NEW YORK – A bashful 11-year-old named Crystal had a question for Zara Larsson: “How did you become the perfect star?”

Onstage, the Swedish singer – Barbie-like in a neon-pink tube top and flowing blonde extensions – giggled into her bedazzled mic while a small group of VIP fans aww-ed. They had assembled in the cavernous, gilded hall of the Brooklyn Paramount for an “intimate pre-show hang” with Larsson, where she dutifully performed two acoustic songs and took questions.

Later that March evening, a swarm of tweens, teens and gay millennials in glitter descended on the theatre for the second of Larsson’s two concerts there. The artiste, aided by four back-up dancers and an overworked wind machine, treated them to 90 minutes of pop spectacle with arena-size ambitions.

To the question at hand, Larsson offered an earnest answer about how people shine when they do things with purpose.

Stardom is a topic on which she has recently gained some authority. That week, Stateside + Zara Larsson – the fizzy remix of British singer PinkPantheress’ Stateside (2025) that caught fire after American gold medalist Alysa Liu skated to it at the Olympic exhibition gala – climbed to No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

In February, Larsson attended the Grammys as a nominee for the first time (Best Dance Pop Recording for Midnight Sun). And on TikTok, concert clips of fans dancing onstage to her 2015 song Lush Life had been going viral for months.

She has also promoting her latest album Midnight Sun, a sexy, propulsive collection of maximalist dance-pop released in September. On May 1, she dropped Midnight Sun: Girls Trip, a stack of remixes featuring pop titans like Shakira and Robyn, as well as prominent peers like R&B singer Kehlani and City Girls rapper JT.