Laufey's Time Is Now

Gen Z's favorite Grammy-winning jazz-pop singer returns with her latest album, 'A Matter of Time'

- by DAVID CHIU

LOVE AND SARCASM Laufey debuted “Silver Lining” at Coachella in April, performing with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

“DARK SARCASM” ISN’T SOMETHING that one would expect to hear in the jazz- and classical-influenced pop of Laufey. The 26-year-old Icelandic-Chinese musician is known for her romantic and dreamy tunes inspired by the Great American Songbook—a canon of classic pop songs, Broadway numbers and jazz standards from the first half of the 20th century, including works by such composers as George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Rodgers and Hammerstein—and rendered with a Gen Z perspective. Yet several songs on her upcoming new record, A Matter of Time (August 22), take a more candid—and at times, sobering—tone that contrasts with her earlier material about growing up and being in love at a young age.

“I’m a very sarcastic person,” Laufey (pronounced Lay-vay) tells Newsweek. With the last album [2023's [Bewitched], I showed the light, and I wanted to show a little bit of darkness on this album. I had a lot of fun doing it. It’s kind of like an anxious Cinderella.”

"This album, for me, showcases the complexity of female emotion to the world."

A Matter of Time, Laufey’s third studio record, marks another step in the career of the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, whose story reads like a fairy tale come to life. Since her 2022 debut album, Everything I Know About Love, Laufey has played sold-out shows; performed with such artists as beabadoobee, Norah Jones, Barbra Streisand and Billy Joel; and won a Grammy Award in 2024 for her second record, Bewitched. Her music attracts nearly 19 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and her TikTok account has 8.7 million followers.

Larger and Bolder Sound

For