In her hit song, “Bewitched”, Laufey sang, “You wrote me a note, cast a spell on my heart, and bewitched me.” Besides being bewitched by the lover depicted in the song, 24-year-old Chinese-Icelandic jazz musician Laufey Ósk Bjarnadóttir has bewitched the hearts of millions—particularly the youth. Her unique mish-mash style of jazz, classical, and pop has attracted the attention of many enthusiastic fans. Last year, Laufey became the most streamed jazz artist of 2022. When her second album, “Bewitched,” came out in September 2023, it broke Spotify’s record for the most streams of a jazz album in a single day. Laufey is making her mark on the jazz world and reigniting the flame of appreciating jazz music for a whole new generation that did not appreciate the unique genre before.
In the 2023 North Sea Jazz Festival, Laufey performed “Misty”, a classic jazz standard written in 1954. Compared to top hits from Taylor Swift, Rihanna, or Drake, “Misty” is virtually unknown among the youth. Despite this, more than 5000 Gen-Z audience members sang along to this “ancient” jazz song at the festival. This revival of interest is one small step for Laufey, one giant leap for jazz.
Laufey’s influence has also spread onto the CHS campus. Lincoln Roston, a junior, is an avid Laufey fan who can quote all her lyrics by heart and probably also in his sleep. He shares his take on her contributions.
“She’s making a modern take on jazz instead of just doing what everybody has already heard already,” Roston said. “I think she’s bringing a lot more attention to a genre that hasn’t really been appreciated as much as I think it should have.”
Her music has even inspired students on campus to explore creating jazz music. Senior Carter Chan, who has been listening to Laufey since April of 2022, expresses his thoughts and his dedication towards the artist.
“I kept listening to her because I thought it was a cool modern way to listen to jazz and indie even though some of her songs are not entirely jazz,” Chan said. “My favorite song by her is ‘From the Start’, and I can play ‘Valentine’, and a little bit of ‘Let You Break My Heart’ on the piano.”
Laufey is paving the way for a new era of jazz appreciation, making listeners revisit the genre “From the Start”.
