Laufey took hold of the O2 Arena. (Image: GETTY)
« I can’t believe this, » Laufey told a crowd of 20,000 people at London’s O2 Arena. « I saw Paul McCartney here last year, and Radiohead last month. » It feels like no one else around her can believe it, either. The Icelandic-Chinese star’s popularity has become unavoidable in the last year; from winning Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2025 to her appearance on The Graham Norton Show last month. On paper, the pop-infused jazz artist could have been written off as some sort of new fad of the month, making her way through the algorithm to an arena tour.
But the explosion in popularity is tangible, more visceral. She reminds her crowd that, just last year, she played Hackney’s EartH, with a capacity of just over 1,000. Now, with 20 times more people in front of her, the real work was ahead of her. Yet somehow, she made it feel completely effortless.
Laufey brought an entire show to her concerts. (Image: Getty)
Laufey’s voice is sublime. During her two-hour show, she delivered – easily – one of the most perfect vocal performances I have ever experienced.
From her more pop-ified attractions in Tough Luck and Mr Eclectic, to her solo sonatas and jazz-club breakouts in Fragile and Second Best, she nailed every moment of her live performance. And she knows how good she is – how could she not? Laufey was classically trained at the Reykjavik College of Music and the Berklee College of Music, speaks three languages and plays piano, guitar & cello; all of which she demonstrated live.
And while all of this talent and skill would have been enough of a display for many live performers, Laufey went the extra step. With her twin sister, Júnía, in tow as her creative director, the Laufey experience was fleshed out into something that could only be compared to the likes of Madonna or Lady Gaga’s shows.
On stage, Laufey is the main character of a storybook in a live pop-up book; taking place across four « acts », different sets manifested around her while dancers, musicians and voice-overs enveloped everyone into her world. Something we were merely bystanders in.
Within her concert, she built worlds around her. As if by magic, her backgrounds, props and sets changed shape and gave her new playgrounds to jump on, swing from, or dance across. Imagery of flying pirate ships and floating castles dazzled through falling confetti as the 26-year-old teetered off the edge of O2’s criminally short stage.
Laufey became the princess of her own story. (Image: Getty)
All this evocation of golden age Hollywood was precisely the vibe and feel Laufey’s fans were there for, too. Despite her music’s genre being certifiably classed as ancient, her young audience donned suits, dresses and shiny shoes to stare back ceaselessly into the past, while snapping their fingers and tapping their toes.
The cynic in me knows this is all part of Laufey’s shtick; her team physically built the overtly romantic wonderland her voice and lyrics imagined over three albums – with some viral TikTok moments and exceptionally smart marketing on the way – but it doesn’t matter. Her music is unbelievably good, and she’s even better.
Disappointments in her otherwise enchanting live experience, therefore, cut even deeper. By Act III of Laufey’s storybook experience it quickly became apparent that she lacked any kind of backing vocals. While Laufey certainly doesn’t need any help on stage (her voice went off like a nuke when it was required to do so), having her own voice back her up instead of live talent felt jarring. Especially when she enjoyed (and suffered) a live band and orchestra just behind her.
With that said, the band’s mix across the entire night of music was ear-shatteringly uneven. If the drummer was good at his job, I’ll never know, as his snare drum became the loudest sound in the entire arena, drowning out every other instrument in the process. Likely a venue issue rather than an artist-production issue, I’ll grant you, but still one that was felt across the board.
Laufey had playgrounds to explore. (Image: Getty)
Nothing was more distracting than Laufey’s dancers, though. The foursome pranced across the stage through most of the star’s performances, providing nothing in the process. This was most evident during the star’s rendition of Too Little Too Late, a stunning ballad with no lack of otherworldly vocals. But, during the jaw-dropping cooing, Laufey’s seemingly pointless dancers distracted from the overall glitz and glamour of her entire experience.
Because, ultimately, that’s – again – what seeing Laufey live is: A complete Experience. It sometimes feels she has been jettisoned from the 1950s with her jazz shoes, tap dancing skills, cello training and Goddess-like voice to remind us what we might have been missing all these years: real performers with endless talent.
And she does it with sincerity. Closing out her night with Letter to My 13 Year Old Self (sic), Laufey reminded her glamoured fans that she is just human, and she might be just as surprised as anyone else about her current location on the stage. But after seeing her voice almost float through the air for two hours as she took control of multiple instruments in the process, I’m not surprised.
Source link
