The Gen Z singer-songwriter, who’s been noticed by BTS’s V as well as Billie Eilish, shares how she got into music and being inspired by Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker—and her own mother
Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir, who performs under the mononym Laufey, wasn’t expecting to be a musical sensation when she started sharing her contemporary-jazz-meets-classical tunes on TikTok in 2020. But soon after she released her debut single, Street by Street, it caught the attention of icons such as V of K-pop band BTS, American singer Billie Eilish and British singer Dodie, who posted about her songs on social media.
The 24-year-old singer songwriter of Chinese and Icelandic heritage, who creates bewitching songs about young love, continues her meteoric rise in the music industry: in November this year, she got a Grammy nomination for the best traditional pop vocal album; and she’s recently released an original, Winter Wonderland, as well as two singles in collaboration with American musician Norah Jones: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and More Than Snow.
Tatler catches up with Laufey, who is in Paris for Christmas, to discuss her Grammy nomination, her jazz idols and how she got into music.
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How it feel like to be nominated for a Grammy in the best traditional pop vocal album category?
It feels amazing. It’s a category with so much history. As a jazz singer, all my idols have been Grammy winners and nominees in this [particular] category. So to be listed among them, as a Gen Z person, is just the highest form of validation, especially as I started on the internet and it feels like something that was very much between me and my fans.
Who are your jazz or music idols?
There are so many people. Norah Jones is a huge one for me. My mother, who is a violinist, is also a big inspiration. Then there’s [American jazz singer] Ella Fitzgerald and [American jazz trumpeter and vocalist] Chet Baker.
How did you get into music, and in particular, jazz?
I got into music through my mother, who’s a violinist. My grandparents were both professors of violin and piano at the Central Conservatory in Beijing. I started playing the piano and cello from a really early age. And my father loved listening to jazz. We’d always have jazz music playing in the house. When I started singing at 12, I had a lower voice; and coming from a classical background, I could relate more to the sleeping songs of Ella Fitzgerald and [American singer] Nat King Cole rather than pop music. Even though I love pop music, my voice fits jazz better. So I just started singing [jazz] and I fell in love with that world. And I started posting videos on TikTok and Instagram. They somehow went viral. It’s funny how these things happens.
