Icelandic-Chinese artist, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Laufey has won the 2024 GRAMMY for “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album” for her critically acclaimed album, ‘Bewitched’.
To celebrate her win, Laufey has released the video of her performance of “Valentine” from her 2023 Manila show. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the fan-favorite song performance also commemorates Laufey selling out both her shows in Manila on 28 and 29 May 2024, where she will be performing ‘A Night At The Symphony’ with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra.
“Valentine” peaked at #1 on the Spotify Jazz Chart when it was released as a single in 2022. That milestone was just the first of many, with Laufey releasing her chart-topping album ‘Bewitched’ the following year in 2023, the biggest debut for a jazz album on Spotify in history. Singles from the album including “From The Start” broke into top and viral charts globally and Laufey celebrated the album on ‘The Bewitched Tour’ where she played for the first time in cities including Manila, Singapore, and Taipei in 2023.
The GRAMMY win culminates a breakout year for Laufey. Apart from winning her first-ever GRAMMY, she performed her viral hit “From The Start” at the Premiere Ceremony, and played cello alongside Billy Joel during the performance of his new single. Laufey is continuing this streak with ‘Bewitched: The Goddess Tour’, her upcoming world tour that sold out within minutes.
Laufey (pronounced lāy-vāy) is looking to bridge the gap between the past and the present, the history books and social media, the Reykjavik concert hall Harpa and the Los Angeles rock dive Troubadour, by writing, recording, and performing songs that are truly timeless, inspired by jazz greats and classical masters while possessing a point of view that could only be conveyed by a 21st-century twentysomething. Laufey explains, “As a musician, my goal is to bring jazz and classical music to my generation through a more accessible road”.
Raised between Reykjavík and Washington, D.C. with annual visits to Beijing, the Icelandic-Chinese artist grew up playing cello as well as piano and became hooked on the jazz standards of Ella Fitzgerald after digging through her father’s record collection. In 2020, while still a student at Berklee College of Music, Laufey released her debut single “Street by Street”, which went on to top the Icelandic radio charts. Following the release of her ‘Typical of Me’ EP, Laufey was named Best New Artist in Jazz and Blues at the Icelandic Music Awards and hosted her own show on BBC Radio 3/BBC Sounds. In 2022 Laufey now has over 12 million monthly listeners across all platforms.