Summer is still a month away, but Zara Larsson is already heating things up with the release of her new album, Midnight Sun: Girl’s Trip. The record was released on May 1 and is the deluxe version of a previously released album, featuring ten new reinvented songs with all-female collaborations in addition to the original versions.
Although Larsson has been in the music industry for over ten years, the majority of the songs in her discography maintain a similar sound in the synth-pop and dance-pop genres. However, she diverges from her previous approach by venturing into a more experimental pop style that has not yet been seen from her, focusing heavily on electronic production techniques rather than traditional ones.
Performed in collaboration with PinkPantheress, the title track “Midnight Sun” opens the album by introducing the electronic pop style. The two artists’ previous collaboration on the song “Stateside” gained massive attraction and quickly became a trend-setting internet sensation, causing the remix of “Midnight Sun,” to be one of the most popular tracks on the album. PinkPantheress’s lines in the song create a unique blend of voices, with her signature “spoken” lyrics contrasting with Larsson’s powerful vocals and high-notes.
While the style of “Midnight Sun” remained primarily the same as the original song despite PinkPantheress’s addition, other songs in Larsson’s album took a complete turn. For example, Kehlani’s feature in “Blue Moon” shifted the song away from Larsson’s typical pop style into an R&B focused approach. While new to this genre, Larsson navigated this new sound terrifically.
Both “The Ambition,” which featured Madison Beer and BAMBII, and “Saturn’s Return,” with Helena Gao and Malibu, left a tasteful mark that highlighted Larsson’s artistic growth from the original release. Particularly in “Saturn’s Return,” Gao’s lines in Mandarin gave the song a unique and cultural ambiance that it previously lacked. However, the remix exceeding six minutes in play time became slightly excessive and redundant.
Although “Puss Puss” and “Eurosummer” were not as memorable as the others, the songs were still unique and stood out from their original versions. Collaborating with Shakira was a big moment for Larsson and showcased her newfound fame. However, her addition did not seem like the right choice for “Eurosummer” and discarded the Romanian europop influence from the original song.
Despite most of the collaborations being a success, “Pretty Ugly” featuring JT and Margo XS, felt chaotic due to the overlapping beats and vocals. Although seeing Larsson tap into her more creative side is greatly appreciated, the poor production made the remix a significant downgrade from the original.
While experimenting with a new style in this album was risky for Larsson, she did not hold back and fully committed to giving each song a whole new ambiance. In addition to introducing a new direction in “Midnight Sun: Girl’s Trip,” Larsson also shines a spotlight on smaller artists, giving them the opportunity to make a breakthrough in the music industry as she did. Although many were hesitant for Larsson to step out of her comfort zone, it was definitely the right move and could potentially be her first step in entering a new era.
