{"id":48064,"date":"2025-10-01T16:48:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T16:48:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/01\/zara-larsson-breaks-down-midnight-sun-talks-success-and-ambition\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T16:48:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T16:48:50","slug":"zara-larsson-breaks-down-midnight-sun-talks-success-and-ambition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/01\/zara-larsson-breaks-down-midnight-sun-talks-success-and-ambition\/","title":{"rendered":"Zara Larsson Breaks Down &#8216;Midnight Sun,&#8217; Talks Success and Ambition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe night \u2019s <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-album-reviews\/zara-larsson-midnight-sun-review-1235435727\/\">Midnight Sun<\/a><\/em> dropped, the singer\u2019s closest friends, collaborators (and even a few Katseye members) packed into a Los Angeles bar to watch her blow out candles as the album officially arrived. The Swedish midnight sun she sings about wasn\u2019t shining, but Larsson was.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cI feel like I rarely do that,\u201d she tells<em> Rolling Stone <\/em>the following morning. \u201cI am so bad at celebrating milestones and accomplishments. I don\u2019t even like celebrating my birthday. It was nice to come together in a room and remind ourselves that we made it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t<em>Midnight Sun <\/em>has reignited Larsson\u2019s pop stardom in ways beyond even her own imagination. Nearly a decade after \u201cLush Life\u201d and \u201cNever Forget You\u201d first launched her onto the global stage, the Swedish star is stepping into a new era. At 27, Larsson is reveling in long-overdue recognition \u2014 and finally basking in the spotlight her fans always knew she deserved.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify\">\n<p>\n<iframe title=\"Spotify Embed: Midnight Sun\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/0nte5x6fXd37Nt7jALSmx0?si=UQANm8CTQ-iIfpzpxOeEhQ&amp;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-album-reviews\/zara-larsson-midnight-sun-review-1235435727\/\"><em>Rolling Stone<\/em> review <\/a>of the album gave it four stars, lauding it for \u201crefusing to ever slow down, instead trafficking in high-energy dance-pop joy.\u201d Larsson admits to me that she read the review, and seeing the positive reception for the record has put a smile on her face \u2014 even if she isn\u2019t allowing critical acclaim to dictate her happiness.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cI used to search my name on Twitter, and Google my name\u2026 This time, I, of course, want people to love it just as much as I do, but I am so proud of it. I\u2019m really happy about this body of work,\u201d she says. \u201cI just have confidence in what we\u2019ve created and how it feels for me, but it does feel great to have that sense of accomplishment validated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tIt\u2019s been a long time coming. Pop stans will argue the rollout for <em>Midnight Sun<\/em> \u2014 inspired by the endless summer evenings in her native Sweden \u2014 began more than a year ago, even if it wasn\u2019t Larsson\u2019s doing. Last summer, TikTok users revived her Clean Bandit collab \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/zara-larsson-dolphin-symphony-meme-clean-bandit-explained-1235098869\/\">Symphony<\/a>,\u201d pairing it with surreal clips of dolphins flying through a Lisa Frank\u2013like world. The posts were bizarre, but they put Larsson back in the pop conversation. And as she rolled out the new album, she leaned into that momentum, weaving it into a vibrant aesthetic defined by ultra-bright palettes and a Y2K-inspired, optimism-soaked style that matched the summery spirit of the project she\u2019s made.<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ editors-pick-module lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-tiktok wp-block-embed-tiktok\"\/>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tIt\u2019s been an impressive last year for Larsson, who spent the summer going viral for her performances and bubbly personality, reintroducing fans to a pop star fully in her element \u2014 giddy to deliver the full pop persona, no holds barred. She just wrapped an opening slot for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-album-reviews\/tate-mcrae-so-close-to-what-review-1235275458\/\">Tate McRae<\/a>, where her choreography-packed performances shot through TikTok every night, and she\u2019s gearing up for her own tour. First, she\u2019ll fill arenas across Europe and then hit Jingle Ball in the U.S. before a massive 2026 run that promises to make the <em>Midnight Sun<\/em> era burn longer and brighter. <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tSome of the songs on <em>Midnight Sun<\/em> reflect an introspective side of Larsson, who goes from partying on \u201cPretty Ugly\u201d and Crush\u201d to speaking her truth about grappling with the ideas of success on \u201cSaturn\u2019s Return\u201d and \u201cThe Ambition.\u201d She says with a giggle: \u201cIt\u2019s playful and fun, and also it has layers to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tFrom the back of an SUV in Los Angeles, Larsson breaks down five of her favorite tracks from the new album, describes how she got Tiffany Pollard to re-record one of her most viral memes, and explains why turning 27 might have changed her brain chemistry.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"midnight-sun\" class=\"heading larva \/\/   lrv-a-font-primary-l   \">\n\t\t<strong>Midnight Sun<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe title track sets the tone of the album. It\u2019s melodic. It\u2019s dance-y. It has this Jersey Club beat. I always wanted to write a song called \u201cMidnight Sun.\u201d I just loved the symbolism of it. I\u2019ve tried it for five times and nothing really stuck. But, this time around, we fucking made it work. That was one of the first songs that we did for the project where it felt, \u201cOh, okay, this is definitely something.\u201d And, on the same day, we did \u201cPretty Ugly,\u201d so we were, like, \u201cHuh, this is a fucking success. This is the energy right now. This is my album. This is what it\u2019s going to be.\u201d I\u2019m just so happy about it and how it turned out. I finally have my perfect midnight sun song.\u00a0<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Zara Larsson - Midnight Sun (Official Music Video)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uvY8fdgezLQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"eurosummer\" class=\"heading larva \/\/   lrv-a-font-primary-l   \">\n\t\t<strong>Eurosummer<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tI like this being like a Eurovision song, like 2012 Romania or something. Do you remember \u201cMr. Saxobeat\u201d by Alexandra Stan? Or \u201cHot\u201d by INNA? It\u2019s that Eastern European, almost Mediterranean vibe of just summer to me. The accordion, I just wanted to play with that because that to me is summer, and it\u2019s nostalgic and it\u2019s fun. I think that\u2019s something that is just a part of who I am as a person and why I thought it was important to like, \u201cHow can I put my identity more into this album?\u201d It\u2019s camp. It\u2019s fun. It\u2019s silly, but so entertaining.\u00a0I\u2019m not going to be a part of Eurovision, but I can flirt with it. We take Eurovision so, so, so seriously. When people come over to Europe and have like a Eurosummer, it\u2019s usually in the southern part of Europe, but it could also be in a tourist town in Croatia. It feels like me 10 shots in, me going to Turkey being 16. That\u2019s also Eurosummer for me.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Zara Larsson - Eurosummer (Official Audio)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sf3UuaQ1a5Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"hot-sexy\" class=\"heading larva \/\/   lrv-a-font-primary-l   \">\n\t\t<strong>Hot &amp; Sexy<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t\u201cHot &amp; Sexy\u201d is the bridge between \u201ceuphoric and fun\u201d and \u201cintrospective\u201d on the album because it\u2019s about going out with your girlfriends, having a good time, being a bad bitch, looking good, and just being hot and sexy, feeling yourself, feeling, like, \u201cOh, yes.\u201d And then we mashed that song with another song that we wrote earlier called \u201cLet The Girl Live,\u201d which is just about like, \u201cCan a woman just live? Like, oh, my gosh, why do people have so many opinions? We want to be hot and sexy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThe fact that Tiffany Pollard is on it is so iconic to me because she\u2019s literally the internet. To me, she\u2019s the ultimate queen of reality TV and giving you a read just effortlessly. I remember MNEK played me this track, and I was, like, \u201cOh, no, this is too good.\u201d We just like hit her up and asked her if she wanted to come to the studio and just re-record it, And she was, like, \u201cYeah, I\u2019ll come.\u201d She was so cute and lovely. It\u2019s not even a sample from Big Brother UK. It\u2019s a re-recording of that iconic segment. She\u2019s in the studio with her headphones and just, like, \u201cBeautiful, fly, hot, sexy, thank you.\u201d Ten minutes, in and out, we were, like, \u201cAmazing.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules trending-in-article lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Zara Larsson - Hot &amp; Sexy (Official Audio)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/drsgNdfhV0Q?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"the-ambition\" class=\"heading larva \/\/   lrv-a-font-primary-l   \">\n\t\t<strong>The Ambition<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tI feel like I\u2019ve always been super open and honest about, like, \u201cI want to be a superstar. I want to have a big stage, and I want to have a big production.\u201d And if it\u2019s not happening now, then it will just happen later because I will keep releasing albums and songs and do what I love. In \u201cThe Ambition,\u201d I\u2019m like, \u201cWill it ever really, truly be enough, or will my goalpost just keep changing?\u201d I\u2019m at a point where maybe the most important thing in my life isn\u2019t to travel around and around and around and around. Maybe it\u2019s about settling down, which is something I never thought of being a teenager. Like, \u201cWait. Maybe I want a family, and maybe I don\u2019t want to just be on the road all the time. Maybe I want to have stability and settle down,\u201d which is like kind of a scary thought because, if I\u2019m not a pop star, then what is my purpose? I don\u2019t know. And that\u2019s Ok. Life changes. And, in a way, that\u2019s the beautiful thing about it. It\u2019s not supposed to be static. Sometimes you ask: \u201cLife is so long. Am I a failure if I abandon my dream or if it becomes something else?\u201d I feel like I know myself as a person a lot more now than when I was 20 or 17. I know more who I am. My roots are deeper, but then also that can maybe allow my leaves to change. To be clear: I think I\u2019m going to be singing forever just because I just love to sing. That\u2019s my passion, but there\u2019s also so much more to life.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Zara Larsson - The Ambition (Official Audio)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lQgSKSLMYWM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"saturn-s-return\" class=\"heading larva \/\/   lrv-a-font-primary-l   \">\n\t\t<strong>Saturn\u2019s Return<\/strong>\t<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\tThat one was the last song we made for the album. We were really supposed to finish. Margo, Helena, MNEK, and Zhone, we were just like, \u201cLook, guys, we\u2019re all here. Shouldn\u2019t we just like make a song? Come on.\u201d At that point, I was obsessed with the moon. I was reading about star signs and stuff, which I\u2019m not really involved in, but, at that point, I was, like, \u201cNo. I feel something is shifting. I feel something is changing.\u201d Saturn\u2019s Return is when the planet goes back to where it was by the time you were born, which takes 27 years, and just how that\u2019s a way of really coming into adulthood. I truly feel like I have changed a lot. Something in me has shifted just over the past year in how I move with everything in my life. It has made me very just humble towards life and how I\u2019m just open to a lot of things, new perspectives, and see things from different sides. I think a part of it is like surrendering to life while also trying to do the best you can and be the best version of yourself. Life takes you on a journey and you can never really predict what it\u2019s going to be. And I don\u2019t know what it\u2019s going to be, and that\u2019s kind of nice.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Zara Larsson - Saturn&#039;s Return (Official Audio)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EILNC5EraZY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/zara-larsson-breaks-down-midnight-sun-summer-forever-1235437954\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The night \u2019s Midnight Sun dropped, the singer\u2019s closest friends, collaborators (and even a few Katseye members) packed into a Los Angeles bar to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":48065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop","article","has-excerpt","has-avatar","has-author","has-date","has-comment-count","has-category-meta","has-read-more","thumbnail-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}