Zara Larsson has broken out of the Khia Asylum. For over a decade, the Swedish singer has been held hostage inside the fictional pop star prison, trapped at mid-level fame and unable to attain the same global respect as her peers.

Although we may not have realised, her sparkly pop anthems have soundtracked the past decade of our lives. She’s dominated the charts since 2013, scoring six top ten singles in the UK (including “Symphony”, “Lush Life” and “Never Forget You”), and yet, before 2025, we had little concept of the woman behind the music.

This year, however, the 27-year-old successfully caught the internet’s attention and is finally being regarded as one of today’s main pop girls. In September, she released her fifth studio album, Midnight Sun, with the titular track gaining Grammy recognition and earning a nomination for Best Dance Pop Recording. She collaborated with PinkPatheress on the “Stateside” remix, and though Pink is Grammy nominated in the same category, she recently said that she hopes Larsson takes it – “It’s such progressive pop”.

Last month, Larsson released Up Close, an Amazon Prime documentary that charts the past 20 years of her life – from winning Talang aged ten (essentially, Sweden’s Got Talent) to recording Midnight Sun. Frustratingly, the documentary ends where the Zara Larsson renaissance begins. In the three months since her album release, the pop star has been blessed by a musical holy trinity: Grammy recognition, an internet cool girl collaboration (PinkPantheress) and a major TikTok moment, too.

While on tour in Amsterdam several weeks ago, Larsson brought a fan on stage to help her perform “Lush Life”. Little did she know, that fan (Julia Coster) knew every step of the choreography, stunning the crowd, the dancers and the singer herself. “I was shook to the core,” says Larsson, Zooming in from Chicago. “When you bring someone up on stage you never really know how they’re going to do. But then she hit the choreo and I was like, ‘fuck yeah.’” The video clip has been watched tens of millions of times and as a result, the dance has become a trend and “Lush Life” (a song that came out over a decade ago) is having a revival of its own. “I didn’t know it would spread the way it did,” she says. “Now every time I bring someone up they have to know the dance, because Julia knew the dance. She set the bar high – what a queen.”

She’s been working in the music industry since she was 10-years-old, but finally, Larsson’s moment has arrived. Below, she reflects on the past few months and explains why she’ll never be a singer who remains silent about politics. 

Firstly, congratulations – you’re now Grammy nominated!

Zara Larsson: It’s so insane, I think about it every day actually. I’ve always felt like I didn’t care about awards or accolades, but I really do care about this. I wonder if it’s lame that I care so much, but then I feel lame for thinking that it’s lame to care. But this is really big for me. I grew up watching the Grammys and feeling like it was the ultimate recognition.

Is it true that you’ve been practicing your acceptance speech since you were eight?

Zara Larsson: Well I don’t want to say that because if I win I’ll have to have a really, really good speech, but I’ve been fantasising about it for as long as I can remember. It’s also OK to be prepared. I don’t think it’s cooler when people are like ‘I never expected this to happen,’ like, why not? You knew you were nominated! You knew there was a chance!

Midnight Sun came out three months ago. What’s it been like watching everyone’s reactions to the album?

Zara Larsson: I was so proud of this album, so I felt excited about it. Usually I’m anxious before a drop, I’m like ‘what have I done, I’ve picked the wrong single!’ and I’ve changed every single one of my album covers the week before it was due to come out. I thought I was just a very indecisive person, but then I realised, those last minute decisions were my way of having control of something that I felt like I was lacking before.

Now I’m so involved and this album is so me. It was exactly the way I wanted it to be, so it’s been validating to see people connecting to it. I know I’ve had big hits previously, but for the first time in a long time people are curious about me as an artist, rather than just having my song on a popular playlist.

Have you noticed a shift in the way the world perceives you?

Zara Larsson: Yes! I feel like I’m out of the Khia Asylum for sure. I’m like wait, it’s cool to listen to my songs? I’ve always loved all my songs, but I think it’s been hard to identify me as an artist. As a person I’ve always been very secure and confident, but I’ve been figuring out how to make people understand me as an artist. Before, people knew my songs, but it feels like they know me [as a person] better now.

I’m having fun with it – I’m posting a lot more, and I know for some artists that’s so annoying, but not for me. It’s literally my dream to be a YouTuber. I just love to say my two cents on the internet and I think people really like that. I’m trying to enjoy the journey, because it’s a really nice feeling. It’s nice to feel appreciated, so I’m trying to be present in that.

You also just released your documentary. What made you want to document this part of your life?

Zara Larsson: I wish we had documented more actually, because in a way, it ended when things started happening. Looking at that documentary now, I’m like ‘fuck, that’s a different person’. I just knew that this album was going to be different for me. Maybe we should do a part two and really get into it.

One of the things you address in the documentary is when you made the decision to decline performing at Eurovision due to Israel’s participation. Just last week we learnt that Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia will all be boycotting the 2026 Eurovision song contest. Would you like to see Sweden boycott the competition too?

Zara Larsson: It’s hard to say because in Sweden, before Eurovision, we have Melodifestivalen [a knock-out TV competition where musicians battle it out to become Sweden’s Eurovision entry]. It’s our biggest thing on television – it’s a huge part of our culture and we take Eurovision so seriously. It makes sense for small artists in Sweden to want to be a part of Melodifestivalen, so I feel like it’s almost two different things.

I also think Sweden as a country, we’re very like ‘what will other people do?’ We’re rarely at the forefront of political decisions – except for in the 80s when Olof Palme was Prime Minister, he was very against apartheid and very pro-Palestine. I feel like he was the last politician who really had something to say. Even in the second world war, people say Sweden was neutral, but no we weren’t, we were just cowardly. So it’ll be interesting to see how Sweden will manoeuvre Eurovision.

I just knew, for me as an artist, I didn’t feel good being a part of that. Even though it’s a competition about a person singing, you are also representing something bigger. I like the idea of it being all about love and music, but that’s not what’s happening. I respect the countries that have taken a stand. Sometimes it might feel like ‘what can I do?’, but there is so much power in showing up, or not showing up. Go to a demonstration, post something. You have to speak out about things, because it means other people are less scared to – it normalises discussion and it makes others feel more comfortable to speak up. If everybody thought [their impact] didn’t matter, there would be no demonstration. It’s every single individual person that makes up a big crowd, it’s like going to a concert. And I’m sure there’s other things that I’ve said yes to – or I will in the future – that might be contradictory, but I’m trying.

There’s a clip in the documentary where you say ‘maybe I can’t make a difference, maybe I should just sing’, but clearly you don’t really feel like that…

Zara Larsson: I don’t, but I’m human and sometimes I feel insecure and I feel small. I might feel that way for a brief second, but then I come back to being me. Maybe I’d have a more peaceful life that way, but I’m just not that person. I never have been and I never will be, I just care.

It’s your birthday next week…

Zara Larsson: It is! I will be celebrating with a Jingle Bell Ball performance in Washington. But the next day we’re driving to New York for five days. I’m really not a party person at all – the organisation of it, I mean – something lowkey, a little spa appointment, that’s perfection to me. 

What are you most looking forward to in 2026? 

Zara Larsson: Releasing new music. I want to keep this going.