Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir, known by the mononym Laufey, is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. She achieved notability in the early 2020s, and describes her musical style, a mixture of jazz pop and bedroom pop, as “modern jazz”. Her father is Icelandic and her mother is Chinese. The maternal side of her family is from Guangzhou. Her mother is a classical violinist and her grandfather was a violin educator at the Central Conservatory of Music in China, which Laufey credits as partly inspiring her love of music.
At age 15, she performed as a cello soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. While in Iceland, Laufey participated in the 2014 season of Íceland 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.
Laufey released her debut single, “Street by Street”, in 2020 and it charted at number one on Icelandic Radio. She launched her first EP, Typical of Me, in 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”. American Songwriter included the EP in their list of best albums of 2021. Additionally, Typical of Me received attention from musicians such as Willow Smith and Billie Eilish.
Laufey performed in the London Jazz Festival in November 2021. Around the same time, she collaborated with London’s Philharmonia Orchestra to release “Let You Break My Heart Again”. In December 2021, she collaborated with Dodie to release another single, “Love To Keep Me Warm”, a cover of the original by Irving Berlin. On the spring through summer of 2021, Laufey hosted a weekly music show on BBC Radio 3 called Happy Harmonies, where she highlighted uplifting music in a wide variety of genres. She also has a significant following on TikTok and Instagram, where she frequently hosts live sessions.
She made her United States network television debut when she appeared as the musical guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in January 2022. She played her song “Like the Movies” from her debut EP, Typical of Me. Her debut album, ‘Everything I Know About Love’, was released in August 2022 to critical acclaim, and debuted at number one on Billboard’s Alternative New Artist Album chart. Laufey’s second album, Bewitched, was released in September 2023.
