It was a fairytale-like moment for the fans of Laufey — only with heart-wrenching tunes.
The crowd just couldn’t take their eyes off the music goddess on stage, the jazz-pop sensation Laufey (pronounced as lay-vay), as she enchanted her followers, collectively known as Lauvers, with her dreamy, soothing voice, relatable lyrics and charming personality at her first-ever arena concert, dubbed “Bewitched: The Goddess Tour to Manila,” on Sept. 2 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. The show was presented by Live Nation Philippines and Karpos Live.
Laufey couldn’t believe that Lauvers endured the inclement weather brought about by Tropical Storm Enteng on a Monday night to catch a glimpse of her. She opened her act with While You Were Sleeping, a track from her Bewitched album, which earned Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album recognition at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.
“Thank you so much for braving the storm to be with me. You know there’s something very romantic about listening to music and being under the rain,” she told the spectators and started strumming her guitar to stage Valentine and the wistful Second Best.
It was clearly a sight to behold when she gracefully swayed her arms and pranced in Dreamer. She also displayed her versatility as a musician, playing the melancholic California and Me on piano, bossa nova-driven Falling Behind, Fragile, Lovesick on guitar, and a Keely Smith cover I Wish You Love on cello.
“Have you ever spotted someone in public like hmmm… They’re kinda cute? Have you ever done that?” she asked the audience and quipped, “You, guys, are delulu (delusional). Just kidding. I mean I’m not kidding and you, guys, are so delulu and so am I.” It was a witty intro to her next song, Beautiful Stranger, which croons about having an “innocent crush on the morning commute.”
“You know, the Philippines has shown me so much worth from the very beginning. And to get my first arena concert here is just, it feels very fitting but it’s such an honor. And you truly welcome me like your own and it really, really touches me. So, the love is very mutual. This next song, speaking of love, is a break-up song. I hope you’re ready. Get your tissues out and your sleeves,” the chanteuse then rendered the breakup anthem Promise.
The Icelandic artist displays her versatility, playing songs on the piano, cello, and guitar (right photo).
It was followed by another pensive track Like the Movies and the friendzone-themed Let You Break My Heart Again.
Laufey was impressed upon seeing the sea of lights assembled by the concert attendees while she was singing Goddess and Bewitched. She uttered, “This is so beautiful. Mahal kita.”
Bored was the title of her next ditty. Laufey revealed that her major “ick” is a guy with a big ego, apart from ankle socks.
“Icks are basically things that made you turn off very quickly. You’re just like, ‘Wait, I actually hate that.’ My biggest ick though, by a long measure, is when I’m talking to a guy… When I’m talking to a guy, period. Kidding. My biggest ick is when a guy just has a big ego.”
“When they’re just boastful. When they just talk about themselves all the time. I don’t know. I get a little bit bored,” she said and began humming Bored, “Why don’t we/ Call it for what it is?/ Can’t remember the last time we kissed/And it tickled my heart/I think that it’s best that we spend time apart/I just yawn/Listening to you/Talk about yourself again/And again…”
On the contrary, the eventgoers didn’t get bored at all during the entire duration of the show that lasted for an hour and a half. She would occasionally take a sip from bottled water to keep her going.
Backed by her band members on drums, bass, multi-instrumentalist, keys, and string quartet, she engaged the audience with her spellbinding performances.
“She’s so beautiful” was the common line heard among the fans, especially the young girls, accompanied by their parents and titas, who put on their prom date-inspired, cutesy attires with white ribbon bows as hair accessories.
Laufey would express again how moved she was by the throng of people who came despite the bad weather. “Thank you for coming here. I woke up this morning and I looked at the window, and I was like, ‘Wow, it’s so beautiful. It’s so rainy.’ And I was like, ‘Oh no, they’ll come.’”
As someone who hails from Iceland, Laufey admitted that she is used to “liking” the worst weather. “And it seems like you, guys, are too. So, we have that in common. But it really means so much to me. I truly, I don’t even have the words, this doesn’t feel real. This doesn’t feel like my life.”
Photos courtesy of Live Nation Philippines
“I’m so honored that you have supported me and making it here. I have every single one of you to thank you and I truly don’t take it for granted. This is my third concert here already this year and my fourth concert in total. And it’s certainly not the last. I love you ‘from the start.’”
Laufey’s twin sister, Junia, then popped up on stage on her violin and together they launched into From the Start, a melody about unrequited love, also from her Bewitched album.
The “Bewitched: The Goddess Tour to Manila” was Laufey’s fourth sold-out gig in Manila, after her May 28 and 29 music events at the Philippine International Convention Center Plenary Hall early this year. She first staged a show in the country last year, May 30, at The Filinvest Tent in Alabang.
Her encore songs were Letter to My 13 Year Old Self and Winter Wonderland. The former was an ode to her teenage self as someone who grew up being an “odd kid” and “feeling I didn’t belong.” The singer-songwriter confessed, “I didn’t feel cool enough, pretty enough. I was scared. I’m so scared of boys but you know I was like an orchestra kid and which is so cool.”
“I never really felt like I belonged and I came from a very mixed cultural background and I never really fit into one pocket or the other until I became a musician. And I never feel like half of anything anymore. I feel completely whole, so thank you for that,” she further mused.
Laufey was born in Reykjavík, Iceland to an Icelandic father and a Chinese mother. She spent her early years in Reykjavík, Washington, D.C. and Beijing.
“I had all these big dreams and I didn’t think they were possible. And I wish I would have believed more in myself. So, I wrote this song kind of as a way to reach my 13-year-old self but also as a way to encourage all of you to chase your dreams,” she continued ruminating.
“Because in this song, I used up a couple of things that I thought were holding me back and it turns out that it’s the very same list of things that actually make me who I am. And the very reasons that I have my career today. So, if any of you feel like you don’t belong, the things that you think are holding you back may actually be your strengths.” Hence, the Letter to My 13 Year Old Self.
To cap off the night, Laufey presented an early Christmas gift to her Filipino fans with a heartwarming rendition of the classic Winter Wonderland.
“This song is actually one of my most popular recordings, I’ve just never played it live before. So, I thought I’d give you, guys, the very special live version. Another reason for this is, it’s really cold today. Isn’t it? And a little birdie told me that you, guys, have started listening to Christmas season (songs). And I was, ‘Whoa, what a crazy coincidence,’ because I just happen to sometimes start singing Christmas songs before it’s December.”
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