![](//www.4rfv.com/images/no_image.jpg)
Whos Laufey Now Just two years after graduating, the alumna breaks record for the biggest debut of a jazz album on Spotify.
By
Cheston Knapp
November 14, 2023
Laufey B.M. 21
Image by Gemma Warren
Back in the spring of 2020, on the day before Berklee's campus was shuttered because of the pandemic, Laufey (pronounced Lay-vay ) recorded her first song. She was 19 and nursing a broken heart, and had been trying to write something that might free her of its hold on her psyche. After weeks of dead ends, something finally clicked and Street by Street came pouring out. It's an intimate, confessional song about young love gone wrong and about taking back the reins of your life. Sung in a smoky vocal timbre and accompanied by minimalist jazz guitar, it dares you not to bob your head while listening to it.
In the lonely and frightening weeks that followed, she released the song, more or less on a lark. And then she watched, with quiet awe, as it rose like a Chinese lantern, buoyed by the resilient light inside it. Soon enough, Street by Street was at the top of the charts in her home country of Iceland and she was on her way to becoming an international star. In many ways, she's been preparing for this heady trip her entire young life.
The daughter of a Chinese mother and Icelandic father, Laufey L n J nsd ttir B.M. '21 grew up surrounded by music in Reykjavik and Washington, D.C., in an environment that sounds like a souped-up Baby Einstein program. Her mother is a world-class violinist and her grandfather taught the instrument back in China. Laufey was studying violin and piano at an age when most kids can't pronounce those words and, by 15, was playing cello solos with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and appearing on Iceland Got Talent. (She finished in a humbling second place.)
Though trained as a classical musician, she's always nourished a love of jazz singers like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Chet Baker and had a fondness for the Great American Songbook. When it came time for college, she received a prestigious Presidential Scholarship to attend Berklee, where she found a way to harness all of her influences and pursue all of her interests.
My whole goal as a musician is to bring these older styles of music to a new audience and frame it as something that's new and relevant and cool, she said with a guileless charm.
Success on the order she's achieved-she's amassed over 1 billion streams across all platforms and been nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album-can be disorienting for an artist at any age and disastrous for one so young. But Laufey has managed it with all the aplomb you'd expect from an old soul. She seems to know that success's truest blessing is more work. In September she released Bewitched, her second studio album in two years, and the biggest debut for a jazz album on Spotify. It features elaborate and playful arrangements that honor her classical background-a couple of tracks feature London's Philharmonia Orchestra-and her voice sounds as mature and seasoned as ever. And while she's still mining the vein of young love, her lyrics have a knowing, wry wisdom to them, as when she sings, It hurts to be something / It's worse to be nothing with you. Bottom line is, everything Laufey touches bears the thumbprint of authenticity, which is exceedingly rare to find. A true gift.
Related Categories
Berklee Today
News
Most Popular
Laufey B.M. 21
Image by Gemma Warren
Whos Laufey Now Just two years after graduating, the alumna breaks record for the biggest debut of a jazz album on Spotify.
Latest
Bruce Hornsby '74
Image by Tristan Williams
Bruce Hornsby Is Still Seeing What He Can Get Away With Since The Way It Is, the visionary songwriter has made his mark on so many genres. His latest, Deep Sea Vents, dives once again into something new.
Image courtesy of the artist
Student Spotlight: Mehrpouya Daneshvar The clarinetist from Iran talks about discovering a love for Iranian classical music and how coming to Berklee has allowed him to expand his style by exploring jazz and Latin music.
Arturo Sandoval will receive an American Master Award from Berklee on March 8.
Image courtesy of the artist
Berklee to Present American Master Award to Arturo Sandoval Berklee will recognize the Cuban-American legend's legacy and impact on jazz and Latin music.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
More from Berklee
06/09/2024
Student Spotlight: Mateo Londo o The producer talks about leaving Berklee to grieve the passing of a close friend and fellow student and then returning to fin...
05/09/2024
Boston Conservatory Adds a Robust Roster of Artists to Its Faculty Nearly 30 new faculty across the Dance, Music, and Theater divisions bring industry experti...
05/09/2024
Why Music Educators Choose Berklee's Graduate Programs Explore Berklees flexible master's degrees and certificate in music education, and get advice f...
29/08/2024
Berklees Africana Studies Division Launches New Degree Program in Black Music an...
27/08/2024
Berklee's Signature Series Celebrates Brazilian Composers Caetano Veloso and...
23/08/2024
Karen A. Bell Named Chair of Performance Studies The associate dean will expand her responsibilities to manage performance studies courses and oversee departm...
22/08/2024
How Freedom by Beyonc Became a Campaign Anthem Emmett G. Price III discusses the history of political campaign music and what makes Freedom such a versatile ...
21/08/2024
Berklee Announces 2024 Fall Signature Series Lineup This season's performances celebrate musical traditions from country music to the music of Brazil and ...
20/08/2024
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Gets Serious About Clowning With the launch of its newest minor in fall 2024, Boston Conservatory brings circus arts to academi...
20/08/2024
Berklee and Spelman Colleges Student Exchange Program Returns for Fall 2024 The initiative celebrates Black music, culture, and the power of sisterhood.
By
...
09/08/2024
Flora Sullivan Named 2024 Jimmy Lyons Scholarship Recipient The Berkeley, California, native will perform at this year's Monterey Jazz Festival.
By
Cole...
09/08/2024
Leo Luna Roblejo Receives the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundations Sebasti n Yatra ...
09/08/2024
Watch Anita Hill Perform with Boston Conservatory Orchestra at Symphony Hall The attorney, scholar, and civil rights activist narrated the words of Martin Lut...
09/08/2024
Berklee City Music Awards Scholarships at Concert This year, 19 students received scholarships, housing awards, and aid to attend Berklee College of Music.
B...
29/07/2024
Berklee's Music Business/Management Department Hosted Summer Program with Po...
26/07/2024
Berklee Alumni Nominated for 2024 Emmy Awards Twenty-one Berklee alumni received Emmy nominations this year for music composition, sound mixing, and sound editi...
23/07/2024
Alum Notes: Spring/Summer 2024 The most recent news from your fellow alumni.
July 10, 2024
Emily McGuire B.F.A. '18 of Glendale, CA, found a new love f...
18/07/2024
Faculty Notes: Spring/Summer 2024 Recent accomplishments, releases, and events by Berklee faculty.
July 8, 2024
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Assistant Pro...
18/07/2024
Jim McNeely and Miguel Zen n Named the 2024-2025 Ken Pullig Visiting Scholars in...
18/07/2024
Jim Lucchese Named Berklee's Fifth President A 20-year music industry veteran and a committed artist advocate with deep Berklee roots, Lucchese sets the t...
16/07/2024
Dr. Judith Christie McAllister Joins Gospel Performance Summer Program as Artist...
15/07/2024
Berklee Alumni Publications Win CASE Awards The magazine Berklee Today received a gold award and podcast Pass the Mic earned bronze from the Council for Advan...
11/07/2024
Berklee NYC Honors Largest Class of Master Scholars at 2024 Commencement Grammy and Tony Award-winning alum Charlie Rosen delivered the commencement address a...
09/07/2024
Legendary African Musician Youssou N'Dour Receives Honorary Degree at Berkle...
08/07/2024
Berklee City Music Celebrates Three Decades Empowering Young Artists The program has given generations of musicians-sometimes within the same family-the tools...
08/07/2024
Renate Rohlfing Awarded Mass Cultural Council Grant The music therapy faculty member will use the grant to help foster more opportunities to create in-person co...
06/07/2024
Berklee Online Offers Courses to Students in Juvenile Justice Centers To date, Berklee Online classes are offered at nearly 30 such centers across the United ...
06/07/2024
Working to Make Music More Accessible to All New technologies and changing attitudes mean more disabled musicians are playing instruments.
By
Adrian Ananta...
29/06/2024
Students Help Bring Nona Hendryxs Dream Machine to Life at Lincoln Center A group of electronic production and design majors created sonic landscapes for Hend...
28/06/2024
Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin Named Chair of the Ensemble Department A renowned vocalist, arranger, and educator, Robinson-Martin is known for developing innov...
26/06/2024
LGBTQ Student Group to Hold Inaugural Pride Music Festival Lavanda, founded by student Emma Whitney, will host Camp Fest, an outdoor music festival and commu...
15/06/2024
What Exactly Is Dad Rock? 21 Songs that Explain the Totally Not Embarrassing Gen...
14/06/2024
Dr. Lenora Helm Hammonds Named Dean of the Professional Education Division A renowned jazz vocalist, educator, and Berklee alumna, Hammonds is known for her i...
13/06/2024
Final Exams or NBA Finals? For These Boston Conservatory Students, It's Both Two commercial dance students joined the Boston Celtics dancers for a memorab...
05/06/2024
Taylor Swifts Global Popularity Explained (Berklees Version) Music business, songwriting, and live production faculty weigh in on what makes Taylor Swift unst...
05/06/2024
Professor and Two Alumni Receive Fulbright Awards Faculty member Stacy Mattingly and alumni Shanelle Villegas and Lili Chey Warren have been selected for Fulb...
05/06/2024
Music and Sustainability at Berklee and Beyond Integrating sustainability practices into music not only helps address environmental concerns but also contribute...
24/05/2024
Boston Conservatory Plays a Leading Role at the 41st Annual Elliot Norton Awards With six wins and eight additional nominations, the Conservatory's theate...
22/05/2024
Berklee's Summer in the City Brings Free Concerts to Boston Area The series will feature Berklee students, faculty, and alumni performing at popular venue...
21/05/2024
Dr. Ray Seol Awarded Grant for Creative Individuals from Mass Cultural Council The grant will expand his Seu Aprendiz project designed to help individuals bui...
15/05/2024
Berklee Artists to Perform at Major US Music Festivals this Summer and Fall The Berklee Popular Music Institute arranged placements at top festivals including...
12/05/2024
Berklee Honors Ledisi, Q-Tip, and Gilberto Santa Rosa at Commencement This years honorary doctorate recipients were recognized for their profound influence as...
10/05/2024
Berklee Announces 2024 Songs for Social Change Contest Winners Student songwriters shine in the annual contest that recognizes music with a socially conscious...
10/05/2024
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2024 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
10/05/2024
Berklee and Audio Engineering Society to Host Symposium on AI in Music The inaugural AES International Symposium on AI and the Musician will highlight excitin...
08/05/2024
Q&A with Visiting Artist Lei Liang The acclaimed composer discusses his collaboration with Boston Conservatory, his work as a research artist, and what it mea...
04/05/2024
Three Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards An additional eight alums and two current students performed in nominated productions.
...
02/05/2024
Two Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards An additional eight alums and two current students performed in nominated productions.
By...
30/04/2024
Next Jazz Legacy Announces 2024 Cohort of Women and Nonbinary Awardees The program was created by New Music USA and the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender J...
27/04/2024
Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Cert...