How Laufey Revived the Worst-Selling Music Genre 

laufey is mitski without trauma is the FUNNIEST shxt but the best simile I've seen in a while.

I think the fact that she’s a classically trained musician makes her stand out even more.

Seeing her grow from her cello covers of jazz songs to her current level of popularity is so gratifying. She deserves it all and more

While jazz wasn't as popular as it used to in the early 20th century, to say it's dead is a grave misunderstanding. I think the problem with this idea of "jazz is dying" is that 1) it has to be relatable to a young audience and 2) it has to sell a lot of tracks. Jazz has been alive even before the modern music industry, and it still continues to breathe in spite of the consumerist, trend-driven society today. There have been several celebrated jazz artists even before Laufey became famous, many of whom are still performing today. Laufey does take inspiration from jazz and several other musical forms of the 20th century, but to say she's the savior of jazz is an incredibly ignorant statement to make. Don't think that just because one is viral, especially on Tiktok of all places, that they're the bastion of the genre.

I found her music- "Break my Heart Again"- right before she really started growing in popularity and fell in love and I'm really happy that she's getting more popular and that more people are discovering her music

side note; ive been obsessed with laufey's music for years and I ran into her and her sister this year. usually when you meet your idol's you can be disappointed in the interactions but she was so nice, she complimented me and listened to what I had to say and made jokes with me and then sent me free tickets to go and see her live the following week. And I know I'm not the only person she's done this for. It's just such a kind way to treat her fans because she doesn't advertise herself as like if you meet her she'll just hand you tickets, she just does it on a whim cus she genuinely loves meeting and talking to people in her fandom. same way she still does secret shows and giveaways and listening parties, she genuinely connects with fans with crazy shit like crosswords. for this reason, she is my fave.

Saying the Jazz is dead is like saying that Metal or Punk are dead. It just ignores how big and alive it is outside the public eye. Living in Germany, every city has had a nice bar with concerts every night, the blue note in Dresden, the Cotton Bar in Hamburg, the Unterfahrt and Vogler in Munich. Even visiting the US you can be asure to get some nice live music in any city you go. Jazz lives, and it is big. It just is not on billboard anymore, and it is great and it is amazing. Saying that is dead is just pure ignorance.

jazz is not struggling. it is mostly performed live. treating jazz as if a "song" being on spotify is the pinnacle of what a jazz musician strives for is ignorant misunderstanding the music. jazz isn't trying to be successful on spotify, because it's spotify. that's like saying chinese is stuggling in the US because it's not the most popular. 2. laufey is not really singing jazz-jazz. you could label her as a pop artist and no actual jazz musician would see an issue with that. 3.she's a wonderful singer and from the start is a beautiful song.

A lot of her more popular songs are also bossa nova-y. Like "falling behind" and "from the start". "Falling behind" she even mentions bossa nova in her song

The old laufey fans/lauvers such as myself are happy that she had blew up. I know how it feels for you guys that she won’t be our little secret anymore, but I’m really glad we supported her career. So are the new lauvers for blowing up her music like “valentine.” you’re not falling behind and I’m really thankful you guys get to be here with us. Laufey truly got me bewitched from the start. Even the difference of gender, height, race, and intelligence, all can still enjoy laufey. But thats just the typical of me..🌹

This whole controversy makes me think that we need to talk about how influenced our generation is becoming by videos like these from people who don't have enough knowledge, and about how we idealize the past, and how we think the world is dead because simply we are terrified to leave our bubble. I mean I have loved Laufey since 2021 but I had never stopped to think that even she contributes to pushing this narrative that jazz is dead, when we are simply a generation that does not leave our algorithm comfort zone to experiment new sounds and subcultures sorry for my bad english

She didn’t single-handedly revive jazz. Are we forgetting Samara Joy literally won the Grammy for best jazz vocal artist and best new artist this year?!

I was there slightly before she became really popular, could tell she would explode by her talent. I discovered her on youtube when I was searching for Jacob Collier's version of moon river, and ended up finding her singing moon river. Sadly missed her first tour when she came to my state and now scalpers have her tickets up to $300+ now

Her consistent posting on tiktok and sense of humor can only be given so much credit though. I think the fact that people hear snippets of her music (sped up or not) on tik tok and then go listen to the whole thing and become enamored is much more impressive. Her entire catalogue is incredible, not just a popular chorus here and there. How often is a catchy sound going viral and the original song isn't even a fully developed complete song. Laufey's music stands on its own, and tiktok is just helping people find it. If she wasn't so talented we wouldn't be seeing her gain so much momentum and sustain it.

Samara Joy won the Grammy for best new artist and is actually a disciple of the only man who lived through every era of jazz and dedicated his entire life to educating fellow musicians, Barry Harris. Jazz lives ❤

I honestly hate the narrative that jazz is dying or that it needs saving. jazz is still very much thriving, it's just not as popular as other genres nor has it been for decades

When I found out about her, she had just released Everything I Know About Love and I thought she wasn't going to get that famous because of her genre. But as soon as she started promoting her music on TikTok and RU-vid shorts, it blew up! That's when I realized gen z was eager for organic romantic music in this hyperpop music industry of nowadays. It's no wonder she was able to skyrocket, she is one of the very few artists with this kind of sound that appeals to the young audience instead of searching for success in the very isolated jazz community.

Laufey has a lot of factors going for her rise to fame. You forgot to mention that she's also absurdly good-looking, which can't hurt.

I'm so confused. I'm French and I know many people who like jazz. There are frequent jazz concerts in my city and an entire jazz festival every summer. I expected it to be MORE popular in English-speaking countries, not less! EDIT: oh nevermind I understood. you set the popularity criteria as being something selling well on Spotify and I defined it more widely.

the thing that i LOVE about loufey is her voice!! cause most of the time nowadays every new artist sounds liek olivia rodrigo or something and it’s such a refresher to hear such a unique voice like hers blowing up!!

Laufey is like this little, cool hideout place within the city that people suddenly discovered. It was MY hideout (along with a good few others) for the bunch of years before she was discovered by these millions of new ones who just discovered her and vibed with the feelings her music made. As much as I want to keep this little secret for myself, I'm happy for her massive success, and I think anyone and everyone deserves a piece of what Laufey and this little, peaceful hideout offer in the middle of the pop-ridden city we constantly consume.

I was there early/mid 2021. An online friend of mine showed me Laufey's RU-vid covers and songs. I subbed instantly and have been fanboying ever since, not sure she had 10K subs, wasn't done with school yet. And no, I don't listen to her secretely. I say it out loud. Thank you Laufey !

I really can’t explain how happy I am to see how popular she’s becoming. I discovered her from a RU-vid video of her singing in her room so long ago and now she’s here. Not only is she incredibly talented, she is charming and very loveable. She has a friendly energy and isn’t afraid to be her witty self. It’s hard to hate her, and a small part of everybody loves that cheesy, old fashioned music, even with it being so easy to share with family members. Can’t explain to say how much I love Laufey, she deserves this so much.

I discovered her because I like to listen to Steven Universe songs, and somehow she brought up the relatable lyrics but with the voice that matches the Steven Universe songs. It's like upgrading the songs to teenage level.

I love her so much, I first found her when she posted a tiktok with Beabadoobee and I saw people commenting about her and had no idea who she was and then I fell in love with her music. I think if the music wasn’t so amazing she wouldn’t be nearly as popular.

My experience finding Laufey was that I was already quite a big fan of jazz music and I found her covers, like @kenpls did. I was blown away by her talent and songwriting ability which can often be something that holds back modern jazz musicians. Many of them make their own versions on standards but she writes a lot of brand new material! In that sense she's a fresh air to jazz, and I think with enough time her music could indeed be considered "standards" if the music industry wasn't quite so hardline about covers. What I hope is that Lauvey's music can inspire many listeners to explore more jazz, and for musicians to consider making jazz!

While I am not saying she isn't talented, she is. But it is a bit sad, that some retro, nostalgia version of bossa nova vocal jazz is what people are saying is 'saving jazz'. While 100's of serious musicians, with chops from hell, with a deep knowledge of musical language, making new, forward thinking, progressive jazz music in plenty of jazz subgenres. Jazz is a growing, breathing, evolving, genre, that sounds substantially different than most jazz from the past.

TikTok and the fact that she started with doing lives on Instagram and RU-vid. It was very intimate and she would share personal information to make her fans feel like they knew her. Also the fact that she managed to mix and break the borders between pop, jazz and classical music so she is theoretically making brand new unique music in a sense. Also the fact that she comes off as relatable and down to earth in her post and music. She doesn't come off as some snobby money hungry musician but as a regular person living life like the rest of us

It’s truly insane. She came on a Spotify discover weekly playlist. And only had two songs at the time. And instantly fell in love. I’ve seen her perform twice now , a third this upcoming tour. And have never been apart of an artist rise to fame like this! I couldn’t be happier! Jazz is a wonderful genre. And years from now when I’m older I can say that, while other people had Chet baker, Billie holiday & other jazz icons I’ll be able to say I had Laufey ✨

i followed her back in november 2021 and im so happy shes finally getting so popular!! im only sad that its pretty impossible to get concert tickets now 😭😭

I was in my university's jazz program in college, and ALL of us loove laufey. It makes me so happy to see someone my age paving the way in jazz today.

Been listening to her songs for 2 years+ and never knew her tiktok side. I just stumbled on her album completely randomly. Glad to know more people are taking up this genre

I didn't know the genre was the least sold of its kind. I found her a lot before becoming popular because I loved bossa nova and jazz, (I wanted to make a game with this kind of music hehe) so impressive to see her blow up.

found laufey like 2 years ago while listening to classical music. Fell in love instantly and im so glad shes getting the recognition she deserves. i just wish her fans didnt sell out the tickets 5 minutes after it was released :((

3 years ago, after going through a horrible break up, I was listening to Sam Cooke. As a classically trained musical who loves jazz, I saw Laufey doing a cover of Sam Cooke's "I wish you love." I was taken by her voice and the use of a cello. I found that so unique. You rarely ever see someone singing with a cello. I remember looking her up on Spotify only seeing 2 songs at the time. Street by street and Someone new. I remember showing my sisters and they were not interested. I was hooked to this girl. Not because of her voice, but because she did jazz. I remember her appearing on George Collier's channel and asked how this girl was not famous. In 2022, when she dropped her first album, I knew this girl was destined for greatness, but nothing happened. I never knew anyone who said Laufey was their favorite artist. Then out of no where, she blew up. Everyone started hearing her. I had no idea until this video, but I am glad she is getting her flowers. She works so hard and really cares about the theory behind music. I love how she is classically trained and makes youtube videos on how to read sheet music and how to play her music on the guitar. I personally have learned two of her pieces on the guitar and piano, and want one day to transpose them into violin. She is so real and relatable. She really cares for her fans, unlike many mainstream artists like Taylor Swift who is trying to collect rings to become Thanos and Olivia Rodrigo who fr asking $800 for concert tickets. I hope this starts a wave of modern jazz to establish itself and blossom. Thank you Laufey for making your music. Valentine has been the song that my girlfriend and I dance to all the time. I cannot wait for what the future holds for my favorite artist and musician.

i remember all the og laufey listeners.. we had said we wanted to gatekeep her but at the same time we wanted her famous.. well now shes blowing up but we will still remember ourselves as the first set of listeners. this woman's music is truly incredible especially the song "valentine"

i’m genuinely so happy for her she deserves all of the fame and love she gets and i hope it lasts for a while. she’s got some reallll talent and there’s definitely more people out there who will discover her music and love it (just like me)

im actually so obsessed with these laufey analysis videos 😭 i love her sm

i luv laufey so much, I'm happy that many people recognize her music!! as a violinist, classical music and jazz enthusiast, this is definitely well-deserved and great!

Really awesome video, love her music but I had no idea about any of this and it just makes me an even bigger fan.

i love jazz and i fell in love with it when I was in elementary school. So when i too found out about spotify having made up artist that do jazz i was upset ofc. I thought I was supporting someone, but I wasn't but when I finally heard her and yes it was on tiktok but it's great that i learned about her on there! I was able to find an artist and support her work which is wonderful! For everyone who have heard of her before her rising fame im glad you are supporting her and now for those who were new to her like me, im glad we are supporting her!

For a singer in her early career, the sky's the limit for Laufey. She has all the tools to become a premier jazz vocalist. I could even imagine her reviving the classic bossa sound for a whole new generation. Exciting times ahead for this talented young artist!

VERY NICE VID!!!! I hope you do more vids about underrated musicians getting recognition soon fr

I've been a laufey fan since 2021 and it's a struggle knowing that people are only gonna know her only for two songs, and concert tickets are gonna be more expensive and we can gatekeep her anymore but she deserves all the love and appreciation she getting, we can't deny that.

she’s also been making lots of bossa nova type songs, and she’s got a great voice

I found her here in YT a few years ago when she haven't released a single original song yet, just doing covers of jazz classics. I was amazed by her unique voice and how it fits classic jazz songs. I even liked her low-budget jazz covers slightly more than her originals. I'm glad that I'm drawn to her because her actual talent, not just due to TikTok marketing and memes, which I don't think is bad.

Broo nice video by the quality and effort of this video you’ll get big here in yt in no time keep it up 🔥🔥🔥

the thing about "oh, they dont have socials or records for sale", these people who are jazz musicians on spotify are probably from before spotify existed, like Ryo Fukui, John Coltrane, and Art Blakey. Plus, people do still listen to jazz. I'm probably biased since I like jazz a lot, but it isn't like jazz is dead. Ryo Fukui, as an example, has 296,862 monthly listeners, and I'd say that's pretty good coming from a jazz musician based in a country that still uses vinyls and cassettes as its main form of music listening. Oh, and John Coltrane has 2,433,331 monthly listeners too. I dunno, that's definitely a lot less than modern more popular artists but it still isn't dead. I think the argument of "has no records for sale, has no socials" is silly. Like, Mozart doesn't sell records or have any socials because he was from the 1700s and by now he's dead. Plus, if you're just gonna base this on one dude on the internet, then there's no hope for you. No hate to Laufey btw.

I can express how thankful I am that you pronounce Loofy’s name correctly!

i’m so glad the jazz is coming back i’ve loved jazz for so long

this video good asf man please keep making videos abt music cuz i’m munching on this rn

fantastic video. informational, perfect length, funny, visually stimulating; keep it up!

No way this only has 600 views? This was so well presented and easy to follow along with. Hoping the RU-vid algorithm picks you up bc this is fantastic!

It's crazy how popular Laufey's gotten, I've been listening to her songs on repeat since last year and practicing some of her songs with my vocal coach. I brought her up as this small, unknown artist, and now her music plays in the hotel lobby where I work LOL

Really great video dude! Laufey rocks

Adam sends his regards

i cant find the right words to describe it but her music and jazz in general genuinely makes me feel like.. like the observatory scene from la la land 🌌

her song "let you break my heart again" appeared on one of my spotify daily mixes a while ago and i fell in love with her music immediately. i think i became a fan right before her burst in popularity and it was fun to watch it all happen

homie this vid is fire i was entertained all the way through

I've been listening to her since she released "valentine" and it honestly makes me so glad to see her blow up like this, she really has extraordinary vocals and her voice is literally so calming yet so... moving at the same time? You can't possibly put into words.

I was here around a year before she got popular when i heard valentine by her. Its amazing seeing her getting the recognition she deserves

this is an excellent video good sir, great content and you've got a great sense of humor too

This isn't jazz, its mid-century POP. thank you

you're definitely going to blow up dude, the pacing and editing of this video was perfect and super engaging + ofc I enjoyed your analysis :)

i realised the amount of followers you had only AFTER watching your video, you deserve so much more!! Your video was well written, realised and explained, i hope you get the recognition you deserve

honestly your the first youtuber that informative like this take i liked

Thank you so much for this!! ❤❤❤

she reminds me of christmas and home i love it so much and she’s opened a gateway for me into other jazz artists, she’s crazy talented

It's less about jazz and more about having 1. A good melody. 2. Catchy lyrics 3. Listenable jazz chords

And someone who listens to and plays jazz on the regular, (as well as it being my favorite genre, also hoping for it to make a comeback) it makes me really happy to see someone who’s actually blowing up like this! I kinda dig that song “From the Start”. This makes me happy.

so well done man !!

this video is awesome! i am soo soo glad she blew up because i found her music before she did and thought it was a crime that not many people listened to her. she deserves all the love and attention she gets and more :))

became a fan in 2021 and im so glad shes been getting more popular, shes one of the most talented artists out there imo :)

this is legit the craziest ad for tiktok

Viggy, you really good brother...Im subscribing!! congratz!!

I found laufey a while back and had maybe one of her songs in my playlist. I started to get a lot more into her music a little bit before she blew up and I’m so SO happy she’s getting the recognition she deserves. Her music makes me feel so deeply and it’s truly so special

laufey's music makes me cry its so beautiful

sir your charisma shines through like crazyy and the video is absolutely amazing just. wow.

this is really good, thanks very much for doing it

Tiktok. Thats literally the entire reason of her blowing up. Her most popular songs (let you break my heart again, from the start) are all viral on tiktok rn while all her better songs arent as known for some reason

Found her at a random YT binge session during the lockdown in 2020. It was her cover of I Wish You Love. Back then I think she was a music student who posted covers with an occasional original song. While I thought she was really good and enjoyed her music now and again since then, I just considered her a nice little indie find since she has a niche genre of music. I'm never really in TikTok, so it's a pleasant surprise and quite happy that she blew up.

Okay you got yourself a new fan. Subbed. And Laufey too.

You'er pumping out those vids man.

This is a great video analysis. I have been listening to her when she only had 200-300k listeners so it is super cool to see her blow up recently. Her popularity definitely stems from connecting with her audience a lot. I remember she used to do consistent live streams of singing on Instagram and performing for her audience so they could interact with her and connect. She also has the talent and skill to back up her blow up so I wasn't surprised to see her get recognition after all of these years. Still a little sad I couldn't get tickets to her first concert bc it sold out immediately but I'll go one day.

Dang, I found her music a year ago and was absolutely enthralled with her voice and delivery as well as her song choices. I Wish You Love and Valentine are amazing. I'm glad she's getting the recognition she deserves! I'm sure she would have been recognized at some point because her talent is so strong.

Really good video 🔥🔥

Fire video man!

A record label is pushing her, that is how she blew up. She is signed to Sony.

I love love love all of the older fans being so supportive of new fans who have just found her music!! I just found her this summer because from the start was on one of my friends playlists and i loved it instantly. I hope she continues to do what she loves :)

this is a well done video in its own right!!

how do you only have 6.6k subs, your videos are great keep it up!

I was literally BOMBARDED with her TikTok’s nonstop for weeks and I was genuinely like why won’t she leave me alone??! Then I finally caved and listened to her music and I was OBSESSED, wished I started listening earlier… also makes sense now bc I am literally her target audience like you said 😭

I have been loving her songs since last December when I stumbled upon a single she made called "A very Laufey Holiday" I found it genuinely interesting at how great of a voice she had plus her lyrically relatable songs since I've also come from a jazz-classical background. I'm so happy that she is being loved by many people out there now. Live Laugh Laufey everyone!

Thanks for the video. I personally really love Laufey's music, but I don't think it's considered jazz (although it clearly has some jazz and bossa nova components). I discovered Laufey through George Collier's RU-vid, and I was not aware of her Tiktok marketing strategies until this video (I am not a Tiktok user). Thus, I am curious to hear from people who decided to be Laufey's regular listeners through watching her Tiktok. What is your honest opinion about her music? Do you actually love her music? I sincerely hope that the answer is YES, and that more people will listen to other jazzy (or jazz) musicians. If it is true that Laufey has made you discover a new style of music you did not normally listen to, I am confident that jazz is going to be the NEW pop.

Good stuff my guy!

I found her and became fan when she still had her cello demo of I Wish You Love on Sound Cloud. It's such a joy to see her talent being recognised cuz she deserves it.

she blew up cuz she just makes good music🤷 (Great video!!)

very well made video essay, subscribed and I hope you get lots more subscribers! you deserve it favourite part was the the weeknd slander lol

I started listening to her about a week after she graduated from school, and kept listening just because she is technically amazing and just a really good musician. Her music is incredible. I saw the concert she did at LA last week and the response from the crowd was surreal. Now it makes more sense after your explanation.

as much as her social media presence is really" marketable" and helped to promote her music a lot, i genuinely think she's just like that!! like she's part of the same generation that she's "trying to relate to" and i just think that's her personality i started listening to laufey around early 2021, my first song being Best Friend (which still remains one of my favorites of hers to this day!!) just when her first EP was the only thing out! sometimes, spotify's discover weekly does wonders LOL. proud to say i've been listening to laufey basically... from the start... >:) (awful joke i know) also im so thankful i got to see her live at LEAST once during her last tour bc god i don't know ANYONE who got tickets for the bewitched tour 😭😭😭