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. 

The ups and downs—the ups are when things are moving. What’s fun right now is that it feels like we’re on the way up. I get to be on the covers of magazines I’ve loved for so long. I get requests from other artists asking if I want to be on a song. I can feel it moving, and that evolution is the real joy. The downs—sometimes the hardest part about being an artist or a celebrity isn’t the hate or people saying mean things. It’s the opposite: being completely ignored. When nobody really cares. You put so much time and energy into something, and it’s just crickets. That can be really demotivating. But now, with this album, I was like, no—I have to do everything. I want to be part of every song. I wanted to make it with a small group of people who understood me, who could see my vision, who could see me. I’m less concerned with how people view me, which has ironically led to people caring more than ever. It’s funny how that works—the minute you stop caring is when it all happens.

MR: There are a lot of lessons we learn as kids that sound sort of stupid, like, “Just be yourself!” And then we become adults, and we realize.” Oh wow, actually, the best thing is to actually just be myself.”

ZL: No, it’s so true. In a way, I really feel like this album brought me back to who I actually am—also, branding-wise. With fashion and the things I’ve been wearing, I’ve realized I love, and have always loved, color, glitter, whimsy—very vivid, sparkly things. I like the show of that. I like the silliness of it.

MR: You recently collaborated with Pink Pantheress on “Stateside,” which has become a huge track. How did that happen? 

ZL: She’s incredible. We’ve been hanging out almost every day here in L.A.—she’s been coming by, bringing people into the studio, and just seeing where it takes us. She told me she was working on a remix album and asked if I’d jump on “Stateside.” I said yes. She sent the song the next day, and two days later, we booked a studio in Denver—because that’s where we were on tour—and recorded it. We sent it back, and about a week later it was out. It all happened so fast. Honestly, if I hadn’t DM’d her, she probably wouldn’t have reached out. I even remember someone telling me, just before the tracklist came out, that Kylie Minogue was doing “Stateside.” I was like, “Oh—are we doing it together?” And they said no, it looked like it was just Kylie. I was worried for a second, like, did she take me off? But then it turned out it was all these different versions of the same song, which I thought was really smart and fun. The audience kind of picked their favorite, and “Stateside” just became super popular. Then we decided to make a video, which I was really excited about, because we both work with Charlotte [Rutherford]. She’s done so many videos for her as well, so it felt like the natural choice. Charlotte had this idea of us essentially switching brands, which was really smart, because it also solidified who we are. The fact that we could switch and people immediately clocked it—that meant our identities were already clear and recognizable.

MR: It’s been hugely successful, and the branding around it—especially leaning into the meme—felt incredibly smart. The internet really ran with it.

ZL: It’s just crazy how it all unfolds. It really is. I wouldn’t say I’ve rebranded, because I didn’t really have a brand to rebrand from. What I did find, though, is that a brand—at least to me—is really just commitment and discipline toward something. It could be anything, but you have to be committed and disciplined enough to keep doing it. That’s actually really hard for me, because I love literally everything in the universe. There aren’t that many things I don’t like. But one thing I consistently find myself happiest with is color—and just a touch of tackiness. That’s what I grew up with. My style icons were people like Paris Hilton and Snooki.

MR: Oh, my God. I’ve never heard Snooki referred to as a style icon, but I couldn’t agree more. 

ZL: That was my childhood. That is what I thought looked so fucking sexy on women. I was like, ‘I’m gonna look like that when I’m older.’

MR: It’s been so fun seeing fans recreating your look lately, especially the makeup. 

ZL: I think the makeup—Sophia Sinot, who’s been doing my makeup on tour—has really elevated my world, expanded my universe. Everything that’s happened, and all the people I’ve worked with, have just fallen into place in the most beautiful, natural way. A lot of it hasn’t been meticulously planned. It’s just happened because I’ve had great people around me who want to try something, and I say, “Yeah, let’s do that.” She basically puts me in drag every night, and I’m just like, “yeah, I trust you.” I think that’s really what it is. It’s about surrounding yourself with people whose work I genuinely love and trust, and then letting them go a little crazy on me. And then everything sort of uncovers what was already there somewhere inside of me.

This cover story appears in the pages of V159: now available for purchase!

Photography Zoey Grossman

Fashion Lana Jay Lackey

Creative Director / Editor-in-Chief Stephen Gan

Interview Mathias Rosenzweig

Makeup Kennedy (Streeters) using Prada Beauty

Hair Evanie Frausto (Streeters) using Redken

Manicure Steph Stone (Forward Artists)

Editor Kev Ponce

Casting Greg Krelenstein (GK-LD)

Art Director Clément Condat

Movement Director Marly Phillips Nicol

Prop Stylist Danielle Von Braun (Art Department)

Prop Styling Assistant Morrison

Producers Zach Crawford, Sean Gibson (Crawford & Co. Productions)

Lighting Director Nick Tooman

Photo Assistants Joe Beckley, Oliver Barth, Dustin Edwards

Styling Assistants Hayley Francine, William Irvin

Hair Assistant Sophia Flores

Makeup Assistant Bex Marie Cooke

Cinematographer Lukas Chmiel