JAKARTA - Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Laufey revealed that despite having performed in various parts of the world, there is one thing that still makes him feel uncomfortable on stage, namely looking directly into the eyes of the audience.
The musician of Icelandic-Chinese descent explained that the anxiety was rooted in the past when he was still undergoing classical music training.
"I grew up playing the cello and I would often pick out one person in the audience and accidentally stare into their eyes," Laufey said in a recent interview with The Hit Network's Hot Hits with Nic & Loren.
He then remembered a reprimand from a teacher after a recital, "You shouldn't look at people directly when you're playing, it's creepy."
The rebuke apparently left a mark in the jazz soloist's memory. "So now I'm very afraid of making people feel uncomfortable. I always think about it," he added.
However, Laufey made one special exception for the closing song of his concert, "Letter to My 13 Year Old Self". He admitted that he deliberately looked for young fans among the crowd while performing the song.
"It's a letter to my younger self, so I like to look for young girls in the audience and stare into their eyes," he said.
Ironically, this interaction often triggers deep emotions. "But sometimes they cry and it makes me cry too. So that's another reason why I can't stare too closely," said the 27-year-old musician.
Interestingly, Laufey feels that performing on a large scale feels more intimate than in a smaller theater.
"On the arena, I am surrounded and feel closer to the fans. I can walk on the barricade and feel close," he said, explaining how the contrast between the size of the room and the calm of the songs he sang actually increased the intimacy of the concert.
In addition to the experience on stage, the singer of "Bewitched" also shared funny stories about his growing popularity, including being recognized as a character in the Fortnite game.
"I was at a restaurant yesterday and the waiter asked, 'Are you the one in Fortnite?'" he said laughing. "Sometimes I'll meet another 'me' and we'll shoot each other."
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