Zara Larsson: everything you need to know about the Swedish pop singer
Swedish pop singer Zara Larsson has not only enjoyed great success in Scandinavia, but her music has been popular internationally for years. Find out how Zara Larsson became famous, everything about her music career and what she is working on today.
Zara Maria Larsson (born 16 December 1997 in Solna) is a Swedish pop singer known from the Swedish talent show Taleng. She made her international breakthrough with the single Lush Life (2015). In 2021 she signed a deal with Sony Music Publishing.
| Geboren | 16 December 1997 in Solna |
|---|---|
| Albums | 1 (2014), So Good (2017), Poster Girl (2021) |
| Awards (selection) | Grammis (4), MTV Europe Music Awards (4), Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards (3), P3 Guld (2), Rockbjörnen (8) |
Biography: the life of Zara Larsson from 1997 until today
Private life
Zara was born on 16 December 1997 in Solna and grew up in Enskede-Årste-Vantör, a district of Stockholm. She lived there with her father, a soldier, her mother, a nurse, and her sister, who is three years younger.
In third grade, she transferred to the Kungliga Svenska Balettskolan (“Royal Swedish Ballet School”) to begin her dance training. The famous Swedish actress Alicia Vikander also received her schooling there. She stayed there until ninth grade, when she transferred to the Kulturama art school, a grammar school in Stockholm.
Activism
Zara Larsson is known for speaking out in favour of equal rights. According to her own statement, this developed when she moved to art school in ninth grade. She previously had little experience of sexism at a school that was predominantly attended by girls. After changing school and as she became better known, she became more aware of the social problem, as Refinery29 reports.
An Instagram post in which she put a condom over her leg to criticise men who claimed she was too small went viral in 2015. She was praised as a feminist activist and also campaigns for equal rights on Twitter.
Career
How did Zara Larsson become famous?
In 2007, Zara’s mum entered her in Talang, the Swedish version of the Got Talent series. She won the final with a cover of the song My Heart Will Go On by Céline Dion. The cover version was also released as her debut single.
What happened next for Zara Larsson after Talang?
The next time Zara Larsson was in the spotlight was in 2012, when the first song from her 2013 EP Introducing, Uncover, won an award on YouTube. The song achieved platinum status in both Sweden and Norway. Three more songs made it into the Swedish charts.
Thanks to these successes, she was honoured twice with the Rockbjörnen award in 2013: Once in the “Breakthrough of the Year” category and once in the “Live Artist of the Year” category. The following year saw the release of another EP, 1, which achieved platinum status in Sweden. Singles from this EP also made it into the charts, such as Carry You Home.
So Good and Lush Life: how Zara Larsson achieved her international breakthrough
Zara achieved international success primarily with the single Lush Life, which was taken from the album So Good released in 2017. The song reached number one in the charts in Sweden and topped the top 5 in many other countries such as Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom.
This led to collaborations with other artists such as Ty Dolla $ign, Tinie Tempah, David Guetta, Clean Bandit and WizKid. The songs This One’s for You and Symphony in particular were huge successes for the artist. So Good also secured a place in the top 10 of the music charts in many countries, including Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands.
Discography: EPs and studio albums by Zara Larsson
- Introducing (EP, 2013)
- Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself (EP, 2013)
- 1 (2014)
- Uncover (EP, 2015)
- So Good (2017)
- Poster Girl (2021)
- Venus (2024)
What is Zara Larsson doing today?
Poster Girl – The latest studio album (2021)
On 5 March 2021, Zara Larsson released her latest studio album Poster Girl, from which several singles such as Love Me Land and Talk About Love were also released earlier. The single Wow was used in the Netflix film Work It, which is why a remix with the main actress Sabrina Carpenter was also released.
2022 the single Words got released, which was produced by Swedish DJ Alesso.
In October 2023 it was announced that in February 2024, her newest studio album Venus shall be released.
Where is Zara Larsson under contract?
As PR Newswire reported, Zara Larsson signed a deal with Sony Music Publishing in 2021. She was previously signed to TEN Music Group, a sub-label of Universal Music Group.
