Laufey (singer)
Laufey resurrects the intimate, sophisticated sound of mid-century jazz pop for a Gen Z audience, making it feel both timeless and freshly personal.
Born 1999 (age 27)·Icelandic singer·Birthday: April 23·Generation Z
Biography
Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir didn't just study classical music; she was immersed in it from childhood in Reykjavík, performing as a cello soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra while still a teenager. Yet, it was the jazz standards her mother played at home that truly captured her imagination. After stints on talent shows, she honed her craft at Berklee College of Music, emerging not as a classical virtuoso, but as a singer-songwriter with a singular mission: to bridge the gap between the Great American Songbook and contemporary bedroom pop. With a warm, husky voice and deft skill on guitar and piano, Laufey writes songs about modern love and anxiety that sound like long-lost classics. Her 2022 debut album, 'Everything I Know About Love,' struck a chord globally, proving that the emotional language of jazz, when spoken with authentic vulnerability, requires no translation.
Generation Z
1997–2012
Born into smartphones, social media, and school shootings. The most diverse generation in history. Pragmatic about money, fluid about identity, anxious about the climate. They do not remember a world before the internet.
Laufey was born in 1999, placing them squarely in the Generation Z. The events that shaped this generation — social media, climate anxiety, and a pandemic — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Laufey Was Born
The biggest hits of 1999
#1 Movie
Star Wars: Episode I
Best Picture
American Beauty
#1 TV Show
ER
Laufey's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1999Born
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2004Started school
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2012Became a teenager
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2015Could drive
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2017Could vote
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2020Turned 21
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 27 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Her debut album, 'Everything I Know About Love,' debuted at number one on Billboard's Alternative New Artist chart in 2022.
- Won the Best New Artist in Jazz at the 2024 Grammys, highlighting her role in revitalizing the genre for new listeners.
- Performed as a cello soloist with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra at the age of fifteen.
- Her single 'From The Start' became a massive viral hit on TikTok, driving global streams into the hundreds of millions.
Did You Know?
She is of dual heritage, with an Icelandic mother and a Chinese father.
Laufey is a twin; her sister, Junia, is a violinist.
She taught herself guitar by watching YouTube tutorials during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her name is derived from a figure in Norse mythology, a goddess who is Loki's mother.
“I want to make jazz and classical music accessible for people my age. I’m just writing songs about my life and the things my friends and I are going through.”
