She appeared out of the blue dark glistening, drinking in the high pitched screams of adoration, her blonde hair rippling, her eyes fixed ahead, dressed in a Kill Bill-esque yellow crop top and trousers. Then she sang the first line of the smash hit ‘Symphony,’ and her crisp, pure voice filled out the auditorium. The star power she conveyed instantly was undeniable. This girl carries the title ‘Popstar’ like she was born with it.
Zara Larsson may only be 21, but she is hardly new to spotlights, glitter and devotion. She won the Swedish edition of Britain’s Got Talent at age 10 and has been an all conquering regular of the charts since 2015. With 18 million monthly Spotify listeners (more than the Beatles, Bob Marley and Tupac, no less), her name is already spread over the planet, and from the first few songs you can hear why. Her music lives on luscious hooks and innocuous beats; sweet and sugary flavours that can be digested instantly, turning the pleasure valve and inviting you to bathe in the bliss. This is best exemplified by the sumptuous new track ‘Wow’, or the aptly titled ‘So Good’. The latter’s chorus is both simplistic and incredibly infectious, and Zara gets each side of the audience to sing it back to each other; it’s endearing to see hundreds of teenagers so completely immersed in the syrupy melody.
For those who are no longer going through puberty, however, by the 6th, 7th and 8th songs the weariness begins to set in, our veins now bulging with pop sugar, the musical equivalent of drinking litre after litre of Lucozade. Here the substance of each track rarely even toys with going off the endless topic of ‘boy troubles.’ The forgettable ‘Carry You Home’ unapologetically mixes in the hook of Avicii’s titanically popular song ‘Wake Me Up’; ‘Ruin My Life’ drones on like the bitter end of a gaudy club night when you’re dreaming of being in bed; ‘Ain’t My Fault’ is so Rihanna-like that it almost sounds like she’s onstage, and Zara’s star begins to fade.
Popstars as ludicrously successful as Zara have no need to justify themselves, their adoring audience does that on its own. Yet placed among the panoply of glitter soaked singers vying for our attention, you can’t help but wonder: what truly defines her? This is where you get if you follow talent show led, formulaic paths to glory. It’s almost as if she hasn’t had time to form an artistic identity between signing record deals and doing photoshoots. Could she ever sing in Swedish, innovate with a more experimental sound or tread stimulating lyrical territory? Unlikely, and her record label may not like it, but just following the steady path that lays before her, despite all its glitz and glamour, will result in just another pop star who kissed the sky and then came plummeting back to earth.
