Zara Larsson

Early life

Larsson was born on 16 December 1997 in Solna, Stockholm, to Agnetha and Anders Larsson. In an interview with Svenska Dagbladet in July 2015, she said that she was born "dead" due to a lack of oxygen from a nuchal cord. Larsson grew up in Tallkrogen in Enskede, south of Stockholm. Her mother is a nursing assistant and her father is an officer.

Her first primary school was the Gubbängsskolan. During third grade, Larsson also attended school on Ko Lanta, Thailand. She later attended the Royal Swedish Ballet School, where she studied until the age of 15. She attended the secondary school Kulturama, an art school in Stockholm. She has cited Carola Häggkvist and Whitney Houston as early inspirations. She has said that since the age of five she knew that she wanted to become "immortal" like Elvis Presley.

She has a sister, Hanna, who is three years younger and is a singer and member of the band Lennix.

Career

2008–2011: Career beginnings on Swedish television

Larsson won the 2008 season of Talang, the Swedish adaptation of Got Talent, at the age of 10, winning 500,000 kronor. "My Heart Will Go On", the song she sang in the final, originally sung by Celine Dion, was later released that year as Larsson's debut single, charting at the official Swedish Singles Chart, Sverigetopplistan, for six consecutive weeks and peaking there at number seven for one week. She started singing on Sommarkrysset ("The Summer Cross"), another Swedish TV program. Between December 2009 and January 2010, Larsson participated in a reality TV series called Jag ska bli stjärna (transl. I shall become a star) where she and other young Swedish talents got help on the difficult road to international fame and success. She was managed by Laila Bagge, and they flew to Los Angeles in the United States where they visited and talked with Disney and the three big record label companies (Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Music Group) but did not get a contract offer anywhere, which Larsson later attributed to her age at that time.

2012–2017: Commercial success with 1 and So Good

Larsson signed with TEN Music Group in 2012 at age 15 to record her debut compilation recording. The recording, the extended play (EP) Introducing, was revealed on 9 December 2012 through an unofficial music video of "Uncover" on YouTube, a static-view video featuring her singing the whole song in the recording studio in one whole continuous take. The five-song EP was released in Scandinavia on 21 January 2013, consisting exclusively of original songs. "Uncover" was released as the EP's lead single. It peaked at number one on both the Sverigetopplistan and DigiListan charts, as well as reaching number one in Norway and peaking at number three in Denmark, and by 25 February 2013, the song was certified platinum in Sweden by Universal Music Sweden as a result of the song having received over five million streams. The song entered the Svensktoppen track lists. In July 2013, at Sommarkrysset in Gröna Lund, she received a 3× platinum award for Introducing for selling over 120,000 copies in Sweden.

On 27 March 2013, Larsson's next EP was revealed through a music video of "She's Not Me (Pt. 1)" on YouTube. The five-song EP, Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself, was released in Scandinavia on 5 July 2013. "She's Not Me" (consisting of "She's Not Me (Pt. 1)" and "She's Not Me (Pt. 2)") was released as a double-single on 25 June 2013. On 3 April 2013, Larsson revealed on her blog that she had signed a three-year contract with Epic Records in the United States. On 11 December 2013, Larsson performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo. On 1 October 2014, Larsson released her Scandinavian debut studio album 1, including the songs "Uncover", "Bad Boys" and "She's Not Me" (Pt. 1 and Pt. 2), in Scandinavia. The version of "Uncover" in the album was a newer recording by Larsson from 2014. The album went platinum in Sweden. Larsson was an opening act for English singer Cher Lloyd's I Wish Tour.

On 15 January 2015, Larsson released Uncover, her first international EP, containing songs from her album 1. On 5 June 2015, Larsson released the single "Lush Life" from her upcoming second studio album. The song became her second number one single and was certified 4× platinum in Sweden. The song reached the top five in 18 countries and was certified platinum in 16 countries. On 22 July 2015, Larsson released her collaboration with English singer MNEK, "Never Forget You", the second single from her upcoming album. The song reached number one in Sweden, number three in Australia, and number five in the United Kingdom. The song was certified platinum in Sweden after two weeks.

2017–2024: Poster Girl and Venus

In September 2017, Larsson announced that she had started working on her third studio album, saying in an interview she had written two new songs with MNEK. On 11 December 2017, Larsson once again performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, this time alongside American singer John Legend. In January 2018, Larsson was named to Forbes' "30 Under 30 Europe" list in the entertainment category. In September 2018, Larsson announced the lead single from her third studio album, "Ruin My Life". She released the song and music video on 18 October 2018. The track was commercially successful worldwide, being certified at least gold in the US and the UK, while reaching number one in the Netherlands. In 2019, Larsson released the follow-up singles "Don't Worry Bout Me" and "All the Time", as well as the then promotional single "Wow".

In January 2019, Larsson was featured on the song "Holding Out for You" by Italian rapper and singer Fedez. On 8 November 2019, Larsson's next single, "Invisible", taken from the 2019 movie Klaus, the first original animated feature film released on Netflix, was released on the same day the film was released. In March 2020, Larsson was featured on Kygo's single, "Like It Is", alongside American rapper Tyga. The song has performed moderately well, becoming a top-five song in Sweden, New Zealand, and Norway. Farrell Sweeney of Dancing Astronaut wrote that the song features "enamoring vocals by Larsson, immediately pulling the listener into the catchy commercial fabric" of the song. Sweeney also felt that Tyga's rap verse after the first drop was "surprising" and gave the song an "unexpected twist".

In June 2020, Larsson announced the single "Love Me Land" through Instagram. She released the song and music video on 10 July 2020. On the same day, an interview with her and Sveriges Radio was published. She announced that her new album would be released after 2020. She also said: "I am prepared in a completely different way. I have the next song ready, album cover, the video, the album is done. I just feel ready in a different way." It was then revealed on her Spotify page that the album would be called Love Me Land and that the title track was the first single from the album. Larsson later clarified in an interview that the album is titled Poster Girl and that "Wow" would also be included on the album, after officially announcing it as a single on 26 August 2020. In August 2020, Larsson collaborated with Swedish singer Carola Häggkvist on a cover of Häggkvist’s 1983 song "Säg mig var du står", which was released as a single in Scandinavia. Larsson later selected "Säg mig var du står" as the final song in Rolling Stone's "My Life in 10 Songs" feature, describing Häggkvist as "the voice of Sweden" and discussing how Häggkvist influenced her vocal style and the type of artist she wanted to become.

2025–present: Midnight Sun

On 25 April 2025, Larsson released "Pretty Ugly", the lead single from her fifth studio album, Midnight Sun. The title track was released on 13 June 2025 as the second single from the album and received a nomination for Best Dance Pop Recording at 68th Annual Grammy Awards, becoming Larsson's first Grammy nomination. The track achieved commercial success, peaking at number four in Sweden and number 7 in the United Kingdom. It also became Larsson's highest charging solo entry on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 14. The album was released on 26 September 2025 to critical acclaim. Larsson joined Tate McRae as a supporting act on the North American leg of the Miss Possessive Tour from August to September 2025 before embarking on the Midnight Sun Tour in October 2025.

In May 2025, Larsson was announced as the support act for OneRepublic on their 2026 tour of Australia and New Zealand, but pulled out due to a scheduling conflict; her place was taken by Freya Ridings.

On 10 October 2025, Larsson's collaboration with British singer PinkPantheress on a remix of "Stateside" was released, which was featured on the latter artist's remix album Fancy Some More?. The remix reached the top ten in several countries, including the United States, and topped the Billboard Global 200 chart. It won the award for Collaboration of the Year at the American Music Awards 2026, becoming Larsson's first overall win at the ceremony.

In November 2025, during the Midnight Sun Tour, a fan performed the choreography to "Lush Life" with Larsson onstage, causing the song to go viral. The track re-entered numerous record charts worldwide and achieved a new peak within the top 40 of the US Billboard Hot 100. It also appeared on the Billboard Global 200 for the first time, peaking at number eight.

On 1 May, Larsson released the remix version of her album, Midnight Sun, titled Midnight Sun: Girls Trip, featuring remixes with Tyla, PinkPantheress, Shakira, Robyn, Madison Beer, Kehlani, and other artists. In June, Hits magazine reported that Larsson's manager, Roger Ames, was negotiating a new recording deal for her, with one corporate entity offering a "very large sum" to sign Larsson. The following month, it was revealed that she transferred to RCA Records.

Personal life

In 2015, 17-year-old Zara Larsson hosted a 48-minute summer program on Sveriges Radio, becaming the program's youngest-ever speaker. In the talk, she spoke about her life, her music career, her feminist views, others' reactions to her, and her feelings about all of it.

Between 2017 and 2019, Larsson dated English model Brian H. Whittaker. Since 2020, Larsson has been in a relationship with Swedish dancer Lamin Holmén.

On 18 May 2017, Larsson released an H&M collection containing various garments and accessories.

Larsson previously followed a vegetarian diet. She has spoken about her struggles with premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Views and activism

Larsson has grown increasingly vocal with her views on other artists and industry workers with whom she works and admires. While she has high praise for performers such as Beyoncé, she is equal in her opposing views of other artists like Dr. Luke, or Chris Brown. Larsson, a fan of Beyoncé, identifies as a feminist and models herself an "activist" after the singer. She attributes her openness of opinion on social media and in interviews to her parents, claiming: "Both my parents are very educated when it comes to social issues and being woke about what's going on in the world, and they've been very supportive of me having a voice".

In January 2015, Larsson gained widespread positive reactions in Sweden and the United States after posting a picture on her Instagram showing a condom wrapped around her leg and foot to refute the idea that penises can be too big for condoms to fit around. She has since 2019 been fronting a new campaign from Durex and AIDS organisation (RED) promoting sexual health awareness and raising money for AIDS treatment in South Africa. In order to increase public understanding of incontinence, she has openly stated that she used diapers until she was seven years old.

In June 2015, Larsson came into the spotlight in her home country for openly questioning whether the Bråvalla Festival had any gender perspective whatsoever, as its promotion and performance line-up were highly dominated by male artists. She also wondered why she was not presented among the main acts despite being the most popular artist on Spotify of the festival's acts. That same day, Swedish singer Günther wrote on his Facebook profile criticising Larsson: "You are one of many teenybopper chicks who are world-famous in Sweden and maximally hyped but don't come with any hits, only a lot of fuss." During her performance at the festival, she countered back saying "Fuck Günther, fuck all woman haters". This led to the hashtag #backazara being created and popularised on social media platforms, where thousands of people, including famous Swedish people, showed their support for Larsson.

On 11 May 2021, Larsson posted on her Instagram where she criticised Israel for killing Palestinian civilians and upholding apartheid, while expressing the importance of standing against antisemitism. In the 2022 Swedish general election, she publicly endorsed the Left Party. Additionally, Larsson has expressed opposition to toxic masculinity. At the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, Larsson shared an image to her Instagram story with the caption "Oh so it's stand with Ukraine when Russia invades but not Palesti-". After receiving backlash, she issued an apology for her comments, stating: "My comment on the war i previously had on my story has got a lot of valid criticism thinking I'm in support of terrorists. Let me just be clear – I have never and will never support terrorists. It was badly worded and thoughtlessly posted and for that I apologize." She also reaffirmed her support for Palestinian civilians. In January 2026, in response to the killing of Renée Good, Larsson shared a series of Instagram stories condemning the actions of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), calling the agents "criminals". She also shared her love and support for the queer and trans community, immigration and abortion, criminals, and socialism. In the 2026 Swedish general election, she publicly once again endorsed and encouraged her followers to vote for the Left Party.

Huawei controversy

In March 2019, it was announced that Larsson had started a commercial cooperation with Chinese technology company Huawei. Larsson's cooperation with Huawei was criticised by experts on human rights in China and others, who referred to Huawei's close ties to the authoritarian Chinese government and its record on human rights. In August 2020, Larsson announced that she had terminated her cooperation with Huawei, stating that China is "not a nice state" and that she does not stand behind its policies. In response, Huawei stated that the endorsement deal was time-limited and had already ended in 2019. Larsson's music was reportedly taken down from Apple Music in China less than a week after her comments.

Artistry and influences

Larsson is mainly a pop singer. She has experimented with electropop, house, and dance music. Additionally, she is influenced by R&B. Vocally, she has described herself as a soprano. She has cited Beyoncé as her biggest musical influence. Larsson's Swedish influences include Robyn, Seinabo Sey, Sabina Ddumba, and her sister Hanna Larsson, with her neo soul group Lennixx. Her additional international influences include Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga.

Discography

1 (2014)

So Good (2017)

Poster Girl (2021)

Venus (2024)

Midnight Sun (2025)

Tours

Headlining

So Good World Tour (2017–2018)

Don't Worry Bout Me Tour (2019)

Poster Girl Tour (2021–2022)

Venus Tour (2024)

Midnight Sun Tour (2025–2026)

Opening act

Cher Lloyd – I Wish Tour (2013–2014)

Beyoncé - Formation World Tour (2016)

Clean Bandit – North American Tour (2017)

Ed Sheeran – ÷ Tour (2019)

Kygo – Kygo World Tour (2024)

Tate McRae – Miss Possessive Tour (2025)

Awards and nominations

Larsson is the recipient of numerous awards including one Bambi Award, two Electronic Dance Music Awards, four Grammis, four MTV European Music Awards and eight Rockbjörnen. Alongside those accolades, starting in 2016 as her breakthrough year, she has been nominated for numerous major music awards including nominations for four Brit Awards, one Hollywood Music in Media Award, one Latin American Music Award, two MTV Video Music Awards, and one Grammy Award. In March 2023, Larsson said: "I think I'm a little entitled to success and I think if I ever let's say get a Grammy I won't feel like 'Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening' – it's more like 'Finally, it took long enough'." Her first Grammy Award nomination came in November 2025 with her fifth's studio album Midnight Sun.