After a decade in pop’s underground, Larsson’s radiant fifth album turned her into one of the world’s biggest stars. It’s about time, she says, relishing the attention without sacrificing her morals
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n a warm spring day, Brooklyn’s century-old Paramount theatre has been transformed into a base camp for all things Zara Larsson. Stage techs scurry past entourage members, managers furiously tap smartphones and various figures patiently await their moment with the Swedish superstar.
Down a plushly carpeted flight of stairs, Zara Larsson is on all fours, saying “puss puss” (Swedish for “kiss kiss”) into a camera. Despite all the craziness around her, she is locked in, wearing electric-blue stockings, tangerine booty shorts and a tiny blazer that makes her look like Malibu Barbie at graduation. A man powers up a leaf-blower, sending Larsson’s blond hair flying. After hitting a few poses, she tippy-taps over in maribou-trimmed stilettos and offers me a can of water. “Cheers!” she says as we clink.
Larsson’s career is moving at lightning speed and there’s not a moment to waste, or to indulge in much celebration beyond designer mineral water. In the week we meet, her irresistible spot on PinkPantheress’s Stateside has risen to No 1 on Billboard’s global charts after Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu’s viral routine to the track added fuel to what was already a white-hot six months for the Swedish star. At time of writing, Larsson has three songs in the US Hot 100 and is the fourth biggest female artist on global Spotify, behind only Taylor Swift, Olivia Dean and Raye.
