Laufey

Early life and education

Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir was born on 23 April 1999 in Reykjavík, Iceland. Her father is from Iceland and her mother is from Guangzhou, China. Her mother is a classical violinist and is the daughter of Lin Yaoji, a violin educator at the Central Conservatory of Music in China, which Laufey credits as inspiring her love of music. Her father is a finance executive. She has an identical twin sister, Júnía Lín Hua Jónsdóttir (Icelandic: [ˈjuːnia ˈliːn ˈxʷaː ˈjounsˌtouhtɪr̥]; Chinese: 林華; pinyin: Lín Huá), who is a violinist and serves as her creative director.

2020–2022: Early career

On 6 April 2020, Laufey released her debut single, "Street by Street", which charted at number one on Icelandic Radio. She then launched her first EP, Typical of Me, which she called her "little baby", on 30 April 2021. It includes "Street by Street" and six other songs, many written in her college dorm room. Rolling Stone particularly praised her rendition of "I Wish You Love". American Songwriter included the EP in its list of best albums of 2021. Typical of Me received attention from musicians such as Billie Eilish. Laufey also posted covers of jazz standards on TikTok, which The New York Times called "casually elegant". She signed a record deal with AWAL, a label that typically allows artists to retain greater control of their...

Influences and music style

Laufey was influenced by classical music, including Frédéric Chopin, and played it from an early age, but turned to her father's records of jazz musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday to develop her musical style. She has cited Fitzgerald and Chet Baker as her biggest artistic influences, calling the former her favourite musician. Laufey has also cited Taylor Swift, Norah Jones, and Adele as inspirations; she said, "Swift has done for pop and country what I hope to do for jazz. She has managed to unite people across the world, which is one of my main goals as a musician."

Madwoman

"Madwoman" is a song by Laufey and the sixteenth track on the deluxe version of her third studio album, A Matter of Time, which was released on 10 April 2026. A music video starring Alysa Liu, Hudson Williams, Lola Tung, and Megan Skiendiel was premiered on 13 April.

The track was officially sent to Icelandic radio stations on the week of 4 May.

Music video

The music video features Liu, Williams, Tung, and Skiendiel starring alongside Laufey; all of mixed white and East Asian descent (colloquially termed Wasian). Executive producer Christine Yi said: "The all 'wasian' cast is definitely one of those firsts, and I think it brings light to another unique and beautiful facet of the Asian diaspora." Warren Fu, director of the music video, commented that the music video "reimagines the American Dream as something more inclusive." Filmed in Los Angeles in March 2026, the music video was inspired by the works of Slim Aarons and evokes the styles of mid-century Americana and Hong Kong.

Falling Behind

"Falling Behind" is a song by Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey, from her debut studio album, Everything I Know About Love (2022). It was released on 11 August 2022 through AWAL as a preceding single for the album.

It was written and produced by Laufey and Spencer Stewart. It is a bossa nova-inspired track that features piano and acoustic guitar, with lyrics that talk about the feeling of not finding a romantic partner while others have.

Background

Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey released her debut single entitled "Street by Street" in 2020, which charted at number one on Icelandic Radio. She then released her debut extended play (EP) the following year entitled Typical of Me (2021), which includes the song and six other songs that follows themes of romance. Neil Yeung of AllMusic described every song on the EP as a "gem, brimming with potential", while Anna D’Amico of American Songwriter described Laufey having a "perfect modern jazz sound and low alto voice", highlighting her distinct sound from other musicians.

Release and composition

"Falling Behind" was released on 11 August 2022 through AWAL as the album's fifth preceding single. She drew in inspiration to write the song based on her personal experiences where she had seen people close to her fall in love while she had not, feeling she was left behind. It was also included in her live album A Night at the Symphony (2023) and concert movie A Night at the Symphony: Hollywood Bowl (2024).

Reception and commercial performance

"Falling Behind" was met with positive reviews upon release, mostly due to its bossa nova-inspired tune. In a full review of the single's album, Yeung described that Laufey showed "some bossa nova flair" through the song. In a performance of the song during the Manila leg of the Bewitched Tour (2023–2024) in May 2024, Gabriel Saulog of Billboard Philippines called it a fan-favorite, citing a "slight cheekiness" with Laufey's vocal delivery of the song accompanied by the guitar. "Falling Behind" was certified gold in Australia and New Zealand, and platinum in the United States.

From The Start

"From the Start" is a song by Icelandic singer Laufey. It was released as a single on 11 May 2023 via AWAL.

Background

"From the Start" was released after Laufey's performance with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, A Night at the Symphony in 2023. Lyrically, the song is about the unrequited love between a protagonist and her best friend, describing it as "a playful mix of old sounds with modern lyrics".

Covers

In 2023, "From the Start" was covered by the band Good Kid, who later incorporated the cover into their extended play Good Kid 4 on 27 March 2024.

Lover Girl

"Lover Girl" is a song by Icelandic singer-songwriter Laufey, released on 25 June 2025 as the third single from her third studio album, A Matter of Time (2025). It was written and produced by Laufey herself and Spencer Stewart.

Background

Laufey wrote the song in Tokyo during her Bewitched Tour and recorded it in Los Angeles. On 27 May 2025, she debuted the song live during her concert at the Teatro Metropólitan in Mexico City, after revealing the inspiration for the song:

Composition

"Lover Girl" is a bossa nova song, with a playful atmosphere, offbeat tempo and handclaps. Lyrically, Laufey depicts herself as a love-struck girl who struggles with being separated from her boyfriend. Strings alternate between increasing and decreasing volume during the chorus, in which Laufey describes she is in a "reckless fever". She notes that she would usually tease her lovesick friends for being overly dependent on their significant others but never expected to find herself in the same situation, before calling it a "curse to be a lover girl".

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews. Will Hermes of Pitchfork commented "The playfully fizzy 'Lover Girl,' punctuated with chipper handclaps, is incongruously hard-spitting, and gets bonus points for the ramen-joint choreography in its video clip". Quentin Harrison of The Line of Best Fit stated "Laufey demonstrates that love often exists somewhere between the poles of escapism and reality", adding that this is "done brilliantly" on "Lover Girl". Reviewing A Matter of Time for Melodic, Ezra Kendrick considered the song a "nice lead into the rest of the album" as it "showcases the sound and artistry" that Laufey has developed. In addition, he wrote that the strings during the chorus "perfectly encapsulate the growing infatuation...