Laufey, the Grammy-winning Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter, has admitted that despite performing to arenas worldwide, direct eye contact with audience members still makes her anxious onstage. She traces the fear back to her classical cello training, when a teacher warned her that staring at people while playing looked "creepy," a comment that has stayed with her throughout her performing career.

The one exception is her set closer, "Letter to My 13 Year Old Self," during which she deliberately seeks out young fans in the crowd, though seeing them cry sometimes moves her to tears too. She also said arena shows feel more intimate to her than smaller theatres, thanks to barricade walks that bring her closer to fans, and shared that she is often recognised for her Fortnite character. The comments follow a strong period for the artist: her album A Matter of Time reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in September 2025, topped several other Billboard charts, and won Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 2026 Grammy Awards, her second consecutive win in that category.