“I never want to gaslight any young woman into thinking that everything is just so perfect.”
When Laufey looks into the crowd at her concerts, she doesn’t just see fans—she sees versions of herself. Many share her background, her aesthetic, her softness and strength. “Growing up, I really struggled with finding a group of people that I really understood and that understood me,” she reflects.
“The fact that I’ve kind of summoned an audience of exactly that—it just makes my younger self really, really happy”
Her fanbase, affectionately known as the Lauvers, might behave like a cult, but Laufey insists it’s “a really positive, happy, cute one.” And it’s no wonder they’re devoted. The Icelandic-Chinese artist, born Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir, blends classical and jazz training with emotionally raw lyricism, crafting a sound that feels both timeless and entirely modern. A Berklee College of Music alumna, Laufey plays piano, guitar, cello, and violin, using her musicianship as a gateway to introduce Gen Z to jazz.
Her 2023 Grammy-winning album Bewitched established her as a singular voice in a saturated pop landscape, though not without critique. Jazz purists have questioned her genre legitimacy, a claim she finds both frustrating and uninformed.
“I know what I know, and I know what I’m good at, so that’s enough for me,” she says with calm conviction. “At the end of the day, what are genres?”
Her refusal to conform—whether to genres, expectations, or even cultural binaries—mirrors the complexity of her identity: Icelandic, Chinese, American, all and none at once.
“I’ve spent my whole life trying to fit into some sort of box… I think that’s quite old-fashioned”
Now, with her upcoming album A Matter of Time (dropping August 22), Laufey is diving into more vulnerable territory. The project is a concept album centered on “a young woman unraveling.” Tracks like “Silver Lining” and “Tough Luck” expose a messier, more volatile side of the polished musician, weaving bigger pop sounds into her classical-jazz base. “I think we all present a very pretty version of ourselves to the world,” she says.
“This starts there, and then starts to dig in and show the darker thoughts and things that are within a woman”
But Laufey isn’t just reshaping genre and redefining beauty—she’s also nurturing the next generation. Last month, she launched The Laufey Foundation, which provides grants to youth orchestras around the world. Her goal is to ensure young musicians—especially those from underrepresented backgrounds—have access to the tools they need to thrive.
Representation is deeply personal for Laufey. “I didn’t have an Asian community like that growing up, and now I have it, and it’s through my music,” she says. As a child in Iceland, she adored pop music but didn’t believe it belonged to her. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh, I can’t dress up as Hannah Montana for Halloween because I have dark hair.’” It’s a simple yet profound memory that fuels her commitment to visibility and authenticity.
Laufey’s success is more than personal; it’s symbolic of a larger movement. She celebrates the growing dominance of women in music, particularly the vast range of voices flourishing today. “It’s such an incredible time to be a woman in music. Not only are women dominating, but they’re doing it in every single little corner of music.” She lists Doechii, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Charli XCX as examples of artists redefining pop in their own ways.
Still, she’s clear that more needs to be done behind the scenes. “Nobody understands the female experience like a woman,” she says, emphasizing the importance of uplifting female songwriters and producers. “You can really see when there’s a woman writing with a woman—the magic that it creates, the honesty.”
Though she’s often dubbed “Gen Z’s jazz icon,” Laufey doesn’t see herself in such narrow terms. “My roots will always be in jazz… but I wouldn’t want to detract from the great jazz artists by labeling myself that way.” Like Beyoncé, who was similarly critiqued for her genre-blending on Cowboy Carter, Laufey questions the rigidity of musical labels. “Genres are a funny little concept, aren’t they?” she quotes.
Navigating criticism has been part of the journey. “When I was first receiving reviews, it definitely hurt,” she admits. A lifetime of being the model student made her sensitive to negative feedback. But with time, she’s embraced her individuality.
“Nobody got anywhere by copying what others did before. You always have to be doing something new”
And new is exactly what Laufey promises with A Matter of Time: a bold, emotional record that unearths beauty from chaos. In doing so, she continues to offer her fans—many of whom, like her, never saw themselves in the mainstream—a mirror, a melody, and a movement.
