Laufey 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 — her music is rooted in jazz, but her concert has pop-superstar production values.

The A Matter of Time Tour, the Icelandic singer-songwriter’s third tour and her first that consists entirely of arena dates, began on Sept. 15 in Orlando. It will conclude in Kópavogur, Iceland, on March 15, 2026.

Laufey (it’s 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’s Jazz Albums chart for the past four weeks. (Bewitched logged 102 weeks at No. 1 on that chart.)

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 – it would be her first star turn on Music’s Biggest Night. (She performed “From the Start,” a song from Bewitched, on the 2024 Premiere Ceremony, which is streaming-only, and backed Billy Joel during his show-closing performance on that year’s 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.  Are we getting ahead of ourselves? Perhaps, but it’s pretty clear to see the career trajectory she’s on.

Laufey didn’t get where she is by thinking small. In 2023, she told RUSSH that Taylor Swift is her favorite current artist. The reason she gave for that choice spoke to her ambitions: “She 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.”

Laufey’s choice of opening act for her tour’s North American leg — English singer/songwriter Suki Waterhouse — also spoke to her pop ambitions. Waterhouse, best known in the U.S. for her hits “Good Looking” and “Supersad,” is right in the pop/rock mainstream.

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.

Here are the six best moments from Laufey’s opening night show at Crypto.com Arena.