SWEDEN'S CURRENT LEADING MUSIC EXPORT, ZARA LARSSON LIKES TO WORK WITH WOMEN, BUT AT THE SAME TIME SHE DOESN'T WANT TO BE A COWARD. MAKING DECISIONS THAT LEAD FORWARD IS IMPORTANT. SHE IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON HER FOURTH STUDIO ALBUM VENUS. AN ALBUM THAT SHE DESCRIBE AS MORE PERSONAL THAN BEFORE, NOT LAST BECAUSE SHE RELEASES HER MUSIC ON HER OWN RECORD LABEL AND CHOOSES WHICH SONGWRITERS, PRODUCERS AND MUSICIANS SHE WANT TO WORK WITH.

ALREADY IN A YOUNG YEAR, Zara Larsson determined to become a world celebrity. She sang and danced, and for her it was obvious that in the future she would stand on the world stage and receive resounding applause.

It's not exactly unique in itself for a girl to dream of becoming a pop star or princess, but in Zara's case, the chance to show off her singing and dancing skills came in TV4's program Talang 2008. Zara was only 10 years old at the time. She won the competition and 'the rest is history', as they say. But still, of course, winning a talent competition wouldn't have been far if all the other pieces hadn't fallen into place; a unique singing and dancing talent, supportive parents and above all a gigantic portion of willpower and competitive instinct in Zara who already at an early age dared to take matters into her own hands and put everything into her career.

When Voyage When I meet Zara via Zoom, she shines like the sun. She sits relaxed, sunken in a comfortable armchair, wearing an oversized light blue patterned denim jacket in an 80s style. Underneath, she wears a tight long-sleeved sweater, her long, well-manicured nails begging for attention. Zara is in a great mood, laughing and gesticulating a lot during our conversation. When we meet, Venus has not yet come out, but Zara feels calm.

– It feels amazingly awesome, she says with a broad and confident smile. I feel energized and calm. I am proud, happy and satisfied – everything you could possibly want. Zara describes Venus as dynamic, more personal and a little more fun than her previous albums.

IN SUCH SITUATIONS I DON'T KNOW HOW MY OPINION, MY VOICE, MY WORDS WILL TAKE PLACE. I AM A FAIRLY CONFIDENT PERSON BUT IN SUCH SITUATIONS IT FEELS LIKE YOU HAVE TO PRESENT YOUR THOUGHTS IN FRONT OF A WHOLE SCHOOL CLASS

– Of course you feel pressure to make a good album, but at the same time I didn't feel that pressure from outside at all this time. I was kind of in my own little world when this album was created. I wrote the songs with a fairly small group of people, which made it natural and more personal.

CREATIVE & VULNERABLE
Many modern pop songs today are written by a whole bunch of people. Zara says she used to find it very stressful when there were a lot of people involved in the creative process.

– It happened that I walked into a room of people I was supposed to work with and thought 'shit, now there are ten people in this room'. It's maybe a production team of five people working together, and then there are four top-liners – and it just gets so overwhelming. Honestly, sometimes I could feel: 'I don't know what I'm doing here?!' In situations like that, I don't know how my opinion, my voice, my words are going to be heard. I'm a pretty confident person, but in situations like that it feels like you're presenting your thoughts in front of an entire school class.

She adds that it's a little scary to be creative and at the same time very vulnerable.

– It's very personal to write music. When I started writing the new album Venus, I worked with Rick Nowels, who is an incredible musician and songwriter. He was super strict about not having more than one other person in his studio at the same time. It was so nice. It was so wonderful to work with someone who is at that level, he's been around for a long time and knows his stuff. Previously, Zara hasn't felt like primarily a songwriter.

I DON'T WANT TO BE ONE CONFLICT-FEARED HUMAN. SOMETIMES IT IS SAID THAT 'BUSINESS IS NOT PERSONAL' BUT I DO NOT AGREE WITH THAT

– I saw myself more as an artist who writes songs sometimes. I think I've been very flexible in the way I write music and how I work in the past. But now I feel that in order for me to work in the best way, it's really nice to work with a smaller group and to stick to the same group so that you don't get that feeling that you're speed dating.

Zara laughs out loud and says that she has experienced work situations where she felt like no one was listening to her, but at the same time she has realized that you often know more than you think – and above all, that you actually know more than others think you know!

– I've been in many sessions, music video shoots and photo shoots and other work situations where it's been mostly guys, and where I thought 'well, if you can direct this video, I can actually do it too!'‘

It has given her better self-confidence to see how others who have great self-confidence and high opinions of themselves actually don't always know and can do everything.

– I feel like I've learned not to be so shy in creative situations without thinking if I want to create something visual I need to be able to express it even though I'm not an expert in the technical aspects. I don't have to know everything about camera lenses, for example, but I need to be able to communicate how I want it to sound or how I want it to look. Zara says she tries to work with women as much as possible.

– I think it's nice to work with women. Now I work with female musicians and I want the whole team to consist of as many women as possible. Even when I work in a recording studio, I like working with women. Because then you don't have to constantly feel like you have to explain yourself. In conversations with women there is a certain subconscious understanding that makes it easier to communicate, I think.

ONLY FEMALE MUSICIANS
Zara has been running her own record label for a couple of years now. In 2022, she bought the rights to her music from Ola Håkansson, CEO of TEN Records, who signed her at the age of 14. At the same time, she started her own record label, Sommer House Records, but despite being a record label owner, she does not see herself as a businesswoman.

– I'm not really interested in economics. I think it's fun to have money, but I'm not that interested in entrepreneurship. Then I've learned a lot over the years about how it works with being personal and being a friend. Those things sometimes come into play and feel very personal. Now I've been touring with a new band and then I had to tell my old band 'that I've been with you for eight years but now I'm choosing to move on with another band, because I only want to work with female musicians'. Things like that that you have to deal with, you just have to do, because otherwise you're not a good person or manager. In the last six months I've been in many situations where it was important that I wasn't a coward. Zara goes on to say that it's important for her to be a straight and fair manager.

– Yes, I think I've learned a lot about myself and how to deal with people. I don't want to be a conflict-averse person. Sometimes it's said that 'business is not personal', but I don't agree with that. All relationships in life are real. 'Business' is just something we humans make up, it's just numbers and figures, but it's not real. I'm constantly learning how I want to run my company, how I want to work and who I want to work with. I take more control over my creative output, I put myself in more spaces than I dared to do before. The crucial decisions are up to me and it's something that's new and exciting at the same time.

Are you motivated by making a lot of money?
– No, I don't feel motivated in that way. The motivation comes from wanting to be a good artist. I've come to a point in my life and career where I know that more money wouldn't make me happier. I'm comfortable and I don't have any financial stress. I can buy what I want, I can eat what I want, I can live the way I want. But there's always more you want. It starts with you kind of being happy that you can afford to buy a plane ticket, but the next time you want to go Premium and the time after that you want to go Business and then it's First Class. And then when you've gone First Class, you get the urge to travel by private jet. Zara laughs and continues:

– But I know that you don't get happier from that kind of thing, I know that in my heart. Even though I earn a lot of money and would perhaps benefit personally from a blue government, I don't want to see the privatization of welfare just because I personally can afford to go to a private hospital. I want the rest of society to be well off too.

Are you a competitive person who wants to be the best and always win?
– Yes!!

What happens if you don't win?
– It’s difficult when it comes to creative things, because there’s no real winner. Of course you can win prizes and awards and stuff like that, but who says it’s the best? Art in all its forms is subjective, there’s no real truth, it’s just about what you think, what I think or what someone else thinks. It’s just opinions really. I love RΒ and pop and I love dancehall and afrobeat, while my parents like rock and listen to things like Motörhead and Sex Pistols. It’s not something I like, but that doesn’t mean it’s any worse. But to answer your question; yes, I’m a very competitive person. I’m very ambitious and motivated. I want a lot and I always want to reach further, I want things to be bigger, for me to be better.

It's great that you have such a good drive, but it can also be a bit difficult. Are you very hard on yourself?
– I think you have to find a good balance between being ambitious and having a purpose. You have to be able to stop and appreciate where you are right now. It has been a journey for me to get there and to feel that life is still super wonderful just the way it is. You shouldn't always be so hard on yourself and think that nothing is good enough, that you walk around feeling inadequate. You are enough but I know that I can do more, that I can do better – but there is no gold medal for the one who runs the fastest through life.

You seem happy and content with yourself.
– I don't think I'll be able to get much happier than I am now, because I'm so happy. I'm so happy, every day. I'm in a good mindset, but I'm still very hungry to share what I do with people.

How do you keep your finger on the pulse, with what feels right when it comes to music, your clothing choices on stage and photo shoots and so on?
– When it comes to my clothing style, I like everything. The older I get, the more things I like. My taste just gets broader and broader. It should be the other way around. Most people have gotten what they need until next year. So someone takes me where I need to be. It's wonderful! Haha!

You've come a long way in your career and I'm guessing you've achieved many of the goals you set for yourself. But what does the future look like? What will your life look like in ten years?
– Then I'm on a world tour, I have a family, I might have made a few films, I've released at least three more albums and it would also be fun to see how I can develop my record label in the future. Now my record label is a home for my music and my records, but when I get older it might have been exciting to sign other artists, songwriters and producers if I feel like I want to and have the capacity to do it in my label. I would like to be a part of building something that is bigger than myself. That would be great fun. Hopefully in ten years I will have a lot of good experiences and lessons learned and know even more about the music industry.

You'll accomplish a lot in ten years!
– Yes, and time goes by so fast too. But I'm excited!

ZARA LARSON
Age: 26.
Occupation: Artist.
Boron Outside Stockholm.
Family Boyfriend Lamin Holmén, dancer, mother, father and little sister Hanna, who is also an artist. Background in brief: In 2008 Zara won TV4's Talent. The following year she appeared in TV4's documentary series Jag ska bli stjärna. In December 2012, the first single Uncover was released and two years later the debut album 1 was released. Since then, she has released several albums and a long line of hit singles. Zara is one of the world's most streamed artists.
Currently The new album Venus was released in February. The latest single You Love Who You Love is topping charts worldwide. Later this year, Zara will make her acting debut in the Netflix film Part of You. This summer, Zara will perform at festivals in Sweden and Europe.
Tour dates and tickets: www.zaralarssonofficial.com