Zara Larsson‘s New Record “Poster Girl” Is Finally Here, Four Years After Her Previous Artwork, 2017’s So Good Album!
“If you tried to imagine the most Scandinavian thing you could
ever experience in your life, it would probably look a lot like
Swedish pop star Zara Larsson talking about modern furniture.
While Zooming with Billboard from her home in Stockholm, the 23-year-old shows off a
poster from Germany’s Vitra Design Museum that depicts over 200 iconic chairs throughout history, from simple wooden designs dating back
to 1802 to sculpture-like creations that look inhospitable to
those with intact spinal columns.Some days, Larsson just sits in front of it and studies her
favorites from the ‘60s and ‘70s. And when she has company over,
it’s a fun conversation starter: What’s your favorite chair? Which one represents you?Larsson’s younger sister, Hanna, who lives with her and is also a singer, was the one who bought the artwork. But Larsson has an eye for
design, too. One of her favorite shows growing up was Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and she’s a fan of the before-and-after renovation videos that
endlessly populate TikTok. Like plenty of bored young people,
Larsson has been spending an obsessive amount of time on the app
during the pandemic.“It knows exactly what the f–k I’m thinking,” she says, her
Swedish accent popping as she swears. “The algorithm knows
you so well.
Sometimes it’s scary.”If this all sounds like Larsson started to lose it a bit during
this past year of downtime — well, she would not disagree with
you there. “I felt like a little person floating around the
universe without anything to anchor me down to reality,” she
says. “I identify myself so much by my job: I’m an artist.
That’s who I am. And when I didn’t have that, it was very
confusing.”It’s one of the many reasons she is eager to get back to work
and release her second international album, Poster Girl, out Friday (Mar. 5). A glossy, disco-tinged twist on classic
Swedish pop, the LP is something of an identity statement
following 2017’s So Good, a sprawling grab-bag of global sounds that included breakout
Hot 100 hits like “Never Forget You” and “Lush Life,” and was
certified platinum in the U.S. It’s also been a longtime coming:
Larsson started releasing tracks from Poster Girl in late 2018, but kept writing and recording with
collaborators (like hitmaking duo Justin Tranter and Julia
Michaels) right up through the pandemic.“[My team and I] were like, ‘What if we have to wait all the way
till summer for
this to be over?’” Larsson says of her attitude this time last
year. “And now look at us — we’re still in this mess! But if
not now, when? I’m really good at pushing stuff. There will
always be a reason to push something.”Below, Larsson talks to Billboard about doubling down on pop, how Justin and Julia helped
her find her voice and — just when you thought it couldn’t get
any more Swedish — her upcoming livestream concert in
partnership with Ikea.When you visited our offices in 2019, you said that you were delaying the album because it didn’t
feel right to you yet. What was the issue?I felt a little confused — it was a bit all over the place.
Which is kinda my personality, I can’t lie. I put my stuff
everywhere, my thoughts are everywhere. And even though these
days people listen to mostly playlists, I still wanted this
album to make sense as a project. Justin Tranter and Julia
Michaels really helped me out with that. I picked the songs I
really liked, and they were on the same page: “Thank God you
like these songs, because these songs you’ve done are our
favorites as well.”From there we just started building it around the vibe of the
album. I was very inspired by ABBA. They brought it up: “This is
giving me modern ABBA feels.” I started listening to a lot of
them, and a lot of Robyn, actually — just Swedish legacy icons
that I’ve been hearing my whole life, but never really gave the
attention they truly deserve. I’d never sat down and said, “Let
me really listen to this, the melodies, the lyrics.” And I was
thinking about the future — what will make a really good
concert. I like to write songs, but I’m a performer first and a
writer second.It’s funny to hear you say you wanted the album to be
focused, because that was a fun thing about So Good: It had everything — ballads, EDM bangers, tropical pop
songs, Ty Dolla $ign.It was so chaotic!
So with Poster Girl, do you have this a-ha moment of, “OK, this is what makes a Zara Larsson project, this is the
throughline.”No, I don’t! [Laughs.] That’s nice that you said that. You want some kind of
signature sound. I have my taste, and whatever that taste is, I
don’t really know [how to describe it]. Hopefully the more I
release music, the more people will understand it. I haven’t
been releasing that much music, though. When I look back [on the
last few years], I think, “Ugh, I could have released three
albums in that time! What the f–k!” But I just didn’t feel
ready for it.You can just add extra songs to a deluxe edition in two
months — everyone’s doing it.Yeah! I have so many songs left. I’m down to release a mixtape.
No pressure, just put it out [and have people] hear this music.
Something that wouldn’t be about the charts or be about the
sales. Just for fun. ‘Cause there’s a lot of music. I feel sad thinking about all the songs in all
artists’ computers that will never see the light of day.I was surprised by how much of a dance-pop record this album
is, based on some of the singles.“Talk About Love” doesn’t really represent the album, you’re so
right. That’s the song that is least similar to the others. But
I think it makes sense with the love theme, and I do want some
other vibes. When you go to a live show, you don’t want to hear
the same song 15 times. At least that’s not what I want. I was
really excited when Young Thug wanted to be a part of “Talk
About Love,” because I think he fits well with pop artists. He’s
got really sick melodies. I don’t really look at Young Thug as a
rapper — he’s singing, you know? And he really brought himself. He didn’t compromise
his artistry for a pop song and make it not Young Thug-ish.During a listening session for the album late last year, you
mentioned that when you’d go to recording sessions,
songwriters and producers would say, “So we hear you’re making
an R&B album.”I’m like, “Where did you get that? Who said that? I didn’t!” I
do love to be a little inspired by that — because that is
something I really enjoy listening to. But I love to sing and
perform and pop. I think you can do a little mix of it. This
album is even poppier than So Good.I assumed it came from your American label, Epic Records,
whose roster is packed with hip-hop and R&B acts. Are
there challenges with navigating that environment as a pop
artist?I don’t think so. I don’t spend much time looking at what other
people are doing. I’m actually quite bad in general at even
listening to music, which I’m ashamed of sometimes. I feel like
a really bad artist — like every artist should be obsessed with
music and play it all the time. Umm, I just listen to podcasts
and my own songs!But no one is really pushing me. I’d be cringey if they were
like, “You should do more hip-hop.” I’m just trying to be myself
and do whatever I like. You can be influenced by people,
especially if you have a feature, but I’m not going to start
rapping. I’ve tried it! [Laughs.] It was a
Swedish song. I was like, “That was fun, but I’m not going to do
it again.” So I don’t feel pressured. They love what I do.When I was looking through the album credits, I noticed all
my favorites — like the title track — were the ones you
co-wrote with Justin and Julia. What makes them such good
creative partners?It’s literally impossible to be intimidated by Justin and
Julia, and that’s why I think people work so well with them.
Not only are they the most talented writers on the face of the
earth, but they are also extremely nice, very warm and
welcoming. You feel safe when you hang out with them. You feel
like: It’s mom and dad! That’s why I love to write with them. They just throw
out [ideas] and it’s all great, but I need to be really
comfortable to open up.I’ve never been a writer like that. I’m not a girl who goes
into my bedroom and sits and opens my book and writes down
words. No, I go in front of my mirror and perform for my fake
crowd. So it’s easier to write with them because no idea is
bad, it’s just us three writing, and I feel very involved. It
just proves that being nice is always the best way to go.This album also marks a certain pop star rite of passage:
You worked with Max Martin on “Stick With You.”It’s funny, he wasn’t even supposed to be there. He was just
like, “Hey, can I come in and join you guys?” We were at his
house, so we were like, “Uh, yes you can come in!” He’s also one of the nicest, most
humble guys I’ve ever met. I think that’s why he’s so
successful. He’s not scared of learning. When he goes into the
room, in his mind, he’s not the best one in there. He’s just
there to see what’s up: “You’re a new artist, what do you
think? How would you sing this melody?” He’s just always a
student. And that’s why he’s still relevant. That’s why he
moves with the culture.You’re teaming up with Live Nation and Ikea for a livestream concert on March 8, which is International Women’s Day. What
does a livestream concert look like for you?It’s gonna be [riffing] insaaaAAAaaane. It’s like EMAs times 10. The set’s going to be amazing. The clothes,
amazing. The dancing, amazing. I’m so excited to be performing
my new songs. But also I’m very excited because it’s happening
on International Women’s Day. We’re putting a lot of focus on
girls’ education and equality in the homes — things that I
want to shine a light on. A lot of issues that come with
poverty [are tied up in] the sense that women can’t have an
education. So it’s bigger than me. And because it’s a free
concert streaming on YouTube, I really hope people can spare
$1 or more if they want to for the charity. It’s gonna be
sick.” – Billboard.com
