If your Pinterest boards are trending cosy Nancy Meyers interiors, a visit to Shakespeare and Company is on your Paris bucket list, and the rule in your house is lamps only (ceiling lights are for emergencies), then you need no introduction to jazz-pop artist Laufey (pronounced lay-vay).
For the unacquainted, the Icelandic-Chinese singer and musician is on a mission to bring jazz and classical music to the Gen-Z population, and her success speaks for itself.
On Saturday, September 14 the recent Grammy award winner performed the final show of her Goddess tour to a sold-out crowd at ICC Sydney. For 90 minutes, against a backdrop of shimmering stars, the artist performed hits from her third and latest album, Bewitched. A fitting title, as the majority 20-something crowd (clad in cottage core and sporting Laufey’s iconic white hair bow) were completely under the spell of the 25-year-old.
Opening with jazz hits such as “Dreamer” and “Trouble”, this reviewer instantly felt she had walked right onto a film set of a ’90s New York rom com.
After a light and flirty beginning, Laufey proceeded to break our hearts with an emotional performance of “Goddess”. Wowing the crowd not only with her rich alto voice but also showcasing her classical roots as a skilled pianist.
By the time the opening notes of “Promise” float throughout the theatre, the audience know they have found their new best friend, with relatable lyrics like “It hurts to be something, it’s worse to be nothing, with you” transporting us back to that first boy responsible for all our romantic agony.
She closed the magical evening with the Bossa Nova inspired jam “From the Start”, featuring a surprise violin solo from her twin sister, Junia – a perfect familial touch, as their mother, too, is a classical violinist (oh, and did I mention Laufey is also a cellist?).
In all, a captivating evening of escape into the world of jazz, raw emotion and romance.
