{"id":1017574,"date":"2025-12-10T12:44:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T09:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1017574"},"modified":"2025-12-10T12:44:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T09:44:00","slug":"the-renaissance-of-zara-larsson-im-out-of-the-khia-asylum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1017574","title":{"rendered":"The renaissance of Zara Larsson: \u2018I\u2019m out of the Khia Asylum\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although we may not have realised, her sparkly pop anthems have soundtracked the past decade of our lives. She\u2019s dominated the charts since 2013, scoring six top ten singles in the UK (including \u201cSymphony\u201d, \u201cLush Life\u201d and \u201cNever Forget You\u201d), and yet, before 2025, we had little concept of the woman behind the music.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year, however, the 27-year-old successfully caught the internet\u2019s attention and is finally being regarded as one of today\u2019s main pop girls. In September, she released her fifth studio album, <\/span>Midnight Sun<\/span><\/em>, with the titular track gaining Grammy recognition and earning a nomination for Best Dance Pop Recording. She collaborated with <\/span>PinkPantheress<\/span><\/a> on the \u201cStateside\u201d remix, and though Pink is Grammy nominated in the same category, she <\/span>recently said<\/span><\/a> that she hopes Larsson takes it \u2013 \u201cIt\u2019s such progressive pop\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Zara<\/span><\/span>
Photography Charlotte Rutherford<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

Last month, Larsson released <\/span>Up Close<\/span><\/em>, an Amazon Prime documentary that charts the past 20 years of her life \u2013 from winning <\/span>Talang<\/span><\/em> aged ten (essentially, <\/span>Sweden\u2019s Got Talent<\/span><\/em>) to recording <\/span>Midnight Sun<\/span><\/em>. 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

While on tour in Amsterdam several weeks ago, Larsson brought a fan on stage to help her perform \u201cLush Life\u201d. Little did she know, that fan (Julia Coster) knew every step of the choreography, stunning the crowd, the dancers and the singer herself. \u201cI was shook to the core,\u201d says Larsson, Zooming in from Chicago. \u201cWhen you bring someone up on stage you never really know how they\u2019re going to do. But then she hit the choreo and I was like, \u2018fuck yeah.\u2019\u201d The video clip has been watched tens of millions of times and as a result, the dance has become a trend and \u201cLush Life\u201d (a song that came out over a decade ago) is having a revival of its own. \u201cI didn\u2019t know it would spread the way it did,\u201d she says. \u201cNow every time I bring someone up they have to know the dance, because Julia knew the dance. She set the bar high \u2013 what a queen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She\u2019s been working in the music industry since she was 10-years-old, but finally, Larsson\u2019s moment has arrived. Below, she reflects on the past few months and explains why she\u2019ll never be a singer who remains silent about politics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n

Firstly, congratulations \u2013 you\u2019re now Grammy nominated!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zara Larsson:<\/strong> It\u2019s so insane, I think about it every day actually. I\u2019ve always felt like I didn\u2019t care about awards or accolades, but I really do care about this. I wonder if it\u2019s lame that I care so much, but then I feel lame for thinking that it\u2019s lame to care. But this is really big for me. I grew up watching the Grammys and feeling like it was the ultimate recognition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Is it true that you\u2019ve been practicing your acceptance speech since you were eight?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zara Larsson: <\/strong>Well I don\u2019t want to say that because if I win I\u2019ll have to have a really, really good speech, but I\u2019ve been fantasising about it for as long as I can remember. It\u2019s also OK to be prepared. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s cooler when people are like \u2018I never expected this to happen,\u2019 like, why not? You knew you were nominated! You knew there was a chance!<\/span><\/p>\n

Midnight Sun<\/em><\/strong> came out three months ago. What\u2019s it been like watching everyone\u2019s reactions to the album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zara Larsson: <\/strong>I was so proud of this album, so I felt excited about it. Usually I\u2019m anxious before a drop, I\u2019m like \u2018what have I done, I\u2019ve picked the wrong single!\u2019 and I\u2019ve 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m so involved and this album is so me. It was exactly the way I wanted it to be, so it\u2019s been validating to see people connecting to it. I know I\u2019ve 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. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Have you noticed a shift in the way the world perceives you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zara Larsson: <\/strong>Yes! I feel like I\u2019m out of the Khia Asylum for sure. I\u2019m like wait, it\u2019s cool to listen to my songs? I\u2019ve always loved all my songs, but I think it\u2019s been hard to identify me as an artist. As a person I\u2019ve always been very secure and confident, but I\u2019ve 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m having fun with it \u2013 I\u2019m posting a lot more, and I know for some artists that\u2019s so annoying, but not for me. It\u2019s 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\u2019m trying to enjoy the journey, because it\u2019s a really nice feeling. It\u2019s nice to feel appreciated, so I\u2019m trying to be present in that. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

You also just released your documentary. What made you want to document this part of your life?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zara Larsson: <\/strong>I wish we had documented more actually, because in a way, it ended when things started happening. Looking at that documentary now, I\u2019m like \u2018fuck, that\u2019s a different person\u2019. 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the things you address in the documentary is when you made the decision to decline performing at Eurovision due to Israel\u2019s 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?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zara Larsson: <\/strong>It\u2019s hard to say because in Sweden, before Eurovision, we have Melodifestivalen [a knock-out TV competition where musicians battle it out to become Sweden\u2019s Eurovision entry]. It\u2019s our biggest thing on television \u2013 it\u2019s 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\u2019s almost two different things.<\/span><\/p>\n

I also think Sweden as a country, we\u2019re very like \u2018what will other people do?\u2019 We\u2019re rarely at the forefront of political decisions \u2013 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\u2019t, we were just cowardly. So it\u2019ll be interesting to see how Sweden will manoeuvre Eurovision.<\/span><\/p>\n

I just knew, for me as an artist, I didn\u2019t feel good being a part of that. Even though it\u2019s 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\u2019s not what\u2019s happening. I respect the countries that have taken a stand. Sometimes it might feel like \u2018what can I do?\u2019, 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 \u2013 it normalises discussion and it makes others feel more comfortable to speak up. If everybody thought [their impact] didn\u2019t matter, there would be no demonstration. It\u2019s every single individual person that makes up a big crowd, it\u2019s like going to a concert. And I\u2019m sure there\u2019s other things that I\u2019ve said yes to \u2013 or I will in the future \u2013 that might be contradictory, but I\u2019m trying. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

There\u2019s a clip in the documentary where you say \u2018maybe I can\u2019t make a difference, maybe I should just sing\u2019, but clearly you don\u2019t really feel like that\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zara Larsson: <\/strong>I don\u2019t, but I\u2019m 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\u2019d have a more peaceful life that way, but I\u2019m just not that person. I never have been and I never will be, I just care.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s your birthday next week\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zara Larsson: <\/strong>It is! I will be celebrating with a Jingle Bell Ball performance in Washington. But the next day we\u2019re driving to New York for five days. I\u2019m really not a party person at all \u2013 the organisation of it, I mean \u2013 something lowkey, a little spa appointment, that\u2019s perfection to me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are you most looking forward to in 2026?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zara Larsson: <\/strong>Releasing new music. I want to keep this going. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source URL: https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/music\/article\/69262\/1\/you-have-to-speak-out-zara-larsson-weighs-in-on-the-eurovision-boycott<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1017575,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-1017574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1017574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1017574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1017575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1017574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1017574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1017574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}