14/06/2026

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

theSunday Special VI ON SUNDAY JUNE 14, 2026

The most intimate moments were when Laufey played on her instruments (piano and guitar) accompanied only by her mic. – ALL PICS BY NICOLE MAGO

T HE White Bunny Mei Mei exclaimed, “Oh dear, oh dear! I shall be too late!” as Lauvers followed her lead, plunging into the abyss of the TM Unifi Arena to be frozen in time as the clock ticked “ding, dong, ding, dong”. Act I In came Laufey, walking into the centre stage, dazed in red like a wistful damsel, as she instantaneously pulled the crowd in with Clockwork , trapping us in a jazzy wonderland. The quartet then gently led us into Lover Girl – and into Laufey’s valentine fairytale as she twirled with the dancers on the projected-floor clockwork like an inamorata daydreaming in her bedroom after setting eyes on her Romeo. Slow-waltzing us into falling in love, the alto nightingale later sang a cheeky little number Dreamer , an exasperated sigh to people asking: “Why haven’t you gotten a boyfriend?” As she sang: “I’d rather be alone at tea...”, a stadium filled with people who, drained by the age-old question and meaningless connections, felt seen. At least, I did. Just like a person choosing themselves, yet yearning to be in love, the curly-haired goddess sang to our fear of missing out with Falling Behind as she tugged our vulnerability with her guitar strings. In a lovelorn language of our own, we sang and swayed with her, celebrating the very things that make us humans. Pulling us into a manege , Ű BY VERONICA ELANKOVAN lifestyle@thesundaily.com

Love letter to Lauvers

Laufey’s masterclass four-act wonderland of modern romance

The crowd singing Laufey’s songs back to her, signalling a bond that transcends borders as it connects in music.

uninteresting that she was Bored . Been there... It felt like we were spilling the tea with a friend over this wall of a person who was a waste of our time. The intimate moment was made more special by Too Little, Too Late , as we tapped into the crushing regret of seeing someone we love (a little too much) move on because we took a little too long to confess. As she reached the bridge with a soulful voice, we choked as the quartet played Chopin’s Nocturne in E-Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2 (a nod to her classical music background) that led into an interpolation of Laufey’s Bewitched , with whispers of Falling Behind . A melancholic close to Act I, we took a breather from the roller coaster of ever-consuming love – for now. Act II: Jazz Club & Act III A Matter of Time rendezvous continued. Laufey brought her string quartet closer to us, at the centre stage, as they put on a whiskey-laced, jazz performance for a cheeky little tryst at the back-alley bar. Opening Act II with Seems Like Old Times , Laufey took us back in time to dance in nostalgic love that seemed like a distant, fond memory. As her smoky vocals filled the stadium with a melancholic ache, we were pulled backwards into an era of grand, old-school romance. Still reeling from the bittersweet tenderness, she thrusted us into the unfolding levels of intimacy with Valentine , Fragile , While You Were Sleeping and Let You Break My Heart Again .

waking us up and reminding us love is rarely a flawless fairytale, she crooned Silver Lining as she took us into a journey of a beautiful, messy partnership that involves red wines and kissing in playgrounds. Stripping it all back, Laufey then sat on the stage steps, recounting what it is like to be “in love” with someone entirely

Starting with Valentine , the crooner took us behind the breaking walls that were bulldozed by an unexpected love as the quartet’s strings imitate the accidental realisation of falling in love. The little staccato bit by Laufey captured the lighthearted panic of having a genuine crush on someone unexpected. That panic was deepened into Fragile as her velvety vocals and her band’s symphonies let us into the soft hesitation of giving someone your heart, forcing us to confront the terrifying truth that they hold absolute power to destroy our peace. Then – resolution. Singing While You Were Sleeping , she and her band played melodic sounds of the quiet conformation of true belonging. The songstress peered through our defences, as we shed a tear, realising that love eventually finds a branch to perch in our hearts despite the thorny barks. Holding us in that moment, Laufey then sat behind her keyboard and played Let You Break My Heart Again . The water works flowed. Her voice, accompanied by

only the keyboard, created a sanctuary for the hearts that resisted love, only to lose the battle, and would rather break their hearts than allow themselves the vulnerability of loving someone. If Act I was the slow dancing of infatuation, Act II and III were us hopelessly and helplessly falling in love while breaking our hearts. Moving up her set, gracefully walking up the steps, the songbird took us on a dizzying loop of love, pulling us in as we stand frozen in time with bright lights drowning us in a Carousel . Bringing us to a high, Laufey followed with a haunting Forget-Me-Not as she tended to the forgotten ache left behind by the overwhelming love that almost drowned us. Like the absurdity that is love, the set was morphed into the Cuckoo Ballet (Interlude) with an actual ballet performance as Laufey played her cello before getting up to her stand mic to perform the rest of the song. The theatrical set turned the madness of love into a beautiful, cinematic reminder of just how magnificent – and utterly stupid – falling in love can be.

See page VII

Paying tribute to her Chinese heritage, Laufey opens the set in red and a qipao blouse with sparkly skirt.