Laufey's new album explores anger, love, and more

— Long before the Icelandic Chinese artist Laufey became recognized the world over for her neoclassical jazz-meets-pop music, she was a student, answering a familiar yearbook prompt: “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?”

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Her answer: Move to the U.S., sign a record deal and win a Grammy. The 26-year-old has done all three.

“I must have been so confident to write that because I remember that being a very far-sought kind of thing,” the musician born Laufey Lin Jonsdottir told The Associated Press.

Those aren’t her only accomplishments: She’s collaborated with Barbra Streisand, shared the stage with Hozier, Noah Kahan and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

An unexpected nonconformist to the rules of contemporary pop, Laufey’s third album, “A Matter of Time” out Friday, pulls inspiration from country and Icelandic folk music as well as classical and bossa nova sounds.

“My ultimate goal is to introduce young audiences to jazz music, to classical music, to encourage them to learn instruments and explore their own sound,” Laufey said.