Laufey Is Unapologetically Herself

Summary

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Fresh Air – Laufey Is Unapologetically Herself

Host: Terry Gross
Guest: Laufey
Air Date: October 8, 2025

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Episode Overview

This intimate, music-filled episode of Fresh Air showcases the Icelandic-Chinese singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and genre-blurring artist Laufey ("Leh-vay"). At just 26, Laufey is reshaping the boundaries between jazz, classical, pop, and standards, drawing from a richly multicultural, rigorously musical upbringing. With a Grammy-winning breakthrough and a passionate Gen Z fanbase, Laufey discusses her musical origins, the emotional honesty of her songwriting, her rise through social media during the pandemic, and how she remains true to herself—on stage, online, and through creative fusion.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Laufey’s Genre-Defying Identity

• Breaking boundaries: Laufey's music refuses strict genre labels. Her latest album Bewitched topped both jazz and traditional pop charts, signaling broad appeal. Her influences interweave jazz, classical, pop, and musical theater.

  • Quote: “I’ve never viewed myself as anything other than a modern artist, but I’ve always, of course, loved classical music and jazz music and had a love for all things a bit older.” (03:26)

• Festival Contrasts: Her debut at Lollapalooza—with a full orchestra—epitomized this fusion, sharing the stage with K-pop acts and rappers.

  • “I think it’s so beautiful that all of these different styles of music can exist in one.” (03:26)

Musical Origins & Family Influence

• Discipline and Heart: Laufey grew up in a deeply musical household: her mother is a violinist in the Iceland Symphony, her grandparents music professors in China.

  • “My mom has been in the orchestra for almost 30 years and she still practices every single day for every single concert.” (04:43)
  • Hard work never ends in music; artistry is lifelong.

• Learning in China: Summers were spent in China, immersed in language and classical music, receiving poetic instruction from her grandfather.

  • “It was a very, like, poetic way of learning... he would talk about how vibrato needed to feel natural and flow like wind flowing through the branches of a tree...” (07:18)

The Challenge of Being Different

• Cultural Hybridity: Laufey describes the pain and pride of being one of few mixed-race (Chinese-Icelandic) children in Iceland, her longing to be heard, and her drive to reach new audiences.

  • “There weren’t many kids around me taking a competitive pre-professional classical music route… I often felt like my voice wasn’t being heard. And I was ready to do anything to get my voice to be heard.” (19:59)

• Global Perspective: Growing up across Iceland, Washington D.C., and China infused Laufey with early awareness of the wider world and multicultural fluency.

Songwriting, Honesty, and Representation

• Beauty Standards & Vulnerability: In songwriting, Laufey channels personal struggles with confidence, aspiration, and beauty norms, notably in “Snow White.”

  • “It was very honest and I… never want to show, especially all the young women in my audience that I don’t believe in myself… But I came to this realization that perhaps it’s comforting to know that other people feel that way too.” (08:48)

• Friendship Breakups: Laufey fills gaps in pop storytelling—writing openly about subjects like friendship breakups (“Castle in Hollywood”), which are rarely addressed in song.

• Honoring vs. Defying Tradition: Though her family gave her a classical foundation (cello, piano, violin), her spontaneous attraction to the guitar opened new creative doors.

  • “I wasn’t following a set of rules that I had learned over years of classical training. I was just letting my heart and fingers wander.” (25:58)

Performance & Audience

• Unapologetic Authenticity: Laufey emphasizes staying true to herself across settings—whether singing jazz, pop, or classical—because “that’s how you connect with a diverse audience.”

  • “I’m very unapologetically myself… I just want to get young people into those [orchestral] rooms, get young people used to that sound of, you know, 60 plus instruments playing… There’s nothing quite like it.” (26:56)

• Stagecraft Inspired by Ballet: Laufey’s sense of visual and physical expression—her ethereal, flowing dresses—draw from ballet, emphasizing that behind apparent lightness is discipline and strength.

  • “In ballet, you have to be really strong… but you’re supposed to look totally weightless… That contrast between strength and the image on stage of the ballerina, it’s a huge difference. Kind of like your voice and the way you often dress.” (28:45)

• Touring With Theatrical Vision: Now on her first arena tour, Laufey brings together ballerinas, jazz dancers, a jazz club, string quartets, and her band for a 360-degree stage experience.

  • “I feel like I’ve been able to show every part of my artistic vision at once… it just feels really, really special to finally get to kind of show the world exactly what I’m about.” (34:53)

Social Media, Pandemic & Rise to Fame

• Pandemic Breakthrough: Laufey started posting herself singing jazz standards and originals with cello, guitar, or piano on YouTube during lockdown—quickly building a global fanbase, especially among Gen Z.
  • “I did a cover of ‘It Could Happen to You’ and also of the song ‘I Wish You Love’... People were like, what? Why is this young woman playing cello and singing? It was like multiple things they hadn’t seen combined together.” (14:10)

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• On Identity & Modern Musicianship
  “Lollapalooza was such a perfect moment for me of showing exactly who I am to the world… I’ve never viewed myself as anything other than a modern artist, but I’ve always, of course, loved classical music and jazz music and had a love for all things a bit older.”
  — Laufey (03:26)

• On Inspiration from Ella Fitzgerald
  “I think Ella Fitzgerald was the very first singer that I really felt that I vocally resonated with. I think she just sounded like a cello, so I immediately was like, oh, I want to sound like her.”
  — Laufey (12:57)

• On Practicing Music Growing Up:
  “My mom spent the entire afternoon just drifting back and forth from the piano room to the string room… It was very disciplined. But I’m so thankful… It’s one of the reasons I’m the musician I am today.”
  — Laufey (06:11)

• On ‘Snow White’ and Young Women:
  “I never want to show, especially all the young women in my audience, that I don’t believe in myself, because how can they believe in themselves if I have trouble believing in myself?... perhaps it’s comforting to know that other people feel the same way.”
  — Laufey (08:48)

• On Stage Attire and Performance Artistry:
  “Ballet costumes, dresses, I’m very inspired by that in my dressing… When I’m playing with a string quartet or an orchestra… the movement of a tutu, the movement of a dress, the movement of clothing… adds to the performance.”
  — Laufey (29:30)

• On Being Unapologetically Herself:
  “I think I’m pretty similar in every single setting. And I’m very unapologetically myself… I kind of push against the classical medium of just kind of blabbering on stage, like in between songs, I’ll explain what the songs are about… just to show them that classical music… doesn’t need to feel like this foreign thing that exists behind a wall.”
  — Laufey (26:56)

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Notable Performances (with Timestamps)

• “Clockwork” (studio track) — 02:02 → Upbeat love song, blends jazz and pop with modern storytelling.
• “Snow White” (live acoustic) — 08:47 → Honest, vulnerable reflection on beauty standards.
• “Cuckoo Ballet” (orchestral snippet) — 11:09 → Instrumental reimagining of “Snow White,” highlighting classical side.
• “It Could Happen to You” (live acoustic) — 15:06 → Jazz standard; one of the viral pandemic-era videos that led to her breakthrough.
• “Castle in Hollywood” — 23:09 → Song about the pain of a friendship breakup.
• “Silver Lining” — 33:36 → Soul-influenced pop ballad, written to showcase vocal range.
• “Valentine” (original jazz song) — 37:03 → Early original, performed in a more stripped-down version.

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Memorable Moments and Reflections

• Choosing Cello as “the older twin”:
  “My sister chose violin and I think because I’m the older twin, so I thought I should play the bigger instrument.” (12:29)

• First U.S. Apartment:
  “The first apartment I moved into was this English storybook house in West Hollywood that had a turret and it was commissioned by Charlie Chaplin, actually, in 1928, I believe.” (24:50)

• On Songwriting on Guitar vs. Piano:
  “I started writing a lot on guitar, I think because it was this unknown instrument to me where I wasn’t following a set of rules that I had learned over my years of classical training. I wasn’t going back to any habits. I was just letting my heart and fingers wander.” (25:58)

• Returning to Iceland:
  “I do. I go home a lot. It really grounds me. And I write the best there. I wrote half the album there.” (38:09)

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Laufey’s Name and Heritage (30:27)

• Laufey shares that her name has roots in Norse mythology (mother of Loki), and her full name, Laufey Lin Bing Jónsdóttir, blends Icelandic and Chinese family heritage—Bing, meaning “ice,” as a nod to Iceland.

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Conclusion

This Fresh Air episode is rich with soulful live performances and candid storytelling. Laufey’s reflections reveal an artist who is both disciplined and daring, determined to bridge musical worlds while remaining unapologetically herself. For listeners new and old, Laufey’s gentle wisdom, genre-flipping arrangements, and heartfelt honesty sparkle throughout—a testament to why her work resonates across cultures and generations.

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Transcript

[Levi]

This message comes from Capital One.

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Banking with Capital One helps you keep.

[Terry Gross]

More money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts. What's in your wallet terms apply. See capitalone.com bank for details. Capital One NA Member FDIC this is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guest Levy is a singer, cellist, pianist, guitarist and songwriter whose 2023 album Bewitched was the first album ever to top Billboard's jazz and traditional jazz charts in its first week. But is she a jazz artist? Only partially. Her 2023 album Bewitched won a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop album and was named Crossover Album of the Year by Variety. Her music resembles her personal identity in that both are hard to categorize. Her songs draw on her deep knowledge of classical music and jazz, as well as from pop and classic musicals. She grew up in Reykjavik, ICELAND and Washington, D.C. with a mother who emigrated from China and is a violinist with the Iceland Symph Orchestra. Her father is from Iceland, and Levi grew up listening to recordings from his jazz collection. She started piano lessons at age 4, cello lessons at age 8, and performed on cello with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra when she was 15. She describes her music as taking inspiration from the past, with lyrics firmly rooted in the present. Her concerts are filled with listeners in their 20s who may not know or care much about jazz or classical music. Levi is 26. She started attracting an audience during the COVID lockdown when she began posting videos of her singing jazz standards and originals, accompanying herself on cello, guitar or piano. She brought her guitar with her today to play and sing some songs, including music from her new album, A Matter of Time. Let's start with a track called Clockwork. It's an upbeat love song with an obvious jazz influence. So here's Clockwork.

[Levi (singing parts)]

Swore I'd never do this again. Think that I'm so clever I could date a friend. He just called me said he's running late like me, he probably had to regurgitate. I know it's irrational at least I'm self aware I'm shivering maybe I'll stay home. Oh no, he's in my a wild place I've considered every way Words I'll forget, deeply regret he'll run away.

And.

Nothing brings me fear like meeting with my destiny. But like clockwork, Pinky fell in love with me.

[Terry Gross]

Levi, welcome to FRESH air. It's a pleasure to have you on the show and thank for bringing your guitar with you. We'll hear some music in a couple of minutes. You're so popular, especially among people in their 20s. Your first music festival was when you performed at Lollapalooza and you brought an orchestra with you. What insights does that offer about who you are and about your music?

[Levi]

Well, thank you so much for having me. It's such a pleasure to be here. I mean, Lollapalooza was such a perfect moment for me of showing exactly who I am to the world. Because, I mean, Lollapalooza is a music festival that I would say is for modern music and for young people. I've never viewed myself as anything other than a modern artist, but I've always, of course, loved classical music and jazz music and had a love for all things a bit older. So to get to bring an orchestra and that sound onto such a modern stage, I mean, we had a K pop act playing after us and a rapper before us on. On that very same stage. It. I think it's so beautiful that all of these different styles of music can exist in one.

[Terry Gross]

And what does it say that you'd never been to a music festival?

[Levi]

I mean, I'd been to Newport Jazz Festival, so that might answer your question. I guess. I mean, I grew up in Iceland, so I just wasn't very close to that culture. We had our own smaller festivals.

[Terry Gross]

Let's talk a little bit about your musical origin story. Your mother plays violin in the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. What did you learn about music from hearing her practice at home?

[Levi]

I learned a couple of things. I think, like hard work is really, really important and it's something you need to keep up. I mean, my mom is. Has been in the orchestra for almost 30 years and she still practices every single day for every single concert. It's not something you shelve after you grow up, but it also has taught me that it's something that never really leaves you. Growing up in a musical family. I mean, my grandma's 80 something now and she still plays piano every single day just like as she did when she was seven. So it's taught me that it's kind of this thing that can follow you forever. But my mom always talked about especially like the beauty of music and how it has to come from your heart. And I think that's been such an important through line with my music, no matter what genre it's leaning towards.

[Terry Gross]

Did you grow up backstage?

[Levi]

Oh, absolutely. I grew up on stage. I think I have stories of my mom playing some contemporary Icelandic composers. And it was really loud and every break she would check her tommy like I have a twin sister. So the two of us were in there. And she was like, are they still moving? Did we silence them?

[Terry Gross]

When you started taking music lessons, would your mother ever holler from another room, wrong note?

[Levi]

Every single day?

[Terry Gross]

Really?

[Levi]

Not from another room. The same room, yeah.

[Terry Gross]

Did that make you self conscious? Practicing with a pro with an earshot? All the time.

[Levi]

It was like having a teacher every single day. I would practice piano while my sister was practicing violin. And then we would swap and she would practice piano and I would practice cello. And my mom spent the entire afternoon just drifting back and forth from the piano room to the string room to the piano room to the string room. And it was very disciplined. But I'm so thankful for that. And my mom still tells me if I'm playing out of tune, and I'm so thankful for her for that. And I think it's one of the reasons I'm the musician I am today.

[Terry Gross]

So I think your grandparents are both music professors in China, is that right?

[Levi]

Yeah.

[Terry Gross]

So how much time have you spent in China? And did you take any lessons while you were there?

[Levi]

Yeah, I did. I spent a lot of time in China. Every summer growing up, I would go spend two to three months there and just immerse myself in properly learning the language and also properly learning classical music. So definitely, like, my first cello lessons were in China and I received all my cellos there.

[Terry Gross]

Is it a different style of teaching than in the US.

[Levi]

Yes and no. I mean, my grandfather was. Was known for a very specific technique that was full of idioms and metaphors, and he taught mostly like young prodigies. And so it was a very, like, poetic way of learning. Like, he would talk about how vibrato needed to feel natural and flow wind flowing through the branches of a tree and pronating properly on a bow. It felt like pouring water out of a kettle. Things like that. That kind of taught me how to learn music in a very poetic way, which I think has had such an effect on me as a songwriter as well, because I think so much about how music and physical movement come together.

[Terry Gross]

Well, here's what I'd like to do, since we're talking about classical music and orchestra. I. I want to ask you to sing your song Snow White. And then I want to play in the middle of the album, there's an interlude called Cuckoo Ballet. And it's almost like an overture with melodies from your songs interwoven. And it's just orchestral, so there's a really nice orchestral passage of the song Snow White with you on cello. So I just want to contrast the Two to show two of your sides, like the singer songwriter side, and then transforming that into something, you know, much more classical sounding.

[Levi]

Absolutely.

[Terry Gross]

Okay, so let's start with you doing Snow White. Do you want to introduce the song?

[Levi (singing parts)]

Yes.

[Levi]

So it's a song that I wrote about my never ending kind of battle with beauty standards and this idea of perfection. And it was very. I was a little scared to put this song out because it's very honest and I. I never want to show, especially all the young women in my audience that I don't believe in myself, because how can they believe in themselves if I have trouble believing in myself? But I came to this realization that it was perhaps comforting to know that other people feel the same way. So this is Snow White.

[Levi (singing parts)]

Can't help but notice.

All of the ways.

In which I feel myself I feel the world all the same.

[Terry Gross]

Don'T.

[Levi (singing parts)]

Think I'm pretty it's not up for.

Debate.

A woman's best currency's her body not her brain they try to tell.

Me.

Tell me I'm wrong the mirrors tell lies to me My mind just plays along the world is a sick place at least for a girl.

[Terry Gross]

The.

[Levi (singing parts)]

People want beauty, skin he always wins and I don't have enough of it I'll never have enough oh.

[Terry Gross]

Well, thank you for that. So I want to compare that to what you've done when you had it orchestrated. And this is from a medley called Cuckoo Ballet in the middle of your album. And this is the excerpt in which you're playing in an orchestral setting that part of the song. And you're featured on cello. So that was my guest Levi on cello. And that's from an orchestral interlude in the middle of her new album. And the album is called A Matter of Time. So now that we've heard you on cello, you started playing cello when you were eight. Did you choose that? Was it chosen for you?

[Levi]

I chose it. I think I wanted to be different from everyone in my family. My sister chose violin and I think because I'm the older twin, so I thought I should play the bigger instrument.

[Terry Gross]

Uh huh. Older by seconds.

[Levi]

Yeah.

[Terry Gross]

So you listened to a lot of jazz growing up because your father had a big jazz collection. What era or what songs or singers particularly influenced you?

[Levi]

I think Ella Fitzgerald was the very first singer that I really felt that I vocally resonated with. I think she just sounded like a cello. So I immediately was like, oh, I want to sound like her.

[Levi (singing parts)]

And.

[Levi]

And I was having trouble finding songs in my range to sing. But Ella's Range, though more than bigger than mine. Still, her singing style, I seemed to fall most naturally into that kind of style. Same with Billie Holiday. And I also loved Nat King Cole and Julie London and Peggy Lee and Doris Day. It was kind of, you know, that. That type of era of mid century singing that I really was drawn to.

[Terry Gross]

Would you play a standard for us that you particularly liked?

[Levi]

Yeah.

[Terry Gross]

Do you want to do it could happen to you?

[Levi]

Yes.

[Terry Gross]

And let's mention here that this is one of the things that kind of put you on the map because you recorded this on your phone during COVID and I think it's the first and one of the first videos that you put out on YouTube.

[Levi]

Yes, Covid started and I had a. What I thought would be a two week break. So I thought I'd use that time to just post videos of myself singing online. And it started with a lot of jazz standards and I was playing the jazz standards on cello and singing along. And yeah, I did a cover of it could happen to you and also of the song I wish you love. And the two of those kind of hit the algorithm or whatever you say. They kind of definitely were the first things that I think people were like, what? Why is this girl, this young woman, playing cello and singing? It was like multiple things they hadn't seen combined together.

[Terry Gross]

Yeah. And Chet Baker has a great recording of this.

[Levi]

Yes. Yeah, that's my favorite Chuck Baker album, the it could happen to you one.

[Terry Gross]

So. Okay. And this is Levi.

[Levi (singing parts)]

Hide your heart from sight Lock your dreams at night it could happen to.

You.

Don'T count stars or you might stumble more Someone drops a sigh and down you tumble Keep an eye on spring run when church bells ring it could happen to you All I did was wonder how your arms would be and it happened to me.

[Terry Gross]

Thank you. That was Levi singing and playing guitar. And she has a new album called A Matter of Time. So that video that you posted, like before you actually made studio recordings. You accompanied yourself on cello when you sang that song, but you strummed and kind of picked as if it was a guitar. So I'm wondering if the opposite has happened. Since cello is your first instrument, your main instrument, have you taken any cello techniques and transferred them to guitar?

[Levi]

You know, I haven't bowed a guitar yet, but maybe I should. I think I've tried as a joke before.

[Terry Gross]

Really? I was thinking too of the kind of cello vibrato.

[Levi]

Yeah. I mean, I don't think I've directly put it into guitar, but I've definitely. When I started Playing cello before I started singing. So I think my singing style has always kind of been something similar to cello playing. And whether it's the. The vibrato style or the. The legato and kind of sliding into notes like, that's very much my vocal style, and I think it is quite similar to my cello style.

[Terry Gross]

So you grew up in two extremes. You grew up in Iceland, but you also spent a lot of time in Washington. What were you doing there? What was your family doing there?

[Levi]

My father was working for the Icelandic government there, but my mom would sub with the Baltimore Symphony when she was there. So I kind of got to be a little bit of an American kid for a bit, which I think having a childhood in America is really where I fell in love with a great American songbook.

[Terry Gross]

What was your father doing in the government?

[Levi]

He was working for the imf.

[Terry Gross]

The International Monetary Fund.

[Levi]

Yes.

[Terry Gross]

So two extremes. Like, Iceland is, like, remote. It's a small country. It's very cold. Washington, D.C. is one of the capitals of the world, not just the capital of the US and it's so busy. What was it like growing up in two pretty opposite worlds? It's certainly a lot warmer and swampier than, Certainly.

[Levi]

Yeah.

[Terry Gross]

Than Iceland. Yeah.

[Levi]

I think it's one of the most important experiences that I've gone through. I had a very deep understanding of how big the world was from a very early age, because I would still spend my summers in China. And the three are so, so, so, so different, I think, from what I really learned from. From Washington, D.C. i think especially was just how multicultural it was. I mean, I went to a. A public school in D.C. and even within just my neighborhood school, I think 90% of my class was. It was international kids. And I was such a naturally multicultural kid. It made me quite happy. I also loved all the museums, and I remember going to the ballet at the Kennedy center and the Symphony. And I just have very beautiful memories from growing up there. And, like, I remember moving back to Iceland when I was 8 or 9, and I remember that it felt like the world fell dark for a little bit because there was so much brightness in Washington, which is. Sounds like a crazy thing to say right now, but I think it really just opened my eyes up to how very big the world is because Washington, D.C. is also such a unique city within the United States.

[Terry Gross]

Well, since you're half Chinese and half Icelandic and you grew up in Iceland, not a lot of Chinese people in Iceland. So being half Chinese was probably considered unusual, maybe even, like, quote, exotic. But growing up in Washington. There's like lots of people from China and other Asian countries. So what was it like for you to be so unusual in such a homogenous place as Iceland?

[Levi]

It was really difficult, I think. Iceland is so small and it's lovely and I miss it every single day. But it was very hard as a kid to comprehend why I didn't look like everyone else or how my interests were different. There weren't many kids around me taking a competitive pre professional classical music route. There weren't many kids around me who had to go back home and practice every single day. And I often felt like my voice wasn't being heard. And I was ready to do anything to get my voice to be heard. And I knew that the first step to that was trying to get out of Iceland and see if perhaps my voice would resonate more in the big world where I wasn't an odd fish.

[Terry Gross]

Let's take another short break here and then we'll be back for more music and conversation with Levi. Her new album is called A Matter of Time. I'm Terry Gross and this is FRESH air.

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[Levi]

Hi, this is Molly Sivi Nesburg, digital.

[NPR Announcer]

Producer at Fresh Air.

[Terry Gross]

And this is Terry Gross, host of the show.

[Levi]

One of the things I do is.

[Terry Gross]

Write the weekly newsletter, and I'm a newsletter fan. I read it every Saturday after breakfast. The newsletter includes all the week shows, staff recommendations and Molly picks, timely highlights from the archive. It's a fun read.

[Levi]

It's also the only place where we tell you what's coming up next week.

[Terry Gross]

An exclusive, so [e-mail] fresh air and look for an email from Molly every Saturday morning. I want to ask you to do another song for us. And this is Castle in Hollywood. Would you give us the backstory for the song?

[Levi]

Yeah. This song is written about a friendship breakup. I found that there are not many songs about breaking up with a friend, but it's a pain that can sometimes be more painful than breaking up with a romantic lover. So I wanted to write about this experience that I had. And I think especially when women fall apart with women, there's such an interesting line of empathy that's between them. It's kind of like I'll love you forever but just not don't be around me. I rack my brain spend hours and.

[Levi (singing parts)]

Days I still can't figure it out what happened that year in your house still learning to live without you I wonder, wonder what you tell your friends which version of our fairy story the one where you walk out in glory or the night I moved out in a hurry I think about you always tied together with a string I thought the lilies died by winter Then they bloomed again in spring It's a heartbreak mark the end of my girlhood will never come. Go back to that castle in Hollywood.

[Terry Gross]

Thank you. That was Levi performing for us. And what was the castle in Hollywood? Was that a fantasy of what you wanted your life to be?

[Levi]

No, I lived in. The first apartment I moved into was this English storybook house in West Hollywood that had a turret and it was commissioned by Charlie chaplin, actually, in 1928, I believe.

[Terry Gross]

Wait, wait. Your first apartment that you rented was one that Charlie Chaplin commissioned? How did that happen?

[Levi]

Yeah, pure Internet luck, I think. It was definitely a little scary. It was very dark, but my bedroom was circular. It was inside a turret, and I had a tiny little window with bars on it, like a proper Rapunzel window. And, yeah, it was a really, really weird apartment, but so charming and exactly what I, what my storybook heart craved. When I first moved to La.

[Terry Gross]

So you compose on guitar, even though that's not your first instrument? Cello's your first instrument. You're a very good pianist. Why do you compose on guitar as opposed to, say, piano, which would be the more obvious choice?

[Levi]

Yeah, I compose a lot on piano too. I think increasingly now. I started writing a lot on guitar, I think because it was this unknown instrument to me where I wasn't following a set of rules that I had learned over my years of classical training. I wasn't going back to any habits. I was just letting my heart and fingers wander. So I think also it's a fairly soft instrument, so singing over it, it's easy to hear myself and hear the lyrics and really understand what I'm trying to say. It didn't get in the way of my songwriting.

[Terry Gross]

You've performed to a lot of different audiences, like jazz, classical, pop, and therefore to different ages as well. Like, the jazz audience tends to be older. Ditto for classical musical audience. Your pop audience, I think, is largely made of people in their 20s. Do you become a different self for each type of audience?

[Levi]

No, I think I'm pretty similar in every single setting. And I'm very unapologetically myself, like when I'm on stage with an orchestra. And I really do try to play as many concerts with orchestras because I just want to get young people into those buildings, into those rooms, get young people used to that sound of, you know, 60 plus instruments playing and musicians playing at the same time. There's nothing quite like it. And then at the same time, I kind of push against the classical medium of just kind of blabbering on stage, like in between songs, I'll explain what the songs are about and just to feel that connection with the audience and just to further show them that this is something classical music, orchestral music is something that can be theirs too, and doesn't need to feel like this foreign thing that exists behind a wall.

[Terry Gross]

I might be totally wrong in thinking this, so you can tell me after I explain. Okay, so you're capable of singing, you know, pretty high up, but also when you sing full out in a low voice, it's a very strong voice and similar to like a cello, which was your ambition. But the dresses that you wear, a lot of the clothes that you wear are very like diaphanous and flowy, almost like angelic. And the contrast between like the deep voice that you can have and those, you know, kind of diaphanous clothes reminds me of ballet. And I know at some point you were studying ballet, right? Yeah.

[Levi]

I've always loved ballet so much, and I grew up dancing ballet very badly, but just being completely enamored by it because it was the physical answer to. To classical music.

[Terry Gross]

Right. So here's what the comparison is between your deep voice and the contrast with your clothes and ballet. Because in ballet, you have to be really strong and you have to have incredible endurance and be willing to live with pain and be incredibly disciplined. But with a tutu on and with a lot of the classic ballet choreography, you're supposed to look totally weightless and like, princess like or angelic. And the contrast between the strength that's required and the image on stage of the ballerina, it's a huge difference. Kind of like your voice and the way you often dress. Does that make any sense to you?

[Levi]

No, it absolutely does. I think, like ballet, I go to lengths to make my performance look effortless. But yeah, I mean, ballet costumes, dresses, I'm very inspired by that in my dressing on stage for multiple reasons, the first being comfort. You can move in them, and I need to be able to breathe and move around. But I think, you know, when I'm playing with, whether it's a string quartet or an orchestra and those little moments in between, the movement of a tutu, the movement of a dress, the movement of clothing, it's. It just adds to the performance, and it's something I think about a lot. I don't like wearing stiff clothing because it pulls the music down and it pulls my performance down, too.

[Terry Gross]

Let's take another break here, and then we'll hear more music played by Levi, who is my guest. She's from Iceland. And Levi, this sounds like a very Icelandic name.

[Levi]

Yes, it's from Norse mythology.

[Terry Gross]

Oh, meaning what?

[Levi]

It's also my great grandmother's name, but the. The God of mischief, Loki, or Loki, his mother was named Loewe.

[Terry Gross]

Oh, I've heard of Loki.

[Levi]

Yeah, His. If you look up his full name, it's Loki Leweson, son of Lewe.

[Terry Gross]

And what's your full name?

[Levi]

My full name is Leuve Lin Bing Yonstotir.

[Terry Gross]

So the linbing is the Chinese part.

[Levi]

That's the Chinese part. Bing means ice. So I'm named after Iceland. Lynn is my Chinese family name and means daughter of yon. And my father's name is Jon, and I am his daughter.

[Terry Gross]

Right. Okay. We'll be back after a break. And her new album, by the way, is called A Matter of Time.

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[Terry Gross]

I want to play another song from your album, and this is a song that I think is very different from the other songs on the album. It's more of a. It has more of a soul influence to it. And the song is called Silver Lining. Do you want to talk about writing this?

[Levi]

Mm. Silver Lining is one of those very rare songs that I wrote to kind of perfectly complement my voice. I wasn't thinking about anything other than just wanting to write. Of course I love song, and I wanted to get those feelings off my chest. And I'm a very naturally sarcastic person, so it carried through a very sarcastic way. But with lyrics like, when you go to hell, I'll go there with you too. That's my way of describing how much I love you. I'll follow you anywhere. But I really wanted to write a song that was just built around my vocal performance. I think something that I didn't get to explore as much in my last album was my vocal range. And I don't use reverb often, but the voices seeped in. Reverb, but with intention.

[Terry Gross]

Okay, let's hear it. This is Silver Lining from Le Vey's new album, A Matter of Time.

[Levi]

I've been falling in bad habits Staring.

[Levi (singing parts)]

Into the open Drowning in red wine and sniffing cinema We've been kissing on the playground Acting like little kids, making dirty jokes and getting away with it. So I propose it's long overdue. When you go to hell I'll go there with you too and when we're punished for being so cruel the silver linings I'll be there with you.

[Terry Gross]

That was Silver Lining from Levi's new album, A Matter of Time. Are you on tour now?

[Levi]

I am on tour right now and it's my first arena tour, so it's definitely different and a little bit daunting, but I feel like I've been able to show every part of my artistic vision at once, which makes me so happy I have ballerinas on stage with me, jazz dancers. I have my band and I have a string quartet. And I have a jazz club in the middle of the stage. And it just feels really, really special to finally get to kind of show the world exactly what I'm about to.

[Terry Gross]

No, it's like 360 degrees of view with the ballet dancers and jazz dancers and a jazz set in the middle. What kind of reaction do you get to that?

[Levi]

I think at first some people were confused because I've previously due to, of course, budget restraints and other things and room restraints. I've just been showing a more muted side of myself or acoustic side of myself, which I absolutely love and adore and will continue to do too. Whether that's concerts with orchestras or concerts at jazz clubs or just solo. But I've always been inspired by Golden Age films. The va va voom of it all. And I've also always loved pop music and how I feel like at pop concerts the artists can go all out and be unapologetically themselves. I've always wanted the same. I think I gained a bit of a reputation as this very soft artist with my last projects. And though I am that, I am so much more than that as well.

[Terry Gross]

Since you have a jazz set in the middle of your concerts now, when you're on tour, I'm going to ask you to play a jazz original that you wrote. And this is one of your early songs. It's called Valentine.

[Levi]

I've been playing a much more swingy version of this on tour, so it's gonna be weird to go back to this version. But this is how I wrote it, so it is how it shall be performed.

[Levi (singing parts)]

I've rejected affection for years and years Now I have it and damn it, it's kind of weird. He tells me I'm pretty Don't know how to respond I tell him that he's pretty too Can I say that? Don't have a clue Every passing moment I surprise myself I'm scared of flies I'm scared of guys Someone please help. Cause I think I fallen in love this time I blinked and suddenly I had a valentine.

[Terry Gross]

That'S a nice song.

[Levi]

It's sweet. It's very naive. It reminds me of being 21.

[Terry Gross]

Falling in love for the first time.

[Levi]

Yes.

[Terry Gross]

Do you get back to Iceland much?

[Levi]

I do. I go home a lot. It really grounds me. And I write the best there. I wrote half the album there.

[Terry Gross]

And your music's popular there, right?

[Levi]

I don't know. I think so. I don't know if my music is very popular, but I think there's definitely a lot of hometown pride. So when I go home and play concerts, I think it's always very special because they're very proud of different artists or athletes who've kind of gone past, gone outside of the country and made their mark there.

[Terry Gross]

Well, Levi, I want to thank you so much for talking with us and for doing some songs for us. Thank you so much. I wish you well on your tour. And, you know, thank you.

[Levi]

Thank you so much for having me. It's been such an honor.

[Terry Gross]

Oh, my pleasure. Leve's new album is called A Matter of Time. After we take a short break, our rock critic Ken Tucker will review Taylor Swift's new album, the Life of a Showgirl. This is FRESH air.

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[Terry Gross]

Taylor Swift's new album, The Life of a Showgirl, is her 12th studio album and arrives at a time when Swift dominates not just the music industry, but American pop culture itself. The details of her recent engagement to football player Travis Kelce can seem to her fans as important as her music. So what does this mean for the dozen new songs on this album? Rock critic Ken Tucker has a review.

[Levi (singing parts)]

I heard you calling on the megaphone youe wanna see me all alone. As legend has it, you are quite the pyro. You light the match to watch it blow. And if you'd never look on for me I might have drowned in the melancholy. I swore my loyalty to me, myself and I right before you lit my sky.

[Ken Tucker]

Taylor Swift's crisp, clever new album, the Life of a Showgirl is offered to its audience in an intentionally crass, playfully cynical manner. There she is on the COVID dressed in the skimpy attire of a Las Vegas showgirl. A few weeks before its release on the podcast of her football fiance Travis Kelce, she said, this album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during the ERAS tour. It's about what I was going through offstage. Half control freak, half cool English teacher, Swift is trying to guide the narrative interpretations for the Life of a Showgirl.

[Levi (singing parts)]

Hadn'T thought of you in a long time but you keep sending me funny Valentine's and I know you think it comes off vicious but it's precious, adorable, like a toy chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse. That's how much it hurts. How many times has your boyfriend said what are we always talking about actually sweet? All the time you've spent on me it's honestly wild all the effort you put in it's actually romantic. I really gotta hand it to you no man has ever loved me like.

[Ken Tucker]

You do that's a song called Actually Romantic. On this album, Swift is reunited with the Swedish producer Max Martin, with whom she's made her catchiest hits, including Shake it off and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. I much prefer the grand, intense pop productions of Max Martin to the brooding ballads that prevail on non Martin productions such as Swift's last album, the tortured Poets Department. On the new song would, Martin turns Swift loose to tear through a rhythm and blues chorus that's unlike any singing she's done before.

[Levi (singing parts)]

Forgive me, it sounds cocky he hypnotized me and opened my eyes Bradwood tree It ain't hard to see his love was the key that opened my skies.

[Ken Tucker]

The lyrics for that song, by the way, are full of double entendres and single ones that may require a certain amount of parental explanation for a considerable portion of Swift's audience. It's PG13 autobiography for the fans who love to parse the lyrics, seeking private life details. It's why publications are reduced to coming up with clickbait headlines about the song. Opalite. People magazine, to take just one of many offered this headline. Taylor Swift's Opalite lyrics explained breaking down the Travis Kelsey inspired track this would be merely silly were the music not so strong with its creamy disco beat and surging chorus.

[Levi (singing parts)]

All of the foes and all of the friends I've seen it before or they'll see it again. Life is a song, it ends when it ends I was wrong but my mama told me it's all right. You were dancing through the lightning strikes. Sleep is in the onyx night. But now the sky is overlay. Oh my lord, never made no one like you before. You had to make your own sunshine. But now the sky is all gonna light.

[Ken Tucker]

On the title song, Swift joins up with pop star of the moment, Sabrina Carpenter to offer one of those showbiz is hard extravaganzas that could serve as a Broadway musical showstopper.

[Levi (singing parts)]

I took her pearls of wisdom, hung them from my neck. I paid my dues with every bruise I knew what to expect. Do you wann on the ice inside my veins?

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They ripped me off like false lashes.

[Levi (singing parts)]

And then threw me away. And all the headshots on the walls of the dance hall Are of the witches who wish I'd hurry up and die. But I'm immortal now, baby dolls I couldn't if I tried. So I say thank you for the lovely bouquet. I'm married to the hustle and now I know the life of a show girl baby.

[Ken Tucker]

As the album proceeds, you begin to realize that Swift focuses less and less on her perennial subjects, heartache and heartbreak. Her dozen songs combine to form a picture of true love found, tested and proven. As strong as her early work always yearn to find. She uses a couple of songs to dispatch a few bad men, such as a condescending controller on this one called Father Figure.

[Levi (singing parts)]

Racks into gold. The wind and road leads to the chateau. You remind me of a young to me I saw potential I'll be a father figure. I drop that brown liquor. I can make deals with the debt because my check's bigger. This love is pure profit. Just step in.

[Ken Tucker]

One key to Taylor Swift's success is that she's turned fame into a game. Her fans are invited to play along with her. Everyone is welcome backstage now, where Taylor will greet you with open arms, a big smile and a knowing wink.

[Levi (singing parts)]

You can call me honey if you want because I'm the one you want. When anyone called me sweetheart it was passive aggressive at the bar and the chick was telling me to back off. Cause a man that looked at me wrong. If anyone called me honey, it was standing in the bathroom, white teeth. They were saying that skirt don't fit me and I cried the whole.

[Terry Gross]

Ken Tucker reviewed Taylor Swift's new album, the Life of a Showgirl. Tomorrow on FRESH air, we'll talk about how the Pentagon and military are being transformed. Last week, Defense Secretary Hexseth told hundreds of top military commanders to end quote, woke policies and President Trump suggested using the military against the enemy from within. Trump has deployed the National Guard to several US Cities. Our guest will be Nancy Youssef, who covers the Defense Department for the Atlantic. I hope you'll join us to keep up with what's on the show and get highlights of our interviews. Follow us on Instagram at NPRFreshAir. Fresh Air's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our senior producer today is Theresa Madden. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our managing producer is Sam Brugger. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Annmarie Boldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Monique Nazareth, Thea Chaloner, Susan Yakundi and Anna Bauman. Our digital media producer is Molly CV Nesper. Our consulting visual producer is Hope Wilson. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. Our co host is Tanya Mosley. I'm Terry Gross.

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[Ken Tucker]

We have PhDs in our team and.

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They can't tell the difference themselves.

[Levi]

AI has gotten that good.

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