Laufey has revealed that after years of performing to arenas all over the world, one a part of the job nonetheless unnerves her: wanting an viewers member straight within the eye.
Chatting with The Hit Community’s Sizzling Hits with Nic & Loren, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter traced the nervousness again to her classical coaching.
“I grew up taking part in cello and I used to select an individual within the viewers and unintentionally stare into their eyes,” she stated, recalling {that a} trainer as soon as informed her after a recital, “You possibly can’t take a look at folks straight once you’re taking part in, it’s creepy.” The be aware caught. “So now I’m so terrified of freaking folks out! I’m all the time interested by it,” she stated.
There may be one exception. Laufey stated she intentionally searches the gang for younger followers throughout “Letter to My 13 12 months Outdated Self,” her set nearer. “It’s a letter to my youthful self so I like discovering the younger ladies within the viewers and catching their eye,” she stated. “However typically they’re crying and that makes me cry. In order that’s one more reason that I can’t look too intently.”
Laufey stated area exhibits, counterintuitively, really feel extra intimate to her than smaller theaters. “In an area, I’m surrounded and really feel nearer to the followers. I get to do a barricade stroll and really feel up-close,” she stated, describing the distinction between the size of the room and the quietness of her songs as heightening the intimacy.
She additionally spoke about an surprising marker of her crossover fame — being acknowledged for her Fortnite character. “I used to be at a restaurant yesterday and the waitress was like, ‘Are you the one on Fortnite?’” she stated, laughing. “Typically I’ll come throughout one other me and we’re simply capturing at one another.”
The feedback comply with a landmark 12 months for the Icelandic-Chinese language artist. Her third studio album, A Matter of Time, debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in September 2025 — her first high 10 entry on the chart and the highest-charting jazz album since 2018 — whereas concurrently topping Billboard’s Jazz Albums, Conventional Jazz Albums, Unbiased Albums and Vinyl Albums charts.
The album went on to win Greatest Conventional Pop Vocal Album on the 2026 Grammy Awards, her second consecutive win within the class after 2023’s Bewitched, which peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard 200. Laufey, who has two high 10 albums in Australia, lately wrapped an eight-show Australian tour behind the document.

