So today is the day Zara Larsson is releasing her long-awaited album, the one the international audiences really see as her first. And the one that should consolidate her breakthrough as an international star to be reckoned with.
The album is packed to the rim with 15 tunes, some of which have already been superhit singles, and several others that are poised for chart-topping success. The songs are the work of over 50 different songwriters and each song has different producers. Well, that tells a lot about how music production works nowadays, of course, even though that makes the sound rather multifaceted… Some songs are obviously aimed at the British audience and some at the Americans. For the Britons she’s this very cool urban artist hanging out with MNEK and Tinie Tempah, while the American side gets more of that r’n’b vibe.
The large number of people involved also tells about how much effort has been put into this becoming a success – the release has also been pushed forward, more songs have been added and all the details have been perfected.
The songwriters recruited to guarantee Zara’s breakthrough are a very impressive bunch. Of biggest interest to the Swedes are Jocke Berg of Kent and Petra Marklund penning Only You (which Zara premiered at the Melodifestivalen final), and we have another Swedish songwriting genius Ana Diaz involved with Funeral. Then there’s none other than Ed Sheeran on Don’t Let Me Be Yours and Julia Michaels (her with the Issues and the huge hits like Bieber’s Sorry) on One Mississippi.
And I still didn’t mention what feels like the best song of the album, at least as of this moment, Symphony, which is an amazing collaboration with the hugely popular British group Clean Bandit. Check out the amazing video on top!
Another clear favorite on the first few listens is TG4M, a really catchy tune from some of the same songwriters who were behind the unique sound of Zara‘s big hit Lush Life (Linnea Södahl and Marcus Sepehrmanesh).
All in all we get plenty of different moods, from party bangers to midtempo tunes and ballads. Zara gets to show off her great vocal skills and she manages to make the emotions really shine through in the best moments.
Have a listen to the album for yourself and let us know how you feel about Zara’s chances for world domination!
P.S. You can catch Zara live at Gröna Lund on the 1st of June!
