(pronounced lay-vay) has captivated a generation with virtuosic songs of love and self-discovery by manifesting her vision of jazz-and classical-infused pop music. She has become a bridge for the older music she adores, from Chet Baker to Carole King to Ravel, by offering her bold interpretation to a younger crop of listeners who have become deeply connected over time.

Raised between Reykjavik and Washington, D.C., she learned piano and cello as a child, later studying at Berklee College of Music. There, she wrote her debut EP, 2021’s Typical of Me, whose striking single “Street by Street” debuted at No. 1 on Icelandic Radio—the first of many achievements that have grown to include two GRAMMY® Awards, 5 billion global streams, a social media audience of 25 million, the biggest jazz LP debut in Spotify history and an album in Billboard’s Top 5, a growing pile of Platinum plaques, a Forbes 30 Under 30 designation, and being named one of TIME’s 2025 Women of the Year.