The date was August 25th, 2024, the first weekend of school and the second day of the Summer Sonic music festival. In the expansive exhibition hall, a lone dark stage stands alone with slow jazz music playing in the background. Crowds squeeze together like sardines in restless anticipation when suddenly, the whole hall bursts into cheer… Laufey’s name lights up the two massive LED displays but the stage remains dark and the crowd dies down, squeezing back into their tins. Slowly but surely, the violins make their way onto the stage, then the cellos, the upright bass, and finally, the drums follow suit not long after that the music begins. From the right wing of the stage, a shimmering silver glow can be seen running, and there on Thai soil, Laufey runs on stage wearing a glimmering silver dress. The crowd explodes into screams and cheers as While You Were Sleeping rings throughout the hall.
Hailed as “The Savior of Jazz” by some but argued as a “classical pop singer” by others, Laufey’s impact on the new generation of music listeners is undeniable, having introduced a “new” kind of music to many young listeners who grew up listening to modern pop music. Born in Iceland to a half-Chinese-Icelandic family, Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir grew up classically trained in cello, developing a deep passion not only for classical music but also falling for the allure of her dad’s Jazz collection (The Guardian, 2024). Her charming yet relatable lyrics, groovy melodies, and soulful voice are like a breath of fresh air in the music scene. Laufey struck gold when her bossa nova hit From The Start, which caught the attention of millions worldwide. Not long after her appearance on the world stage, “all of a sudden, there [were] two-three thousand teenagers screaming to a jazz standard,” said Lafuey in an interview.
Fast forward a few years and Laufey has made her first appearance in Thailand for the Summer Sonic music festival as part of her Asia tour. Before her show, Laufey was spotted spending her short time in Thailand on cafe dates with her twin sister Junia (TikTok, 2024) and eating very, very spicy pad thai (Facebook, 2024). When it came time for her short 45-minute performance, Laufey stole the hearts of everyone in the hall by pouring her soul into every single song, whether it was the heartbreaking lyrics of Promise, the passionate lyrics of Lovesick, or the tear-jerking F-bomb in Goddess. Although Laufey’s Asia leg of the Goddess Tour has come to a close, her songs still ring in the playlist of Thai Lauvers longing for her return. As for the last line of lyrics she sang on the Summer Sonic stage: “Thailand I loved you from the start”.