Laufey: What is it that she does that does not make love not cringey?
By: Jaya Lundy
It’s February of 2021, a few months after the lift of the COVID-19 lockdown. Like other young adults at the time, I found myself doom-scrolling through TikTok with hopes of fulfilling my boredom while stuck in my room. There, swipe after swipe through each video of the “For You” page, a hot, new trending song. But then I saw something that really caught my eye. Not hot like in an explicit sexy way – no. It was lofty, passionate, and filled with an overwhelming amount of pure love that put a dorky smile on my face. It didn’t talk about being infatuated with someone because of their body, but the want of them being the singer’s “valentine.” Who was this artist who seemed to capture the pure essence of love with such grace?
Well, her name is Laufey.
“Dear Soulmate,
Do you think of me
’Cause I do”
Within a short span of time, Laufey has exponentially risen to high standings of popularity to the point of winning her first Grammy in 2024 with her album, Bewitched, as the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album of the year. She has made guest appearances with big celebrities like Jimmy Fallon and Kelly Clarkson. Before her fame, she was a college student who created songs in her dorm and uploaded videos of her singing onto YouTube and Instagram with only a couple of hundred followers. Now, Laufey breaks the internet with 4.9 million followers on Instagram and 15 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Many who are fans of Laufey and her music, listen because they are tired of the jaded society we live in, of always being in the “talking stage.” For those who don’t know, the term “talking stage” has been a recent description for the younger generations that is used for two people who are not “exclusive” and are not in a technical couple but have a relationship with each other. They yearn for the feeling of falling in love with someone, and in the absence of the real thing, they have music. Unlike other artists today, Laufey’s connection to her idealistic views of love is woven deeply in her lyrics and songs. But her message feels like almost a thing of the past for listeners of the day. So, the question is, how did she make pure love cool again?
In 2021, Laufey had her first tour in small venues that held a handful of the small community of listeners she had at the time. Within the past year, she has performed at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The venue held 17,500 of her fans as she sang her heart out performing at the venue of her dreams. With her popularity she’s toured across the world as a headliner for festivals and her own tours. She stands beside the current biggest artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan even performing alongside Billy Joel during the Grammys. Laufey has proven her worth of her new found celebrity status.
Mixing together the styles of classical, jazz and pop, with her suave and elegant vocals, she creates melodies that capture the complex feelings that come with love. Her combinations of styles are unique itself with her reviving the music of classical and jazz music to a generation that listens to rap and pop. She describes falling in love as if she is floating on clouds and dancing through streets. On the flipside, she grieves over the heartbreak of a love that left her behind for his “old flame.” She wants her music to appeal to those discovering, losing, and falling in love whether it be with another person or oneself.
The videos she makes are actual art. In the music video of “Bewitched,” she plays the main character as she falls in love with the love interest that had “bewitched” her with their charms. Laufey’s language in her lyric style is metaphorical and has a whimsical tone in every song she writes. Her music videos aren’t flashy but instead capture the essence that warm feeling that love brings. She describes the love interest “casting a spell on her heart” as a way of portraying the feeling of her thoughts and heart being consumed by the love interest. In her other songs, “While You Were Sleeping,” based off the movie with the same name, she does “not recognize herself” as she “smiles to strangers.”
In contrast to other rising pop stars, Laufey is more on the modest side. Laufey presents herself on social media in a clean and refined fashion; she is never seen in the media in a gaudy manner. For her concert presence, she gracefully makes her way on stage with flowy, ball-like gown dresses with her classic ballet flats. She wears bows, a signature. She is never seen in any exposing fashion. She keeps herself in a modest and demure. Her sense of fashion is unique to herself that other artists can’t do the same. Fans have dedicated their time making accounts dedicated to finding the clothing Laufey wears along with the price tags for each for others to buy and follow her style.
There are easy criticisms to make of her approach to music. Some might call her twee or from another era. And yet, there’s something that sets her aside from other pop princesses who croon about teenage love. Laufey seems more erudite and self-aware than them. That’s why her music doesn’t come off as too young or too wide-eyed. I argue that it’s highly self-aware, and that’s her appeal.
“I just want to take you home
Call a taxi in the snow
When the driver can’t see
Steal a kiss from me”
Our current pop princesses in the music industry might make songs and sing about the feeling of pure love, but that does not mean she has experienced the feelings of it to the full extent that one could experience. Because of that, the songs come off as disingenuous. Even showing the naïve concepts she has in her head. Writing music like that comes off as corny for listeners. However, with Laufey, her music surrounds her experiences with love. She shows the good and the bad and does not feel obligated to hide it. And yet, she does not let the bad experiences get her down. She continues to write seek and experience the love that is offered to her in this world. She continues to see love in an idealistic way and does not let anything cloud her views. Is that why she fits into this young generation of people?
In the past, society used media and culture to make it seem like love would always end as a fairy tale. However, we all know that finding and falling in love is not so simple. For that, we had a cultural correction of how we viewed love. Within recent years, we have seen the portrayals of love shifted to the complete opposite side by showing the heartbreaks felt. Now, we have become skeptics to falling in love and it is getting too far. It has influenced the way Gen Z feels with love. Gen Z avoids being in a relationship despite wanting the affections with another person. It has become a fear of Gen Z to put themselves at risk of falling in love because of the self-awareness of the potential dangers with the pain of heartbreak that may be experienced. Laufey’s music is an optimistic beacon for this generation by showing that one can still look and love even if it may not end the way we all would want.
“When I talk to you
Oh, Cupid walks right through
And shoots an arrow through my heart”
She captures that to be in love is to freely express oneself and to get invested in the thoughts that being in love brings. For Generation Z, she purposefully writes her songs as an outlet for them to relate to. Her fans express their appreciation to Laufey by using their own talent by covering her songs, making animations, and fanning over her song releases. Laufey has taught her fans that there is no shame in falling in love in the sappy ways that movies describe like running in the rain or watching the sunset beside someone. Laufey understands the idea of love perfectly and is the only artist of this time who can openly express the cringe that comes with love in our twisted, jaded world.