Zara Larsson

Swedish hitmaker Zara Larsson shapes her sound around R&B grooves and club energy, drawing from the bold styles of Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Robyn. Winning a national singing contest at eight set the stage for her breakthrough years later, when she stormed global charts in the mid-2010s via Swedish chart-toppers such as “Lush Life” and “Never Forget You,” both earning multi-platinum status in multiple territories. Those singles formed the core of her 2017 sophomore release So Good, which topped Swedish charts, earned multi-platinum certification, and reached the Top Ten throughout Europe and Australasia. Her third full-length, Poster Girl, surfaced in 2021 and returned her to Sweden’s Top Ten thanks to the single “Ruin My Life.” In 2023 she entered the Pop 100’s upper tier at number 28 with the ’80s-tinged “Can’t Tame Her,” taken from the 2024 album Venus.

Born in Solna just outside Stockholm, Larsson first seized national attention in 2008 by claiming victory on the Swedish edition of the talent series Talang Sverige. The win led to a contract with Ten Music Group and the 2013 EP Introducing, whose lead track “Uncover” achieved triple-platinum status at home. A follow-up EP, Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself, preceded her proper studio debut 1, issued in 2014 through Record Company Ten and Universal Music; three further singles—“She’s Not Me,” “Carry You Home,” and “Rooftop”—all landed inside Sweden’s Top Ten.

Larsson’s international ascent began with a pair of 2015 releases. The multi-platinum “Lush Life” climbed into the Top Ten across much of Europe, while “Never Forget You,” a collaboration with MNEK, reached Britain’s Top Ten and secured platinum standing in the United States. Before her next album arrived, she joined Tinie Tempah on “Girls Like” and David Guetta on the 2016 UEFA Euro Cup anthem “This One’s for You.” By the time So Good dropped in early 2017, additional singles including the Charlie Puth-written “So Good” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, Clean Bandit’s “Symphony,” and MNEK-produced “Ain’t My Fault” had already been issued. The project debuted at number one in Sweden and registered her first chart entries worldwide, including a Top 30 placement on the U.S. Billboard 200.

The platinum-certified “Ruin My Life” appeared the following year as the initial preview of her third album, followed in 2019 by “Don’t Worry Bout Me,” “All the Time,” and “Wow.” She also contributed “A Brand New Day” to BTS, supplied the animated feature Klaus with its theme “Invisible,” and joined Tyga and Kygo on the tropical club cut “Like It Is,” which reached the Top Five in Sweden, New Zealand, and Norway. Later that year she issued “Love Me Land,” the official lead single for 2021’s Poster Girl. The R&B-tinged collection gathered tracks dating back to 2018, among them “Talk About Love” with Young Thug, and peaked at number three in Sweden, eleven in Norway, and inside the Billboard 200. She continued supporting the album into the next year, teaming with Alesso on the European hit “Words.”

Early 2023 brought the ’80s-flavored “Can’t Tame Her,” co-written with MNEK and MTHR and released via her own Sommer House imprint, which climbed to number 28 on the Pop 100. A subsequent partnership with David Guetta, “On My Love,” topped the Swedish charts. She closed the year with the six-track holiday EP Honor the Light, featuring the song “Memory Lane.” After issuing several standalone singles, Larsson unveiled her fourth studio album, Venus, in February 2024. The set incorporated the earlier MNEK and Guetta collaborations alongside “You Love Who You Love” and “End of Time.”