, sunset kisses, and crushes who leave you on “read.” It captures the intense emotions of modern young womanhood, wrapping them in delicate orchestration and sending them soaring.

On her breakout TikTok hit, “From the Start,” with its upbeat bossa nova rhythm, she comes across like an Austen heroine who speaks internet slang, agonizing over the “burning pain” of listening to a crush talk endlessly about someone else. Her fans, often young women, are drawn to her big-sister vibe: one edition of her 2023 album Bewitched even included a themed board game. At first listen, with her retro jazz sound, you might not expect Laufey to become a global superstar, but she has amassed nearly 5 billion Spotify streams and sold out shows worldwide. You could see her music as a lighter, more literal take on the vintage-inspired introspection that made Lana Del Rey and Billie Eilish international stars.

“I had a more shocking kind of success than I ever thought I would,” she says. “It got a bit hard for me to keep up mentally.”

Now, Laufey is eager to shake up her image as Gen Z’s favorite jazz prodigy, at least a little. Her new album, A Matter of Time, balances sweet, symphonic sounds with raw, emotional vocals and imperfect notes. One song features jarring strings that she compares to a scream. “I wanted to make more of a statement on this album,” she says. “I’ve become known as a soft singer. I am that, but I also want to show parts of myself that aren’t so pretty.”

She arrived at the hotel lobby right on time, looking polished, with a bunny rabbit wearing a cardigan dangling from her handbag. (The stuffed animal, named Mei Mei, is Laufey’s mascot and alter ego—she releases alternate versions of her songs under that name, and it’s available for purchase, with part of the proceeds supporting music education through the Laufey Foundation.) “Do you want to go in there?” she asks, leading me to a side room and offering the best biscuits. “It’s the guests-only lounge.” The room is decorated like a hunting lodge, with artfully aged mirrors, a mounted antelope head, and, oddly for summer, a crackling fire. When I mention how strange it feels, Laufey says wryly, “Well, it’s now a very cool 24 degrees.”After winning the 2024 Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album over Bruce Springsteen, Laufey’s career has skyrocketed. She’s now a regular at fashion week—seen trading air kisses with Naomi Campbell in the front row at Chanel’s July show—and counts celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, PinkPantheress, and indie favorite Clairo among her friends. She even challenged Clairo to a spicy chicken wing-eating contest on an episode of Hot Ones. Laufey has also impressed music legends; earlier this year, she performed a heartfelt duet with Barbra Streisand on a cover of Streisand’s song “Letter to My 13 Year Old Self.” Streisand praised her, saying, “It’s beautiful to see a young artist inspired by jazz greats like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday make such a deep connection with her fans.” This fall, Laufey will launch her first arena tour, including two nights at Madison Square Garden.

Laufey says she was driven by a “hunger” to channel the whirlwind experiences of the past few years into her new album. The record radiates a sense of adventure, shifting from twangy campfire country to swooning ballads and fizzy pop. She produced it with longtime collaborator Spencer Stewart; together, they can play nearly any instrument you can think of—and some you might not. For example, I was unfamiliar with the celesta, an obscure idiophone they used that sounds like a child’s musical jewelry box. On the Busby Berkeley-esque “Lover Girl,” Laufey leans playfully into her lovestruck image, while “Carousel” explores inviting a partner into her circus-like life, backed by a seasick-sounding accordion. The sweeping “Forget-Me-Not,” recorded with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra (where she was a teenage cello soloist), stands as her most accomplished composition to date, with her voice soaring over flurries of flutes.

“I wanted the album to reflect all sides of my emotional scale,” she says, bundled up in air conditioning apparently set to “Himalayan” levels. “Within one day, I’ll have a happy hour and a crying hour. I have no interest in making an album that’s one vibe throughout.” Still, she notes an emotional thread running through the record about learning to accept yourself while falling in love with someone else. She won’t discuss her current relationship status, though, and when asked if online scrutiny makes it hard to write openly about dating, she replies, “There’s always a line of ambiguity,” before adding with a mischievous smile, “But if you get into a situation with me, you kind of know that I might write about it.”

Laufey carries a playful ease that suggests she’s grown comfortable with her success, though she admits it hasn’t always been easy. After her Grammy win, she struggled to balance newfound attention with a demanding tour schedule. “I was a little bit scared,” she says. “I had a more shocking kind of success than I thought I would ever have. With the flurry of it all, it got a bit hard for me to keep up mentally.” It wasn’t just the performances; being a pop star also meant facing a barrage of online opinions. “It was the battle of seeing a bad photo of yourself online, or hearing bad comments about yourself,” she recalls. “It was tough.”

Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir has always understood hard work. Born in Reykjavík to a mother who is a professional violinist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and maternal grandparents who are music professors, she started piano lessons at age four and added cello at eight. She juggled school with a packed schedule of rehearsals and performances, crediting that relentless routine wi…That strength—vocal, mental, and physical—gives her the stamina to perform for long stretches. When we meet, she’s in the middle of a six-show summer tour with orchestras across the eastern United States.

Laufey first caught attention as a finalist on Iceland’s Got Talent in 2014. After that, she earned a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston and began posting jazz standards from her dorm room. In 2021, she released her debut EP, Typical of Me, which drew inspiration from Tin Pan Alley and won over fans like Billie Eilish and Willow Smith.

Her new work, A Matter of Time, reflects an expansion of her creative world. Two lively new tracks were produced with Aaron Dessner—Taylor Swift’s collaborator and a founding member of The National—at his Long Pond Studios. Laufey says the experience “opened a third musical eye.” She’s also more playful than ever on “Mr. Eclectic,” a bossa nova-inspired song featuring Clairo that pokes fun at men who try to explain classical music to her. “I just think it’s funny to be the type of guy who performatively reads a worn-out paperback outside a coffee shop,” she says with a wrinkled nose. “I’ve dated guys like that, but this is a forever type of man. Why do you think all philosophers are men? They just had the platform and the audacity.”

Laufey’s boldness makes her all the more likable, especially after years of interviews with media-trained artists who avoid saying anything real. That honesty shines in “Snow White,” a waltz from A Matter of Time where she addresses her lifelong struggle with body image and identity. In the music video, set against Iceland’s stunning tundra, she sings into a mirror, “I don’t think I’m pretty, it’s not up for debate,” while tugging at the corner of her eye to emphasize its shape.

These days, she feels she has her insecurities about her appearance as under control as anyone can. (“We all have our moments,” she admits.) She enjoys fashion and attended last year’s Met Gala wearing a custom veil printed with the sheet music of a favorite Bach piece. She can’t recall which violin fugue it was in the moment and pulls up Spotify on her phone. “It was this,” she says as a delicate composition plays faintly. “But it’s on guitar for some reason.” That won’t do. “Come on, violin!” she laughs, scrolling for the right version.

Laufey hopes that centuries from now, people will still be engaging with her music the same way. “I often think about how artists in the past weren’t driven by outside influences,” she says. “Ella Fitzgerald wasn’t putting out a 20-second clip of her new song for people to tear apart. I try hard not to let social media shape my art.”

I ask if that’s difficult, considering social media has been central to her rapid rise from the start. “Honestly,” she says, lowering her voice to a whisper, “I love it. I literally have a career because an audience on social media showed me there was a space for the type of music I make. If I’d gone to a label six years ago and said, ‘I’m going to make music that blends jazz and classical with personal stories, and I’ll play arenas one day,’ they would have said, ‘Bullshit.’ They wouldn’t have bet a dollar on me.

“I don’t know what miracle happened that I get to have this career,” she reflects. She’s determined to make every moment count. She finishes her iced coffee and heads off to a fitting.She’s preparing for her upcoming tour. After that, she’ll head to Electric Lady Studios to work on more music—even though her new album hasn’t even been released yet. She gets into a car with tinted windows, chatting away in Icelandic with her assistant. I can’t understand what she’s saying, but it sounds like Laufey is already planning her next move. Her album, A Matter of Time, is out now.

Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Laufeys interview designed to be clear and conversational

General Beginner Questions

Q Who is Laufey
A Laufey is an IcelandicChinese singersongwriter known for her modern take on jazz and pop music often called modern jazz

Q What does I was a bit scared of success refer to
A It refers to a common interview topic where Laufey discusses the surprising anxieties and pressures that come with her rapidly growing fame rather than the struggle to achieve it

Q What kind of music does she make
A She makes a blend of jazz and pop featuring rich vocals orchestral elements and lyrics about love and selfdiscovery which has earned her a large Gen Z and millennial fanbase

Questions About Specific Topics from the Interview

Q Why was Laufey scared of performing in arenas
A She mentioned that the massive scale of arenas felt intimidating and impersonal compared to more intimate venues She was scared of losing the close connection she has with her audience

Q How does she deal with mansplainers or critics in the music industry
A Laufey has talked about learning to trust her own musical knowledge and instincts She focuses on her work and the support of her fans rather than engaging with unsolicited or condescending criticism

Q What is her approach to facing her critics
A Her approach is to acknowledge the criticism but not let it define her or her art She stays true to her own musical vision and values the opinions of her listeners and trusted collaborators more

Advanced Deeper Questions

Q How has her background in classical and jazz music influenced her approach to pop stardom
A Her formal training gives her a deep understanding of music theory and composition which allows her to create sophisticated pop songs that stand out from typical chart music This confidence in her craft helps her navigate the industry

Q Whats the biggest misconception about her sudden rise to fame
A A big misconception is that it happened overnight While her breakout was rapid it was built on years of studying music posting covers online and independently releasing music before she was signed to a major label