INTERVIEW: Zara Larsson on her first Australian shows and new album 'Midnight Sun': "Whenever I release a new song, I'll always get a comment like, ‘I miss the old Zara’. And I'm like, which one?!"
Interview: Shalane Connors
Published: 9 July 2025
Zara Larsson has been a musical star for much of her life, ever since she won the Swedish version of Got Talent - Talang - aged just ten years old in 2008. In the intervening almost 20 years, she has become a global superstar.
With an innate ability to create the most perfect pop music, she has been a part of some of the most memorable songs of the past decade as well as being an outspoken and influential activist for women.
After early success in Sweden, Australia was one of the first countries outside of Europe to embrace Larsson when her solo breakthrough hit ‘Lush Life’ soared into the Australian top 10 at the beginning of 2016, a full month before it repeated the success in the UK. The song has gone on to accumulate over 1 billion streams on Spotify
She has since had a string of hit singles including ‘Ain’t My Fault’, ‘I Would Like’ and ‘Ruin My Life’ as well as being the voice of the Clean Bandit masterpiece ‘Symphony’, which hit number one in the UK and US.
Despite her major success in Australia, Larsson has yet to perform live in this country, a fact she will remedy next year when she performs seven shows with OneRepublic as part of their The Sweet Escape tour. Beginning in Sydney on 6 February, Larsson will perform in the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Melbourne before wrapping up in Perth on 18 February.
The tour will be preceded by the release of Larsson’s fifth studio album Midnight Sun which is due to be released on 26 September this year. Created with MNEK, Margo XS, Zhone and Helena Gao, the album is a love letter to her Swedish pop heritage as well as a reflection of her two decades long music career, the highs and lows, the vulnerability and the joy.
Two singles from the album have already been released and shine a light on the diverse soundscape Larsson has planned for the collection. First single ‘Pretty Ugly’ is a thumping, dirty electronic track with a 1990s house inspired keyboard line and a shouty, chanting chorus that instantly commands your attention. Lyrically it embraces ‘messy’ women - fighting against the societal expectation that women should ‘behave’: ‘They tell me to be nice, I should know my place / Sometimes a girl don't wanna be well-behaved’.
Second single and title track ‘Midnight Sun’ is a trancey, electronic-synth pop track with a beat that changes pace from skittering to driving and forceful. It celebrates summer, and the romances that inevitably come with it, but also encourages us to keep that summer feeling all year long.
“In thinking about this album, I thought, ‘What do I want to say? What do I want this to be?’ I really am proud of my Swedish pop heritage, so I wanted to write about a Swedish summer where the sun never goes down,” Larsson says. “I wanted the whole album to feel like it's a summer night and it never ends. And it doesn't matter if it's December: the summer night will be there for you. It's waiting for you, it will come back for you, and you will come back for it.”
One of this generation’s greatest pop artists and performers, Larsson’s first ever shows in Australia are bound to be a highlight of 2026., while the next chapter in her music with the release of Midnight Sun in September is already proving to be one of her most intriguing - and exciting - yet. We recently sat down with Larsson to chat all about her upcoming Australian shows and her new music.
Hi Zara! It is great to talk to you today. So you've been a pretty big deal in Australia for about a decade now!
Honestly, Australia was the first country outside of Sweden who really supported ‘Lush Life’ and ‘Ain’t My Fault’. I remember in the very, very beginning, you guys were so quick, which is incredible. And also quite strange that I haven't done a show there yet!
Well, I was gonna say…! What convinced you to finally come over?
It was, it was about time. It's just so far, and honestly, it’s quite expensive to take the full tour down. But I was like, ‘guys, it has to happen!’ So I'm warming up with OneRepublic, and then hopefully I'll bring the full band over and do my own shows as well. I feel like it's going to be almost like a homecoming, do you know what I mean? It's going to be good vibes.
We're a long way away, but we're worth it! So you're not bringing the full outfit for this tour?
We are discussing that now, who are we bringing? Because I'm only an opening act, I have 45 strong minutes that I can perform and do the best version of my set that I can do. So is it more dancers? Is it going to be a band? We'll see where we end up. It would be so incredible to be able to just do my own production, but I know that will happen, it's just a matter of when. We'll see what we can figure out, but whatever we decide on, it's gonna be a really good fun show,
You've got such a massive sound, it would be so different and interesting to hear that stripped back.
Oh, it will not be stripped back! Oh, no, no! It will be energy either from the dancers and I’ll do it all on track and have maybe DJ vibe, or I'll bring the full band and I'll just do that. But the dancers, they might really just bring out the energy.
Recent single ‘Pretty Ugly’ is taking me back to the Gwen Stefani era. It’s such a feminine rage anthem, it makes me want to kick down the door. Is that what you wanted from this track?
Absolutely. It's so in your face, it’s unapologetic, it's aggressive, it's very confident. I feel really empowered when I listen to it. I feel playing that live is also going to be incredible, because it's just shouty and loud. I think it was quite unexpected, not really what people thought I was going to do as my first single, but I think it really set the tone of I'm just gonna do whatever I want to do, which the song is basically about.
Is that what we can expect the vibe for the whole album will be?
The energy of ‘Pretty Ugly’ is definitely in other songs, but also the energy of ‘Midnight Sun’ is, which is a bit more melodic, more a classic pop song. But it has a lot of energy too, it has this break that is like dancing at a rave but while you're dancing you're thinking about life and how beautiful it is, and you're thankful and full of gratitude, but you're also ‘I don't give a fuck’. The energy of the album is very ‘I don't give a rat's ass, but I care a lot about people and myself in this world’. That's how I feel. It's carefree, but it's considerate.
You have said the album is also a homage to your Swedish roots, do you sing in Swedish at all?
No, it's just what it's about. ‘Midnight Sun’ for me is about a Swedish summer night. The whole song is literally about how I feel when I'm at my country house, when it's a summer's night and the sun never sets. It just stays light all night. If you go a few hours up north in Sweden, the sun never, ever sets, it’s in the sky 24 hours a day.. And there’s something really special about that. I think I realised the nostalgia of growing up like that, and never really being able to fully sleep unless you have a really good line and being out all night! Because you never really get tired, because when it's light all the time, it kind of fucks with your brain a bit.
I always say I'm a city girl, like I love the city. I love the lights and the sounds and the concrete jungle. But when I go out to nature and the countryside, I just feel so grounded. I look at a cloud, and I start crying, because I'm like, ‘Oh my God, life is beautiful’!
So the album is about my Swedish upbringing, but also just songs about how I feel right now, and how I feel growing older. I've been travelling so much for so long, but I think the older I get, the more I feel I am thankful that my roots are here, because the way I grew up made me very grounded and thankful that everyone in Sweden is so unfazed about everything. No one's better than everyone else, the socialist mindset which is actually quite refreshing when you spend a lot of time in LA. It's less ego and more honesty. There's a lot of me in this album, and at first listen, it sounds like maybe a disguised love song, even ‘Midnight Sun’, but it really is about it is so beautiful to exist.
I want to see your brand - Is that a weird thing to say? - is that you exude confidence. Do you think that comes from your Swedish upbringing?
Oh no, I think I’m quite un-Swedish in a way. Growing up, I've always felt, not that I'm different per se, but that I'm special. I think we all are, we have our own specialties and and uniquenesses, but I've always felt like ‘I am special and I have stuff that I need people to hear I'm an entertainer’ - and that's very not Swedish!
Do you ever suffer from a lack of confidence or stage fright?
Yes, of course. Not really stage fright, but I do question myself a lot, and I think that's just the dynamic of being an artist. I'm very, very aware of, or I think it's very important for me, that I want people to like me. So I say I'm carefree, I don't care, but I think it's very important for me to people to like what I do, and for people to like me. That's why I'm an artist, I think, in a way, because I have this ego that needs to be stroked, and that needs people to appreciate it. I want to entertain, but I also need people to give me validation. So it’s a weird loop.
I talk about this a lot on my album, you grow up and you realise now I'm with my boyfriend, I'm turning 28 maybe I want a family. Do I really want a tour for the rest of my life? I've been doing this for a long time, and shit, I'm so excited to be coming to Australia but I don't want to be an opener, I want to do my own shows, if we're being honest. It's about what do I want? Why do I want it? Sometimes I'm feel like I'm not good enough at all and I'm like, Oh my God, I've been doing this for so long, is it ever gonna get me anywhere, like, truly big? Am I just in the same place? But then I'm like I love what I do I.
Do you not think you're somewhere truly big right now?
No! (laughs) I'm like where is my stadium? I've always had really big dreams and goals, and I think that's a blessing and a curse, because when I do get to the stadiums in the future, in my dreams, maybe when I'm there, I'll be like, ‘I want to go to the moon’! There would just always be something that I’m striving for and longing for and that I work towards. I think it's just a part of my personality. It's complex, but it comes down to I love what I do and I love my life. It's an active choice to remind myself that I get to have a lot of fun, because you can easily end up in this weird comparison bubble, especially if you spend time online. Not just artists, but young people who spend their time on TikTok or Instagram where you compare yourself and you think maybe if I did this, or what if I got this many likes? You have to actively ground yourself. And is a really nice thing about coming home, because I feel like it's very grounding to be in Stockholm.
Do you find TikTok success, and the fast fame thing, a bit grating in terms of you've worked really hard on your career now for almost 20 years?
Yeah, I think it's an amazing tool to help music be heard. I've just started [using it for] ‘Midnight Sun’ and kind of do whatever I want and be free with it. I feel like it resonates with people so much more. People are like, ‘Oh, your social media team is working overboard’ and I'm like, no. What's funny is that my social media team has quit because they were bought up by another label. So I am free, and that just makes me inspired. And I think in something that feels authentic and genuine, there's endless inspiration and energy and ideas and stuff you want to share, because I no longer feel like I have to promote my stuff. It's more like I'm letting people into my world.
It is a bit annoying that you're no longer just an artist. My label’s marketing plan is literally ’you should post on TikTok’, and I’m like, oh, I have to do that too? For me personally, I love the internet, I have an insane screen time, and it's just about creating your bubble, creating your crowd, and posting content like, what would I like to see? I want people to resonate with me. And when I do my shows, if I tell a joke, I want the crowd to understand my joke, because they know my tone. So now I'm more like I should build my community, and I feel like that has never been easier than now. But it is fast paced, and even if you get a really big TikTok hit, like ‘Symphony’, it goes up and then it goes down quite quickly, because that's the cycle of it. It would be great if my songs trended on TikTok, but I really want them to translate into real listeners, and not just 15 seconds of doing a trend or something. There’s pros and cons for sure.
You have done so many collaborations, how do you keep your voice so strong throughout that and make sure you're not compromised?
Good question. I think for me as an artist, which has probably been my weakness and strength, is that I am down to try anything. Pop is very broad, it really goes hand in hand with dance music, even with R&B, hip hop or with Ty Dolla $ign, or Young Thug or Tinie Tempah, or a band, like ‘Symphony’ with Clean Bandit. I've always been doing a lot of genres in pop. It's so funny, whenever I release a new song, I know I'll always get a comment like, ‘I miss the old Zara’. And I'm like, which one? Like, the ‘Never Forget You’ one which is very different from ‘Symphony’, which is very different from ‘Lush Life’, which is very different from ‘Bad Boys’, which is super different from my first song ‘Uncover’, which is a ballad with no drums. Like, what do you miss? I've done everything! The red thread throughout all of that has been my voice, and just do I like the song or not? And I think it's that easy.
I wanted to ask one very, very quick question, if there was another pathway for you in life, what may that have been?
There’s this quote ‘Sometimes I can hear my bones straining under all the weight of all the lives I'm not living’. And that's literally how I feel, because I want to do so many things. I love to sing, and I will probably do this forever, but acting would be really fun. If I didn't do any entertaining stuff, I would love to be a teacher, even a journalist. I love to write, I really love to write, and I feel like that's how I express myself the best. A psychologist, but a teacher, I think, is really high up there.
Well, you made an excellent choice with music. You're a gift to the pop world.
Thank you so much!
It’s been so lovely talking with you, and see you on tour in February!
Yes, see you in February! I’m very excited.
Midnight Sun the album will be released on 26 September via Sony Music. You can pre-order and pre-save here now.
Follow Zara Larsson on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Read our six page interview with Larsson in issue 10 of Women In Pop magazine.
ONE REPUBLIC AU/NZ TOUR DATES - Supported by Zara Larsson
4 February 2026 - Auckland, NZ - Spark Arena
6 February 2026 - Sydney, Australia - Qudos Bank Arena
7 February 2026 - Lake Macquarie, Australia - Speers Point Park
11 February 2026 - Gold Coast, Australia - HOTA Outdoor Stage
12 February 2026 - Brisbane, Australia - Riverstage
13 February 2026 - Melbourne, Australia - Sidney Myer Music Bowl
14 February 2026 - Torquay, Australia - Torquay Common
18 February 2026 - Perth, Australia - RAC Arena
