Zara Larsson has been nominated for a Grammy in the best dance pop recording category for the title track of her album Midnight Sun, but it’s another song from the album, “Crush,” that is climbing the charts right now. Zara says “Crush” is an example of what happened when she decided to co-write every song on the album.
“I feel really confident as a writer and as a singer just going into the studio and feeling like, ‘I want this to be my truth,"” she told ABC Audio. “And some of the songs on the album, they’re a bit messy. And it’s like, some of the songs aren’t the nicest, but it’s the truth. And I think it’s just more fun that way.”
And “Crush” is, in fact, messy: It’s about being infatuated with someone else while you’re already in a committed relationship. “A lot of people that I played it to, they’re like, ‘Ooh, that’s relatable.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, okay!"” Zara said.
“But it sounds like such a fun, big pop song. And I don’t think you really clock what I’m singing about until the very end, perhaps, or if you listen twice,” she continued. “But I thought, ‘You know what? Let me just sing about this."”
“Maybe [this is] something that I wouldn’t have done a couple of years ago, because I would have been like, ‘Oh no!! What are people gonna think about me?’ and all that stuff,” she noted. “And now, I just don’t really care!”
Zara is currently touring Europe, but she’s coming back to the U.S. for some multi-artist shows in December. Her Midnight Sun tour starts Feb. 28 in Portland, Oregon.
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