Zara Larsson

**Zara Maria Larsson** (born 16 December 1997) is a Swedish singer-songwriter. At the age of 10, she achieved national fame in Sweden for winning the 2008 season of the talent show Talang, the Swedish version of British TV's Got Talent. Four years later, in 2012, Larsson signed with the record label TEN Music Group and released her debut EP Introducing in January 2013. The single "Uncover" topped the music charts in Scandinavia: Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. In February 2013, "Uncover" was certified Platinum by Universal Music Sweden. In July 2013, her EP Introducing was certified 3× Platinum in the country. Larsson signed a three-year contract with Epic Records in the United States in April 2013. In 2016, she performed at the opening and closing ceremonies for UEFA Euro in France.

Four years after her first album, Larsson's debut international album So Good was released on 17 March 2017 and entered at number seven on the UK Albums Chart. It produced eight singles: "Lush Life", "Never Forget You", "Ain't My Fault", "I Would Like", "So Good", "Don't Let Me Be Yours", "Only You", and "Symphony", a collaboration with Clean Bandit. Almost all the album's singles reached the top 15 in the UK. "Never Forget You" peaked in the United States at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100, giving Larsson and English singer MNEK their first entries on the chart. Similarly, "Symphony" became Larsson's first number one single on the UK Singles Chart.

## Early Life

Larsson was born at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, Stockholm County, Sweden, to Agnetha and Anders Larsson. In an interview with Svenska Dagbladet, she said that she was born "dead" due to a lack of oxygen from nuchal cord. She has a younger sister, Hanna, who is also a singer and a member of the band Hanna & Andrea.

In a 2015 interview, Larsson said that she was accepted into the Adolf Fredrik's Music School, but declined because she did not want to sing in a choir.

## Career

### **2008–11: Career beginnings**

Larsson won the 2008 season of Talang, the Swedish adaptation of Got Talent, at the age of 10, winning 500,000 kronor. "My Heart Will Go On", originally sung by Celine Dion, was later released as Larsson's debut single.

### **2012–14: Breakthrough with 1**

Larsson signed with TEN Music Group in 2012 to record her debut extended play. Larsson's debut EP, Introducing, was leaked on 9 December 2012 through a preview of "Uncover" on YouTube. The five-song album was released on 21 January 2013. "Uncover" was released as the album's lead single. It peaked at number one on both the Sverigetopplistan and DigiListan charts. as well as reaching number one in Norway and peaking at number three in Denmark, and by 25 February 2013, the song was certified Platinum in Sweden by Universal Music Sweden. The song entered the Svensktoppen track lists. In July 2013, at Sommarkrysset in Gröna Lund, she received a 3× Platinum award for Introducing.

On 27 March 2013, Larsson's next EP was revealed through a preview of "She's Not Me (Pt. 1)". The five-song EP, Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself, was released on 5 July 2013. The double-single "She's Not Me" (consisting of "She's Not Me (Pt. 1)" and "She's Not Me (Pt. 2)") was released on 25 June 2013. On 3 April 2013, Larsson revealed on her blog that she had signed a three-year contract with Epic Records in the United States. On 11 December 2013, Larsson performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo. On 1 October 2014, Larsson released her debut studio album 1, including the songs "Uncover", "Bad Boys" and "She's Not Me" (Pt. 1 and Pt. 2). The album went Platinum in Sweden. Larsson was an opening act for British singer Cher Lloyd's I Wish Tour.

### **2015–2017: So Good and international success**

On 5 June 2015, Larsson released the single "Lush Life" from her upcoming second studio album. The song became her second number one single and was certified 4× Platinum in Sweden. The song reached the top five in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

On 22 July 2015, Larsson released her collaboration with British singer MNEK, the single "Never Forget You". The song reached number one in Sweden, number three in Australia and number five in the United Kingdom, The song was certified Platinum in Sweden after two weeks.

In February 2016, Tinie Tempah released "Girls Like" featuring Larsson. Larsson was later featured in the official song of UEFA Euro 2016, David Guetta's "This One's for You".

On 1 September 2016, Larsson released "Ain't My Fault", the third single taken from her upcoming album. On 22 October 2016, Larsson was named one of Time's "30 Most Influential Teens of 2016". She released "I Would Like", the fourth single from her upcoming album, on 11 November 2016. It peaked at number two in the United Kingdom and at number four in Sweden.

In January 2017, Larsson released "So Good", featuring American rapper Ty Dolla Sign. The single served as the fifth single from her second album of the same name, which was released on 17 March 2017. The album features other collaborations with Wizkid and Clean Bandit titled "Sundown" and "Symphony" respectively. The latter track was released as a single on the same date and became Larsson's fifth number one single in her home country and first number one single in the United Kingdom. The album became her second number one album in Sweden and peaked in the top ten in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom.

On 12 May 2017, Larsson released a music video for "Don't Let Me Be Yours" as the sixth single from So Good, with "Only You" being released as the seventh single from the album on 11 August 2017.

### **2017–present: Upcoming third studio album**

In September 2017, Larsson announced that she had started work on her third studio album saying in an interview she had wrote two new songs with MNEK. On 11 December 2017, Larsson once again performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, this time alongside American singer John Legend.

In January 2018, Larsson was named to Forbes' "30 Under 30 Europe" list in the entertainment category.

A year after she had first anticipated her third studio album, in September 2018 she announced via a tweet that she would be releasing a new single, "Ruin My Life" soon. The month after Larsson announced the artwork for the single and the release date of 18 October 2018.

## Personal life and views

Larsson, a self-proclaimed fan of Beyoncé, identifies as a feminist and models herself an "activist" after the singer. She attributes her openness of opinion on social media and within interviews to her parents, claiming: "Both my parents are very educated when it comes to social issues and being woke about what's going on in the world, and they've been very supportive of me having a voice". Larsson says she "has received a lot of hate" for her feminist opinions, including being called a "man hater". She accepts the label and has added that she "doesn't care", because "it doesn't really hurt men if I hate them".

Larsson has grown increasingly vocal with her impressions of other artists and industry workers with whom she works and admires. While she has high praise for performers such as Beyoncé, she is equal in her opposing views of such artists like Dr. Luke and Chris Brown.

Since 2017, she has been dating British male model Brian H. Whittaker, whom she tweeted in 2015, but didn't meet until 2 years later.

## Artistry

Zara Larsson is mainly a pop and R&B singer, She also does electropop, house, and dance music.

Her biggest influence is Beyoncé.