Laufey (singer)
Laufey Lín Jónsdottír (; born April 23, 1999), known by the mononym Laufey , is an Icelandic singer and songwriter. She released her debut EP, "Typical of Me", in 2021. She describes her style as modern jazz. Early life and education. Laufey Lín Jónsdottír was born on April 23, 1999. She is of half-Icelandic and half-Chinese descent. Her Chinese family is from Guangzhou. Her mother is a classical violinist and her grandfather, , was a violin educator at the Central Conservatory of Music in China, which Laufey credits as partly inspiring her love of music. She also has an  identical twin sister. She spent her childhood moving between Reykjavík and Washington, D.C. At age 15, she became a cellist in the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. While in Iceland, Laufey participated in the 2014 season of "Ísland Got Talent"—the national version of "America's Got Talent"—and ended as a finalist. The following year, she also appeared as a contestant on "The Voice Iceland" and reached the semi-finals. At the time, she was the youngest competitor in the series' history. Laufey graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2021. She currently resides in Los Angeles. Career. Although Laufey was influenced  by and played classical music from an early age, she turned to her father's records of female jazz musicians such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday to develop her musical style. She released her debut single, "Street by Street", in 2020 and it charted at #1 on Icelandic Radio. She launched her first EP, "Typical of Me", on April 30, 2021. It includes "Street by Street" and six new songs. Many of these tracks were written in her college dorm room. "Rolling Stone" particularly praised her rendition of "I Wish You Love". "American Songwriter" included the EP in their  list of best albums of 2021. Additionally, "Typical of Me" received attention from musicians such as Willow Smith and Billie Eilish. Laufey performed in the London Jazz Festival in November 2021. Around the same time, she collaborated with the London Philharmonic Orchestra to release "Let You Break My Heart Again". In December 2021, she collaborated with Dodie to release another single, "Love To Keep Me Warm", a cover of the original by Irving Berlin. Laufey hosts a weekly music show on the BBC Radio 3 called Happy Harmonies, where she highlights uplifting music in a wide variety of genres. She  also has a significant following on TikTok, where she frequently hosts live sessions. She made her U.S. network television debut when she appeared as the musical guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live on January 21, 2022 (Season 20 Episode 54). She played her song "Like The Movies" from her debut EP, "Typical of Me."