Zara Larsson

Zara Larsson: The voice of a generation

Zara Larsson, born on December 16, 1997 in Solna, is a Swedish pop singer. pop singer and songwriter who became famous in 2008 when she won the Swedish version of Talang. She is signed to TEN Music Group, a sub-label of Universal Music Group, and Epic Records.

The 1.63 m tall Zara grew up as the daughter of a soldier and a nurse in the Stockholm district of Enskede-Årsta-Vantör. Her sister, who is three years younger, is also a musician. She initially spent her school years in Gubbängen before switching to ballet training at the Royal Swedish Ballet School. Although she developed a great passion for music, she decided against the Adolf Friedrich Music School as she did not like the focus on choral singing. She later transferred to the Kulturama art school, where she focused more intensively on social and gender-specific themes.

Larsson’s mother entered her for Talang in 2007, where she impressed with covers of The Greatest Love of All and My Heart Will Go On. She won the final with the latter and received 500,000 Swedish kronor (approx. €44,800). Her performance video has been viewed over 15 million times on YouTube in 2021.

After a longer break, Zara Larsson released her first EP Introducing in 2013, whose single Uncover reached number 1 in Sweden and Norway and was certified platinum. The EP included further hits such as When Worlds Collide and It’s a Wrap. In 2013, she was named “Breakthrough of the Year” and “Live Artist of the Year” at the Rockbjörnen Awards. In the same year, the EP Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself followed, which included the double single She’s Not Me (Pt. 1 & Pt. 2). In 2014, Carry You Home reached number 3 in the Swedish charts, followed by Rooftop, which was included on their debut album 1. The album was certified platinum in Sweden.

Larsson’s international breakthrough came in 2015 with Lush Life. The song reached number 1 in Sweden and the top 5 in several European countries. The successful collaboration Never Forget You with MNEK also followed in 2015. In 2016, she worked with Tinie Tempah(Girls Like) and David Guetta, for whom she sang the official European Championship anthem This One’s For You.

In 2017, she released her second album So Good, which includes the hits Ain’t My Fault and Symphony (with Clean Bandit). The album reached number 1 in Sweden and high chart positions in several countries. In 2018, Zara Larsson was named one of the 30 most influential teenagers by Time.

In 2018, Ruin My Life was released, which reached the charts in several countries. Further singles such as Love Me Land, Wow and Talk About Love followed. Her third studio album Poster Girl was released on March 5, 2021 and contains 12 songs. At the same time, she organized an online concert in collaboration with IKEA on International Women’s Day. A summer edition of the album with additional songs was released in May 2021. 2022 saw the release of the single Words.

Larsson celebrated great success with the single Can’t Tame Her in 2023. The music video, shot in Prague, was directed by Julien Malegue and Antoine Mayet, with choreography by JaQuel Knight. In November 2023, she announced her fourth studio album Venus, which was released on February 9, 2024 and contains 12 songs, including the singles Can’t Tame Her and You Love Who You Love. She also embarked on an international tour with stops in Germany.

Studio albums by Zara Larsson

• 2014 1
• 2017 So Good
• 2021 Poster Girl
• 2024 Venus