Zara Larsson tells Allure she is building her own pop world
Zara Larsson has taken the cover of Allure to lay out where she wants her pop career to go next. The story, titled “Zara Larsson’s Pop Girl Dreams,” was published on Sept. 24 and pairs a new shoot with an interview about creative control. Allure
She told the magazine she has taken on a bigger role in creative decisions for her music and performances, according to Billboard. “I want to build a world, an identity, a universe, a sound, a feeling,” she said. Short version: she wants the whole picture to connect.
Larsson has been performing for most of her life. She won Talang, the Swedish edition of Got Talent, in 2008 at age 10 and signed a record deal in 2012. Her early breakthroughs in the United States included “Lush Life” and “Never Forget You” on the Billboard Hot 100, the US singles chart.
Her recent album Midnight Sun is her second-highest-charting album to date on the Billboard 200, the US albums chart. Last year she told The Line of Best Fit she had full creative control over that record, which gives context to the push she describes to Allure. The album’s run has overlapped with a second life for an old single. Her 2015 song “Lush Life” went viral in late 2025 and climbed to a new peak of No. 35 on the Hot 100.
She has since earned her first Hot 100 top 10 through “Stateside,” her collaboration with PinkPantheress. That gives her chart story two distinct chapters. One was built early. One is happening now.
Live dates follow quickly. Larsson is scheduled to play All Things Go NYC on Sept. 25 and All Things Go DC on Sept. 26, according to Billboard. Both are festival sets in front of large, mixed crowds.
Alongside the cover, she appeared in Allure’s Standing Appointment series to break down the inspiration behind her cover look. Beauty is part of the package here, not an afterthought.
What makes this stand out is the timing. Larsson is not talking about control in the abstract. She is describing it while an older song climbs again, a newer album holds its place and two festival stages wait at the end of the week.
For anyone catching up, Midnight Sun is the clearest entry point. It carries the sound she is talking about building. The older hits show where it started, and the All Things Go sets will test how that world translates to a stage.
