For international artists, making it in America can feel like a pipe dream — something only reserved for a handful of pop stars every few years. For Swedish pop singer Zara Larsson, it's a dream that is coming true slowly but surely.
In 2015, Larsson released "Lush Life" and "Never Forget You," two singles that both hit No. 1 in her home country. A year later, and America eventually caught on: both singles hit the Billboard Hot 100 — with the latter reaching No. 13 — and helped make 2016 Larsson's breakthrough year. In 2017, her second album (and first to be released internationally), So Good, went platinum in America; since then, she's collaborated with a wide array of stars, from Kygo and Young Thug to BTS and David Guetta.
Yet, it feels as though Larsson has remained her fan's best kept secret. As she's continued to see massive success in Europe, headlined several tours, and opened for the likes of Clean Bandit and Ed Sheeran, she's also continued bubbling under the surface — landing a fair share of Top 40 hits on U.S. pop radio, but ultimately waiting for the stateside success to stick.
One thing that's kept Larsson going, though, is knowing that she has always remained true to what matters most: her music and her artistry. Rather than succumbing to the pressure to hop on a music trend or create a viral sound, Larsson opts to look to the future, thinking positively that her moment will come. Venus, her fourth studio album, will hopefully help that moment come true.
The 12-track album is an ode to the various types of love Larsson has experienced over her life so far — the most prominent, of course, being the love for her music career. In the music videos for Venus tracks "On My Love" and "End of Time," Larsson revisits versions of herself from her past, which served as a visual representation that she's still following the right path.
"Looking back at a lot of video material from when I was editing, I see who I was as a baby and a kid back then, and it's so clear that I was always meant to do this," Larsson tells GRAMMY.com. "[Venus] is the essence of me and who I am and always have been."
Venus is pop at its finest, with Larsson crafting an album that juxtaposes infectious floor-fillers like "Escape" with more introspective tracks like "Healing." The through line between her previous work and Venus is obvious: Larsson just wants to make people feel as deeply as possible. What's different is that now, she sounds confident and in control; she's not trying to chase anything except her own happiness and uses music to soundtrack those emotions.
In between a much-needed trip to Thailand and the release of Venus, Larsson chats with GRAMMY.com about staying true to her artistry, working with female producers, and more.
This year marks 10 years since your debut album. How would you describe the way you've grown and developed as an artist between then and now?
Ten years is a long time. I just turned 15 when I released my first song. It's hard to say what exactly grew in my music [or] in me as a person because I think they do intertwine.
What's interesting about this album is that I feel like, in a lot of ways, it goes back to my very first album, 1. It wasn't released internationally and a lot of people think So Good is my first album. Venus has the essence of me — it's fun, not that serious, and a little sassy.
I've been lucky enough to always have people around me who listened to what I wanted to do and say. It's tricky because you feel like you need to reinvent yourself but, at the same time, you want to stay true to yourself. I'm really excited to let the world hear Venus because I do feel like it reminds me of my very first album.
You mention having a team around you that supports you. I read a previous interview you did and you essentially talked about how the industry was full of men and you scared them by being 15 years old and saying no. How has that mindset carried you over your career so far?
I've just always been a very opinionated person and determined in what I want to do. For me, it was so clear what I was feeling [when recording] — it was "No, I don't like this song" or "Yes, I like this song."
I have a lot of good people around me. At 15, I had a small team, and although they were men, I trusted them. They allowed me to release what I wanted to release. I wasn't signed to a major label at that point, but after I got signed to a major with lots of budget for styling and choreography, I have to ask myself if I like what I'm doing or making.
I think that it is so important [to stick up for yourself] because I don't think it would feel good to release something that I don't like… even if it probably would feel great to have a hit. But, again, you can't guarantee a hit and when you release something that you really, really like, you can't lose.
I've had to stand up for myself a lot of the time. I've never been truly alone in going up against the bigger dogs at the bigger company — I've either had my indie label, my manager, or my mom telling me that I know what I want. I think now, having my fourth album on the way, it feels like I have cemented myself as an artist. I don't feel the pressure of having to live up to other people's standards or expectations.
Touching on that, something that I love about your work is that you always stay true to who you are. Has ensuring your artistic integrity stays intact and keeping true to yourself rather than 'selling out' to try and get a huge hit always been a no-brainer for you?
I think so. It is hard because, at the end of the day, I can't lie — one of my biggest dreams is to have a sold-out stadium world tour. I would love to see lots of faces in the crowd and to have as many people as possible to connect with my music. But I don't [want to release] stuff that I don't like just because someone else thinks it's a good song. I don't want to hate the song when I perform it at shows.
How did the creation of Venus differ from creating previous albums?
I wanted to make an album that felt like the first one I wrote [2014's 1]. The beauty of pop is that it's so broad, it allows you to dip your toe in anything. Venus is a step up in the quality of songs. The Goddess of love and beauty is Venus, so this album focuses on different types of love — platonic love, romantic love, healing from love, and just love from different perspectives.
I think love rules my world, in a sense, and Venus captures where I am in life. I have so much love for my career and I'm in a very good place. I'm glad Venus is coming out in the first quarter of the year because everyone is excited and everyone has this new, refreshed energy. It feels inspiring.
In the "End of Time" video, we see you revisiting yourself as a kid. Did you feel like you were healing your inner child while creating that video?
Yeah. The story turned out exactly how I wanted it to. For me, it was about expressing a feeling of being a young girl and wanting so badly to be a singer and then being visited by an older version of myself.
In the video, young Zara is going through a lot and she uses music as an escape into her own world. I feel like I have always done that. That's the beauty of pop and why putting on a fun song to dance to is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. You just enter a different world where no one can bother you. That was my childhood — me dancing in front of my mirror dreaming about one day being an artist.
Arguably the most important love to ever feel is to believe in your dreams and your goals, so [the music video] was my way of saying to little Zara that we did it.
Vulnerability is a thread that connects your songs together — do you see songwriting as a form of therapy, to get your thoughts and feelings out and make them tangible?
Yeah, definitely. The older I get and the more I do it, the better I get. It's just a really good way of putting your emotions into the world because the beauty of music and any type of art is to feel like people can relate to it. You feel like you're not alone and you feel understood. It's why we listen to happy songs when we are happy and sad songs when we are sad — we want to feel like we're not alone in what we are experiencing.
Compared to your past albums, did the writing process for Venus change at all?
For Venus, I worked with a small group of people. Sometimes, when you go from one session to another, it can be difficult to open up your soul. It does get easier when you've been working consistently with the same group of people, though. It's important for me to feel safe in a room and know that I can say whatever.
I think a couple of years ago when I was in sessions, I would also be with nine people in the room or something, and they'd mostly be men, and that was really intimidating for me. I had to stand up for myself in those writing rooms. Now, I don't want to be the only girl in the room. I want other women in there.
At the end of last year, I released an EP called Honor The Light and one of my favourite songs, "Memory Lane," was made with one of my favorite producers, Elvira Anderfjärd.
With there being so many male producers, it's easy for them to lift each other and so much harder for women to get in the door.
Exactly! I want to work more on having more women in these rooms in the future. Venus is my essence. Looking back at videos of me as a baby, it was so clear who I was even back then. That's the purest version of me. I want it to be very female-driven and empowering. So, now I have an all-female band because I want to play with other women.
I loved "Memory Lane," by the way. What was it like working with Elvira Anderfjärd and Klara Söderberg from First Aid Kit on it?
We had a couple of days in the studio and we were reminiscing and talking about old memories. I felt like I'd reached a point where I was starting to be nostalgic about my childhood.
For me, it's hard sometimes to talk about memories or personal stuff without being too cheesy about it. But I feel like this one turned out to be very personal and beautiful. I think it's also quite relatable even though you might not have been experiencing everything that I sing about, but you can look back at what you've been through and be thankful for it.
I was reading comments about the song and so many people love it. I know reading commentary online can be difficult at times, but is it gratifying to know when people take your songs and apply them to their own lives?
It's crazy. It's honestly so weird because you can so easily search for things. It's so easy to read what everybody thinks of me or this new song. It's like being a fly on the wall.
It makes me so happy when people feel like they connect to a song and it makes them feel seen or makes them feel better. There was a point where I was searching and scrolling for the negative stuff because I was waiting for it. Like we talked about earlier, when I release something I want to feel like I don't give a damn, respectfully, what other people think. But, at the same time, I'm an artist so I care very much about what other people think. It's a weird tightrope that you balance on.
Lastly, where do you hope Venus takes you next on your artist journey?
The GRAMMYs, baby! I've been doing this for a long time, over 10 years. I'm really living my dream life, I truly am. I just want to take it to the next level in terms of production with my show. Let's upgrade the venues and have fun!
I want to be able to keep making albums, create projects, and go into a visual world. I want to keep directing music videos and have a Billboard number one. I could see myself on top of the world.
I'd love for Venus to bring me around the globe and back again. I just want people to realize who I am and what I do, because I have a lot of ambition and drive. I was born to do this, and I'm excited about where that and Venus are going to take me.
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