Zara Larsson only wants to release singles that she herself thinks could become number 1 hits. The Swedish pop singer tells NU.nl that she is not ashamed that she wants her music to be successful.
Larsson, who broke through internationally in 2015 with her single Lush Life and recently her third album Poster Girl released, says he realizes that success is not the only measure. “If you only focus on achieving success, why do you make music?” The 23-year-old singer wonders aloud. “If I myself were not proud of my work and it is not successful, then I would be left with nothing.”
“I want my work to be successful and for people to enjoy it, but above all I want to make songs that I like myself. Of course you also have to be lucky to score a hit the size of Lush Life (The song has now been listened to over 950 million times on Spotify, ed.), but I never release anything that I don’t believe could become a number 1 hit. “
Larsson sometimes has to deal with disappointments when a song is less successful, but has mainly learned to persevere and not to give up. “Also for Lush Life I had songs that were less successful and that happened again afterwards. The audience quickly forgets less successful songs, so you have to keep going and then something will stick again. Above all, you shouldn’t lose your momentum. “
‘I am not a Rihanna that people will wait for years for’
The singer did not want to wait four years with the release of the successor afterwards So Good, her first international album, which was released in 2017. “I’m not a Rihanna that people have been waiting for years to come to.”
The delay is largely due to the corona virus. Poster Girl was almost finished when the world first went into lockdown. “I remember saying to my team then, ‘I want to release the album after the lockdown, but what if this is going to last until the summer?’ And look at how we are a year later. I didn’t want to wait any longer now. Songs that I wrote about my feelings four years ago also become less relevant to me at a certain point. “
“It’s different in Sweden, because people don’t care as much that you’re known. No gossip is written about children and we have no paparazzi. ”
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“The music industry is also changing very quickly and so is the sound that is hip. I am therefore glad that the funky uptempo sound of Poster Girl fits well in this day and age. Just look at Dua Lipa and The Weeknd releasing their disco and eighties inspired albums during lockdown. “
‘It remains bizarre that people have posters of me hanging’
The title Poster Girl, after a song of the same name on the record, is mainly intended as an ode to singers such as Beyoncé, Céline Dion, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, whom Larsson looked up to at a younger age. “It is also a nod to the fact that I am an artist myself, but above all always remain a pop fan. The fact that there might be people who have a poster of me hanging up, remains bizarre.”
Larsson made his breakthrough in Sweden at the age of ten when she created the Swedish version of Got Talent won. Unlike many American stars, Larsson is not bothered by her stardom at a young age. “It’s different in Sweden, because people don’t care that you’re famous. No gossip is written about children and we don’t have paparazzi.”
“I actually had a very normal childhood. My career has really only brought benefits. I was able to travel at a young age and when I turned eighteen I never had to queue for a club.”
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