“””””PLACE YOUR ORDRR WITHOUT ANY HESITATION”””””

V159: ZARA LARSSON CLAIMS HER MOMENT

There is a certain velocity associated with pop stardom. The culture treats pop stars as sudden apparitions—mythical figures who crash into the zeitgeist on a surge of momentum, often carried by a viral moment or a perfectly timed song. Just as quickly as they arrive, they disappear, cycled through a system that rewards immediacy over endurance. Zara Larsson has always existed outside that model. She first appeared on a talent show in her home country at just ten years old, then steadily built a career that unfolded over time rather than all at once. Before her most recent release—2025’s Midnight Sun, which earned her her first Grammy nomination—Larsson had already released four full-length albums. Her success was never in question. Its scale, however, is only now catching up. Eighteen years into the game, Larsson finds herself at a cultural peak that feels both overdue and perfectly timed.

She is, in many ways, a contradiction: a classic, by-the-books Swedish pop star known for sleek, club-ready hits—and simultaneously an artist whose rise has been defined by patience, persistence, and restraint. She makes music that moves fast, even as her career has unfolded slowly. That tension—between immediacy and longevity, polish and perseverance—is precisely what makes Larsson so compelling now.

MATHIAS ROSENZWEIG: We’re so excited to have you on our cover. As a fellow Swede, I know you’ve been doing this for a long time, and you’re finally getting your flowers.

ZARA LARSSON: Thank you for having me. It’s really big. I’m trying to stay in the moment and actually enjoy all of this because, as you said, I’ve been doing this for a long time—working my whole life, it feels like now people are inviting me into their spaces, onto their covers, into their studios. It’s really fun. I feel like the momentum is fully in swing, so I’m just trying to hold onto it and move with it.

MR: I would love to talk about the highs and lows of doing this already for almost two decades, especially for people who are just discovering you or think you’re a new artist.

ZL: It makes sense that people are responding to Midnight Sun, the album, in this era, because it had to be this era. Before this, I wasn’t as involved in the creation of myself as an artist as I am now. I’ve always seen myself as a performer—you can be an amazing singer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re an incredible artist. This time around, I really stepped into those artist shoes. I wanted to create my world. I wanted to write everything, be part of the visuals, be part of all of it. It woke up this creative spirit in me. In a way, it feels like it couldn’t have been anything else, because I needed all those years to get to where I am now. It’s really fulfilling to be able to make and create more than just perform and sing. That’s what gives me purpose—feeling like there’s intention behind what I do. It becomes ten times more fun when I get to sing what I’ve experienced, what I’m feeling, what I want to hear in the music.

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