Zara Larsson

Zara Maria Larsson (born 16 December 1997) is a Swedish singer and songwriter.

She first rose to prominence in 2008 after winning the second season of Talang, the Swedish version of the Got Talent format.

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", the song she sang in the final, originally sung by Celine Dion, was later released that year as Larsson's debut single, charting at the official Swedish Singles Chart, Sverigetopplistan, for six consecutive weeks and peaking there at number seven for one week.

She started singing on Sommarkrysset ("The Summer Cross"), another Swedish TV program.

Between December 2009 and January 2010, Zara participated in a reality TV series called Jag ska bli stjärna (English: "I shall become a star") where she and other young Swedish talents got help on the difficult road to international fame and success.

She was managed by Laila Bagge, and they flew to Los Angeles in the United States where they visited and talked with Disney and the three big record label companies—Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Music Group—but she did not get a contract offer anywhere, which Zara later attributed to her age at that time.

In 2012, Larsson signed with the record label TEN Music Group and subsequently released her debut extended play, Introducing, in January 2013.

The EP was supported by Larsson's first original single, "Uncover", which topped the charts in Scandinavia and was certified 6x platinum in Sweden.

Larsson signed with TEN Music Group in 2012 to record her debut compilation recording.

The recording, the extended play (EP) Introducing, was leaked on 9 December 2012 through an unofficial music video of "Uncover" on YouTube, a static-view video featuring her singing the whole song in the recording studio in one whole continuous take.

The five-song EP was released in Scandinavia on 21 January 2013, consisting exclusively of original songs.

"Uncover" was released as the EP'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 as a result of the song having received over five million streams.

The song entered the Svensktoppen track lists.

In July 2013, at Sommarkrysset in Gröna Lund, she received a 3× platinum award for Introducing for selling over 120,000 copies in Sweden.

On 27 March 2013, Larsson's next EP was revealed through a music video of "She's Not Me (Pt. 1)" on YouTube.

The five-song EP, Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself, was released in Scandinavia on 5 July 2013.

"She's Not Me" (consisting of "She's Not Me (Pt. 1)" and "She's Not Me (Pt. 2)") was released as a double-single 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.

Her debut studio album, 1, followed in 2014.

Following her early success in Scandinavia, Larsson signed a three-year contract with Epic Records in the United States.

On 1 October 2014, Larsson released her Scandinavian debut studio album 1, including the songs "Uncover", "Bad Boys" and "She's Not Me" (Pt. 1 and Pt. 2), in Scandinavia.

The version of "Uncover" in the album was a newer recording by Larsson from 2014.

The album went platinum in Sweden.

Larsson was an opening act for British singer Cher Lloyd's I Wish Tour.

She later attained international recognition with singles including "Lush Life" (2015), "Never Forget You" (2015), "Girls Like" (2016) with Tinie Tempah, "This One's for You" with David Guetta, "Ain't My Fault" (2016), "Symphony" (2017) with Clean Bandit, "Ruin My Life" (2018) and "On My Love" (2023) with David Guetta.

Her debut international album and second overall, So Good, was commercially successful and was released in March 2017.

Larsson's third studio album, Poster Girl, followed four years later in March 2021.

Her fourth studio album, Venus, was released on 9 February 2024.

Zara Maria Larsson was born at Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, Stockholm, 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.

Larsson grew up in Tallkrogen in Enskede, south of Stockholm.

Her mother is a nursing assistant and her father is an officer.

She has a sister, Hanna, who is three years younger and is a singer and member of the band Lennix.

Her first primary school was the Gubbängsskolan; she transferred to the Royal Swedish Ballet School in third grade.

She attended the secondary school Kulturama, an art school in Stockholm.

She has cited Carola Häggkvist and Whitney Houston as early inspirations.

She has said that since the age of five, she knows that she wants to become "immortal" like Elvis Presley.