{"id":259337,"date":"2025-09-27T18:05:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T18:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/259337\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T18:05:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T18:05:18","slug":"surprise-hozier-duet-swinging-jazz-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/259337\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprise Hozier Duet, Swinging Jazz & More"},"content":{"rendered":"

Laufey<\/a> opened a two-night stand at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles on Friday (Sept. 26) with a show that captured her unique place in pop \u2014 her music is rooted in jazz, but her concert has pop-superstar production values.<\/p>\n

More from Billboard<\/strong><\/p>\n

The A Matter of Time Tour, the Icelandic singer-songwriter\u2019s third tour and her first that consists entirely of arena dates, began on Sept. 15 in Orlando. It will conclude in K\u00f3pavogur, Iceland, on March 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

Laufey (it\u2019s pronounced LAY-vay, for those still catching up to her) won a Grammy for best traditional pop vocal album in 2024 for her sophomore album, Bewitched, and she could be headed for another win in that category on Feb. 1 for her third album, A Matter of Time. The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 4. It has topped Billboard\u2019s Jazz Albums chart for the past four weeks. (Bewitched logged 102 weeks at No. 1 on that chart.)<\/p>\n

For all she has achieved, you have the sense that, Laufey, just 26, is still climbing. She has some big looks upcoming. She may well land a performance slot on the Grammy telecast \u2013 it would be her first star turn on Music\u2019s Biggest Night. (She performed \u201cFrom the Start,\u201d a song from Bewitched, on the 2024 Premiere Ceremony, which is streaming-only, and backed Billy Joel <\/a>during his show-closing performance on that year\u2019s telecast. Also, she is set to play the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival on Apr 19. She has said she would like to record a James Bond theme song, which seems inevitable, which could bring in a performance on the Oscar telecast. \u00a0Are we getting ahead of ourselves? Perhaps, but it\u2019s pretty clear to see the career trajectory she\u2019s on.<\/p>\n

Laufey didn\u2019t get where she is by thinking small. In 2023, she told RUSSH that Taylor Swift<\/a> is her favorite current artist. The reason she gave for that choice spoke to her ambitions: \u201cShe has done for pop and country what I hope to do for jazz. She has managed to unite people across the world which is one of my main goals as a musician.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laufey\u2019s choice of opening act for her tour\u2019s North American leg \u2014 English pop\/rock artist Suki Waterhouse<\/a> \u2014 also spoke to her pop ambitions.<\/p>\n

In 2022, when Laufey first headlined in L.A., she played the legendary but comparatively tiny Troubadour. Her growth since then can be seen in her bookings: In November 2023, she played two nights at the Theatre at the Ace Hotel. On her return in August 2024, she played the Hollywood Bowl. This time, it was a sold-out, two-night stand at Crypto.<\/p>\n

Here are the six best moments from Laufey\u2019s opening night show at Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n

Cinematic Production Touches<\/p>\n

The show opened like a vintage film, with the words \u201cLaufey Presents \u2018A Matter of Time\u2019\u201d projected onto the screen. It began and ended with scrolling credits on side screens, listing all the musicians, backup dancers and other contributors to the performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cCuckoo Ballet (Interlude),\u201d a gorgeous instrumental track from A Matter of Time, was highly cinematic, and showed that Laufey might well have a future in film scoring.<\/p>\n

A Swinging Jazz Segment<\/p>\n

The concert was divided into acts, with the most satisfying being Act II, which was introduced with these words on the screen: \u201cReady for some jazz?\u201d Laufey was backed by a jazz trio during this segment. \u201cWelcome to my jazz club,\u201d she told the audience. \u201cI want to put a jazz club in the middle of a big space.\u201d<\/p>\n

The segment kicked off with \u201cSeems Like Old Times,\u201d first recorded by Guy Lombardo\u2019s orchestra in 1945 and since covered by such jazz greats as Ella Fitzgerald and Rosemary Clooney. It was the only song she didn\u2019t write or co-write in the set.<\/p>\n

Hozier Surprises as Special Guest<\/p>\n

Laufey performs a surprise song in every show, to make each show a unique experience, she said. Here, she reached back for \u201cMagnolia,\u201d from her 2021 EP, Typical of Me. She said she had recently discovered that the song works better as a duet and brought out a special guest, Hozier<\/a>, to help her sing it. After they concluded the number, she fangirled: \u201cI\u2019m kind of freaking out because I\u2019m such a big fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musicianship on Full Display<\/p>\n

Over the course of the show, Laufey played piano, guitar and cello. Her voice, with a deeper timbre reminiscent of one of her favorite singers, Ella Fitzgerald, was also impressive.<\/p>\n

She also showed a deep knowledge of music history. \u201cDreamer\u201d had the close-harmony sound of a 1940s song, \u201cSilver Lining\u201d suggested the influence of 1950s-shaded doo-wop. A couple of songs, \u201cCastle in Hollywood\u201d and \u201cTough Luck\u201d showed the influence of Taylor Swift on her songwriting. \u201cSabotage,\u201d the final number in the set (before the encore) evoked the aggressive pop-rock of Olivia Rodrigo\u2019s \u201cVampire.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Range of Human Emotion<\/p>\n

Laufey made note of the tonal \u201cups and downs\u201d in her set, with its mix of happy and sad songs. \u201cThat\u2019s what it feels like to be a woman,\u201d she explained. \u201cYou go through every emotion in a 24-hour cycle.\u201d Far be it from me to correct Laufey, but that\u2019s what it feels like to be a human.<\/p>\n

One of her most emotional songs is \u201cPromise\u201d (from Bewitched), which includes what she has called her favorite lyrics that she has written. \u201cIt hurts to be something, it\u2019s worse to be nothing with you.\u201d She performed the song by herself at the piano.<\/p>\n

Genuine Sense of Humility<\/p>\n

Laufey said that since she now lives in L.A., she often comes to Crypto.com Arena to see shows. \u201cI\u2019ve come to a lot of concerts here this year preparing for this and I thought, \u2018There\u2019s no way I\u2019m playing here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The singer remembered the first time she played L.A. at the Troubadour. She nervously peeked out through a window to view the audience and just hoped she would be able to do it again someday. \u201cIt was the biggest show I\u2019d played to that point,\u201d she said. \u201cI was so scared it would slip away.\u201d<\/p>\n

She needn\u2019t have worried.<\/p>\n

Set List<\/p>\n

ACT I<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cClockwork\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLover Girl\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDreamer\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFalling Behind\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSilver Lining\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBored\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo Little, Too Late\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBewitched\u201d<\/p>\n

ACT II<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSeems Like Old Times\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cValentine\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFragile\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile You Were Sleeping\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMagnolia\u201d (with Hozier)<\/p>\n

\u201cLet You Break My Heart Again\u201d<\/p>\n

ACT III<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCarousel\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cForget-Me-Not\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCuckoo Ballet (Interlude)\u201d<\/p>\n

ACT IV<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Eclectic\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCastle in Hollywood\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPromise\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGoddess\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTough Luck\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSnow White\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the Start\u201d<\/p>\n

The Final Act<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSabotage\u201d<\/p>\n

Encore<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLetter to My 13 Year Old Self\u201d<\/p>\n

Best of Billboard<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sign up for Billboard’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Laufey opened a two-night stand at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles on Friday (Sept. 26) with a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":259338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[136110,1582,276,2499,2961,136109,224,5337,18281,3571],"class_list":{"0":"post-259337","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-bewitched","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-downtown-los-angeles","12":"tag-la","13":"tag-laufey","14":"tag-los-angeles","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-performance","17":"tag-taylor-swift"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115277589642664552","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}