Zara Larsson, “One of pop’s biggest and outspoken young stars” (The Guardian), provokes and pushes pop culture forward, with enlightened and energised anthems that soar and seduce all at once. With every move, she continues to quietly make history and break records: her platinum-certified 2017 full-length, So Good, notably stands out as one of the most-streamed debuts on Spotify by a female artist ever. Zara’s growing catalogue boasts one smash after another, from ‘Never Forget You’, ‘Lush Life’, and ‘Ain’t My Fault’ to her Clean Bandit collaboration ‘Symphony’.
Along the way, she has received awards and nominations ranging from the Swedish Grammys, BRITS and MTV EMAs to even gracing the stage of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Larsson has entered a brazen new era with “Pretty Ugly”. The electro-blasted single and its gloriously messy music video lean all the way into the idea that — as she sings — “sometimes a girl don’t wanna be well-behaved.” And now with its follow up, “Midnight Sun”, off the forthcoming album of the same name, she’s rightfully claiming her spot as one of the pop industry’s most exciting, and versatile, performers.
Social media enthusiasts and the chronically online have finally come around to her genius, and Australia will soon follow as she gears up for her set of live shows, supporting OneRepublic on their 2026 “The Sweet Escape” tour, which commences on the 4th February, 2026, in New Zealand, before closing out across Australia on the 18th.
To celebrate, Peter Gray spoke with the pop powerhouse about crafting her live set, how the relationship with her voice has matured over the years, and what we can expect from her “celestial” new album.
I’m going to say as a gay man with good taste, I have been on the Zara Larsson train for a decade now, back to the 1 days. “Carry You Home”, all that!
Wow, a day one!
Yeah, so I’m very excited that everyone’s finally getting on board. “Midnight Sun” is having a moment on X right now.
I’m very excited about it. I feel the energy is shifting, and it feels like I have just been preparing for whatever’s about to come. I think it feels really good when people are resonating with the music that I’m dropping now, because I feel like I’m such a big part of it, and I feel like it’s so authentically me. It’s so fun. The songs and the visuals and the world, it feels really good that people are resonating with that. I feel like they see me. So for people to listen to “Midnight Sun”, and for that to be what people gravitated towards…I’m so excited.
It’s about bloody time is all I can say. And the great thing is there’s potentially a whole lot of Australian audiences that are going to be introduced to you for the first time as you support OneRepublic here. I wanted to ask, because obviously there’s some pop crossover with your sound and OneRepublic’s, but they are very distinct. How do you approach crafting a set list to complement their show, but also showcase your artistry as well?
That’s a really good question. I’m currently doing the set list, the opening set list, because I’m also going on tour with Tate McRae (in the US), which I think our crowds and our worlds are a bit more similar. Very heavy pop. It’s a cool girl energy kind of thing, which I think is really fun. But I wonder for OneRepublic, I would obviously love to bring a band. I mean, I would love to bring my full production, but, honestly, I’ll see how the album (Midnight Sun) performs and what people are gravitating towards, because at that point it would have been out a few months. I think I’ll just stay true to what I do at the same time, and I think people resonate with that. OneRepublic are such amazing performers, but also Ryan (Tedder) is such a good writer. He makes such good pop songs. And I think if you like a good pop song, you will like my set.
I’ll make sure to bring the energy, because I’m an opener, I think I’ll just smash it in your face for a full 45 minutes. There’s no “Let’s slow it down.” You won’t leave, because you’ll stay for OneRepublic, but I will leave the stage and hopefully the crowd will feel very energetic, very uplifted, very excited for the rest of the night. Stay on that kind of energy and vibe. We’ll see it in a few months, but I think I’ll just do the show that I want to perform.
I’m here for it. Let’s get some deep cuts in there…
Some mash-ups, yes.
With Midnight Sun, you’ve mentioned that it’s inspired by Swedish summer nights where the sun barely sets. Can you elaborate on how that phenomenon translated into the album…
I thought you were asking me to explain the science (laughs)
The soundscape of your album, the lyrical themes, the overall mood. Is there a particular track that you feel embodies that most vividly for you?
I think “Midnight Sun” sets the tone for the rest of the album. I would say differently, and maybe more accurately, than “Pretty Ugly.” I think “Pretty Ugly” was fun as a first single, because it was so unexpected and a bit experimental. “Midnight Sun” is more of the feeling of the rest of the album, even though the attitude of “Pretty Ugly” is still in there. I think every song has their sister or cousin, and even though it’s a 10-track record, which is not long, it really does tell kind of a story of what I feel right now. What my life is like right now. I would say that it talks a lot about how I feel right now with my career, my ambitions. I think you start to get a bit introspective when, you know, I’m almost pushing 30. I’m grown now. I started so young. I was literally 10, and I’m like, “Wait, I’m a woman,” and a lot of stuff changes in your brain. Why am I doing this? Who am I doing it for? What am I chasing? What do I want from life? All of those questions start to pop up, and I speak a lot about that in the album.
I don’t know what I’m doing all the time, but I kind of do, and that’s amazing. (The album) is way more personal than people will expect, and it’s a good mix of fun bangers, euphoric vibes, sassy attitudes, but also honest and real moments. I think that happened because I was working so closely with this very small team, and also with MNEK, who is executive producing the whole album. We also wrote all the songs together, and I feel like we go back so long. He really gets me and understands me. I think that’s been the biggest change, honestly, (in) making this album, to work with people who really understand me. Venus, I loved making that, and I realised how important it is to have a small team. Also with this album, like minimal straight men. None.
Straight men get too much as is, let the gays have it.
Really, it’s like walking into a session, everyone just gets each other and we’re on the same algorithms. It just feels like I could truly be myself, because Margo XS, who’s producing most of it, she’s almost punky, trancey, heavy dance producer, and then also MNEK, who’s more of an R&B-dance (vibe), I think it’s an interesting mix. “Midnight Sun” is a good representation of all of our sides and what we’re good at coming together as one song. It’s so melodic, but it’s very dancey and has beautiful lyrics. Very celestial. And we have “Midnight Sun”, and “Midnight Sun”‘s friend is “Blue Moon”, and then we have “Saturn’s Return”, and I didn’t even mean for that to happen. And we had Venus before. I don’t know, I’m just in space.
As you were saying about having done this for so long, and one of the things that I love about what people are discovering, finally, is that your voice control is next level! Your vocal control and performance presence has always been a standout. How has your relationship with your voice evolved over the years?
I think it’s about how you make the song, and how you create the song, and the feeling of being free in the session and the studio. It’s hard to write songs for other people and for it to make sense. And a lot of people did that for me when I started out. But there were also people who I worked very closely with, and most of them were the same writers on all my big songs, all from Sweden who I work with every day. They kind of knew what my voice was like in that it’s hard to get pitched songs, because I know what I can sing or what I want to sing. I think what changed the most is not really my relationship with my voice, but it’s my relationship with how I carry myself in the room. When I write, I’m way more confident now, and I dare to be a bit weird and I dare to not always have great ideas, because when you throw out nine shitty ones, one is going to be amazing. And you just have to deal with that like it’s no big deal. It’s just the path to coming to the best end result, basically.
When you work with a group of people that you feel comfortable with, I feel like that’s where my voiced ends up. If I’m shy and, like, “No, I don’t know,” it won’t take me there. But live is when I really feel like…I always switch it up live. When I do this on the record, I get even more in the zone. I just get so free, and sometimes I record things in the booth and I think, “How am I going to be able to do this live?” And then I’m like, “This was easy. What am I so scared of?” I should write a song on stage, almost. Be like, “Hey guys, can you give me five minutes? I’m gonna try some things out.”
If you want to test that out specifically, because I want to be in that audience, let’s go!
I think it’s just about getting in the zone. That creative flow is a real thing. You just have to express it, express it, express it, and then that’s where I’ll end up. But the relationship with my voice? I think, hopefully, as I’m getting older, it gets better and better the more I use it. I mean, it’s definitely over 10,000 hours at this point, so (my voice) better be good. That’s how I feel.
Well I can attest the voice sounds incredible! I’m so excited for Midnight Sun. I’m so excited for everyone to see you. And I just want to quickly wrap up by saying that I have been listening to your music for all these years, and a few years ago was not the greatest period in my life, and I found a lot of comfort in music and pop music, and Poster Girl came out at that time, and I knew I could just throw myself into it. I can release into this, and everything bad that’s going on can be soothed by the fact that I had an album like yours that let me just absolutely let go. So thank you for that.
That’s the point of pop, it’s such a beautiful escape. And it serves this kind of fantasy you can dive into and release. That was literally what Poster Girl was for me, so I’m happy to hear that. That means a lot.
Well, Midnight Sun is going to be killer. I want to thank you so much for taking the time out to talk to me.
I’ll see you at the show!
Zara Larsson, touring with One Republic on the Sweet Escape Tour – February 2026 – tickets and info at livenation.com.au
