Laufey Channels Heartbreak and Fury in New Single "Tough Luck"
by Abhilasha Bhattarai | May 19th, 2025
Laufey’s velvety vocals have captivated audiences since she emerged as a genre-blending force in the music scene. The Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter, known for her masterful fusion of classical, jazz, and pop, returns with a fresh edge on her new single, Tough Luck. This track offers a biting exploration of post-breakup emotions.
The Grammy Award-winning artist is known for reviving vintage musical styles for a younger generation, but her upcoming album, “A Matter of Time”, set for release on August 22, marks a noticeable shift. Laufey introduces a more alternative pop-forward sound while retaining the refined instrumentation fans have come to love.
In a press statement about the song’s release, Laufey (pronounced Lay-Vay) described “Tough Luck” as reflecting the emotional fallout from a toxic relationship. “I wanted to reveal an angrier side of myself—a side that this unfortunate relationship brought out in me,” she shared.
The opening verse sets the tone for the track’s emotional complexity: “Are you tired? I can tell you’re tired / Your eyes turn gray, you beg me to be silent…”.Laufey paints a portrait of fatigue and disconnect, indicating early tension in the relationship. The chorus, however, is where she truly unleashes “Tough luck, my boy, your time is up / I’ll break it first, I’ve had enough…”
Photo by Emma Summerton
Here, the narrative flips—she reclaims agency by ending things before being hurt again. The line "Just like you did to the actress before me" has sparked online speculation. Some Reddit users theorize the song references Charlie Christie, who was previously linked to actress Maude Apatow. However, this has not been officially confirmed and should be considered speculative.
The second verse raises the stakes: "Does your mother even know? / You demoralized, effaced me…”
This verse highlights the erosion of self-worth and the emotional manipulation at play while challenging the partner’s fragile masculinity—“You said I’d never understand / The things that make a man a man”. The bridge intensifies the song’s emotional core with some of its most cutting lines, “I should congratulate thee / For so nearly convincing me / I’m not quite as smart as I seem…”
Laufey confronts the psychological toll of the relationship with poetic honesty. As she teased on TikTok, “God forbid a girl crashes out through song for once”—a sentiment that captures the cathartic nature of “Tough Luck” (Laufey, 2025).
