Concert Recap: Laufey Returns To Taipei With A “Goddess” Flair

“Taipei, I love you!” Laufey exclaimed in her viral song “From The Start,” changing up the lyrics for her sold-out Taiwan show. 

On August 31, the Grammy-winning musician took the stage at the Taipei International Convention Center. Continuing her sold-out “Bewitched: The Goddess Tour” in Asia and Australia, the Icelandic-Chinese artist also shyly flexed her Mandarin skills throughout the hour and a half show. She greeted her Taiwanese Lauvers with “大家好!” — “Hello, everyone!” in Mandarin Chinese — to cheers of excitement. 

From performing in a standing-only venue last year to sharing her music in a velvet-seated concert hall, Laufey’s growing popularity in Taiwan was clear. Bows adorned long hair; flowy, romantic dresses teased ankles; and families and friends alike gathered together to see Laufey live. 

Lights, Camera, Action

We can promise you, no one was sleeping when the opening notes of “While You Were Sleeping” started playing. Energetic cheers of joy followed Laufey as she ran onto the stage, her brushed-out curls bouncing elegantly and her dress flowing behind her. 

After singing the first three songs on her setlist, including “Valentine” and “Second Best,” the jazz-pop musician asked if people in the crowd had gone to her first Taipei show. In response, many cheers echoed around the venue, and Laufey’s eyes lit up. “So many 朋友!” (or friends) she said excitedly, while the crowd laughed in tandem with her lively interjection. 

But when she was ready to perform again, all eyes were on her. Dressed in a gauzy light blue dress with a summery flower pattern, Laufey seemed like she had just stepped out of the pages of a fairytale. Her guitar, too, was a constant companion throughout her set. 

For the first few songs, Laufey flowed from track to track, letting her fans soak in her music. However, “Beautiful Stranger” needed its own special introduction. “I wrote this song about a person I don’t know,” she began. Good-natured laughs followed after her dramatic pause. The musician leaned more into her humorous side, as she admitted that she was “a little bit delusional” when she wrote the 2022 track. According to Laufey, “Beautiful Stranger” is about someone she saw on the train. In the way she told the story: she was looking at him; he was looking at her. After a pause, though, she joked, “He was definitely not looking at me.” 

But still, this song was a result of that charged moment. And the crowd got to experience Laufey playing the cello live. What a queen — or rather, a goddess. 

Laufey’s romantic cover of Keely Smith’s “I Wish You Love” (a 1950s American jazz musician) glided into the 25 year old’s “我愛你!” Meaning “I love you!,” Laufey was encouraged by Taipei’s response. Although she also confessed, “I just get shy” about speaking in Mandarin, she did propose doing her set entirely in the language next time. “Then 我的媽媽 [my mother] will be proud of me,” Laufey joked. 

A Goddess On Stage

Sure, Laufey may not have been acting in a movie during her show, but she was definitely performing. Little moments built upon the larger story at play — the story of Laufey’s musical journey. A dramatic pause when she introduced her songs. A quirk of an eyebrow. A slight side eye that you could only catch on the big screens in the venue. Hands dancing across the piano keys like a river of music. But blink, and you might miss these little embellishments that show more of Laufey’s personality. 

For example, her story time leading into “Promise.” Deepening her voice as if she was telling all 3,000 of her fans a secret, Laufey said softly into her microphone that she kept talking to this guy. Even though she knew she shouldn’t do that and that she should have stopped earlier than later, the heart wants what it wants. Despite the emotional gravity of the track, Laufey still twirled over to the piano. Warm and dramatic light shined around her while she played, casting her in an Old Hollywood-esque vibe that summer evening. 

The smooth number “Like the Movies,” which recalls the sound of classic American jazz, came next, continuing the theme of Hollywood. However, there is a thread of pessimism in Laufey’s 2021 track. While she introduced the song, she noted how she has read too many fairy tales, and that’s why nobody is good enough for her. Throwing in a dramatic pause and a side eye as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, Laufey’s message was relatable.

Her unique power appeared the strongest in the heartbreaking “Goddess.” Still seated at the piano, light fractured around the grand instrument and Laufey — a light that pierced even those in the upper seats of the concert hall. Laufey and her band were thrown into the shadows, but the emotional resonance of the quiet ballad still pulled the audience to its source. 

“I’m a goddess on stage,” Laufey declared, yet there was pain in her voice. When the bridge hit and the drums and bass joined her belted notes with fervor, the artist let it all go. “I’m no goddess when I’m alone,” she admitted quietly in the final lyric. You could hear a pin drop at the end; everyone was transfixed on the magic that was Laufey. 

In a word, the whole effect was “cinematic.” From her band joining in at the end to the golden glow around Laufey’s face as the strong light faded, it would not be too far-fetched to say the crowd was stunned by the end. This was Laufey’s world — we were all just living in it. 

Taipei Has Been Bewitched 

Laufey bounced between her 2022 album Everything I Know About Love and her 2024 work Bewitched: The Goddess Edition for her final five songs. Between “Fragile,” “Bewitched,” “Bored,” “Lovesick,” “From The Start,” the jazz-inspired pop singer danced between whispery vocals to full-chested belting. She talked about things that aren’t “美” (or beautiful), things that are boring, in fact — like when guys don’t ask questions on dates. Another once-in-a-lifetime bridge from “Lovesick” came and went, and Laufey requested that everyone — yes, everyone — sing “From The Start.” 

Then, a little hop and skip off the stage as Laufey blew kisses to her Taipei crowd. “Thank you for the best night ever!” she exclaimed. But, as many concertgoers know now, there is always the encore. For Laufey, she pulled out the personal “Letter To My 13 Year Old Self,” a cut from Bewitched.   

Before she closed out the night, Laufey had some words to share with her Lauvers (her fandom name). “Thank you so much for supporting me,” she said from the heart. The musician emphasized that she has been living out her dreams these past few years — from making music she wants to make to winning a Grammy to touring the world. 

Ahead of “Letter To My 13 Year Old Self,” too, Laufey got vulnerable, talking about being Chinese and Icelandic and her experience living in between cultures. She never quite felt like she belonged, the musician admitted. But Laufey also left the audience with some food for thought: chase after your dreams. If you have passion, then you can’t go wrong. (Plus, she had some words for the teens in the room: “And if you’re 13, I’m sorry. It sucks.”)

To close out the magical night, Taipei Lauvers sent Laufey off with a flood of light, phone cameras on and waving back and forth from those in the very first row to those in the very last row. 

Although Taiwan has to wait to see Laufey again, the artist still has a few more stops in her Asia and Australia legs of “Bewitched: The Goddess Tour.” Before Taipei, she performed in Japan for Summer Sonic, in China (Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou), Thailand, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. Following her August 31 show, Laufey also hosted shows in the Philippines and Singapore.  

Singer-songwriter grentperez will join the jazz artist in her Australia stops — Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney. To close out this leg of touring, Laufey is expected to perform at the All Things Go Music Festival in the United States at the end of September. The Kennedy Center Orchestra is anticipated to accompany her set. 

Keep up with Laufey on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X. Listen to her music on Spotify and YouTube. 

Want to relive your favorite concerts? Check out EnVi’s recap of ARTMS’s New York show here!