The trees turn to a shade of auburn, the perfect season to be bewitched by Laufey, as the peaceful falling leaves coordinate to the comforting rhythms of jazz.
On Sept. 8, Icelandic-American singer-songwriter Laufey’s album Bewitched was one to commemorate its release date, as well as Olivia Rodrigo’s album GUTS.
Laufey’s romantic, swoonful jazz music has become increasingly popular, but not as exceedingly as Rodrigo’s music, known for its indie-pop and rock sensation. Although jazz is not the expectational choice amongst Generation Z, Laufey’s modern jazz music, specifically her new album Bewitched, is known for bringing jazz back.
When you think of jazz, you are likely to picture yourself in a cafe with bossa nova playing quietly in the background, maybe causing your mouth to yawn.
Laufey has proven otherwise, as her sophomore album Bewitched has revived and brought jazz into the interests of Gen Z, making them amid lovers of this genre of music.
Laufey Lín Jónsdóttir, known by her mononym Laufey, (pronounced “lay-vay”), was born in Iceland to a Chinese mother and Icelandic father where she grew up with the influence of music at an early age. She began playing the cello and the piano where her love for jazz grew.
Laufey’s album Bewitched surpassed the record for most jazz streams on its day of release on Spotify with 5.7 million streams and has scored an entry on the Billboard 200 chart at No. 23 on all genres and No. 1 on both the Jazz Albums & Traditional Jazz Albums Chart.
“I like Bewitched because of how she is able to capture the feeling of having a first love and to be entranced by a person,” Coppell sophomore Akshara Pillai said.
Laufey expresses her love life and inner thoughts by incorporating light guitar strums, melodic chords and hums. Her song “Lovesick,” the sixth track of Bewitched, details her emotions of being entranced by her love interest, utilizing an upbeat rhythm with a catchy tune.
“I like this mystical world that she creates through her music and this unique ambiance that she sets as she incorporates her classical and jazz knowledge,” Pillai said.
New interpretations and aspects arise from Laufey’s music as teens appreciate it in different ways.
“I like Laufey’s music because of how complex her lyrics are yet they still have the function to be able to connect with so many people,” Coppell junior Sarah Nalkund said. “I really like how she incorporated bossa nova and scatting into her own popular style of music so it brings back some jazz aspects back into mainstream music.”
The young generation also finds comfort in Laufey’s songs as it can relate its struggles to the lyrics. In the song “Letter To My 13 Year Old Self,” the 13th track of Bewitched, Laufey sings about her insecurities as a teenager and how she felt as if she didn’t fit in.
She expresses, “I’m so sorry that they pick you last / Try to say your foreign name and laugh / I know that you feel loud, so different from the crowd / Of big blue eyes, and long blonde hair, and boys that stare,” portraying her self-doubt and insecurity as a 13-year-old.
“I love ‘Letter To My 13 Year Old Self’ because Laufey’s songwriting in that piece is just beautiful, she totally enraptured the feeling and she just completely draws a picture for you with the song,” New Tech @ Coppell High School sophomore Lasya Raman said.
Gen Z can find comfort in her songs, listening to words that relate to their everyday life. They also take appreciation of the melody and tune Laufey uses, correlating it to the theme and mood of the song.
“I started listening to her two and a half years ago, and something that caught my attention was the depth of her music,” Coppell sophomore Pranaesh Muthu said. “Her song ‘Like The Movies’ really captures the melody and her voice overall.”
Laufey’s music has persuaded Gen Z to take an interest in jazz and made it a popular genre amongst the younger generation.
“I would like to start listening to jazz, and I think so would a lot of other teenagers,” Raman said. “Listening to Laufey is very refreshing as it allows me to enjoy some jazz elements which I don’t hear very often in other music.”
Follow @katiegpark and @CHSCampusNews on Twitter
