I know it’s still February. I know we’re still in the winter season, but I simply can’t wait for summer to roll around. It’s almost like the summer air never actually left my system. It’s part of who I am, and the one person who has definitely influenced that is Zara Larsson.
Zara Larsson is a pop singer who came out with tons of songs in the mid-2010s. Many of these songs were extremely popular and were frequently played on the radio. Over time, her music started to disappear, and it was almost like we never heard from Larsson again. That was until dolphins took over TikTok.
The Dolphin Meme of Summer 2024
If you were on TikTok during the summer of 2024, you might remember seeing dolphins everywhere. You probably also remember hearing Larsson’s song “Symphony” playing in the background, along with a funny phrase written in bold white letters. This trend emerged randomly in August and grew in popularity quickly, with Zara even joining the trend herself.
With this meme blowing up all over the internet, it gave Larsson the attention she hadn’t received in years. People were finally listening to her music again, and her streams were going up. It was clear she didn’t want this to stop, so she decided to use this meme to her advantage. Larsson made the dolphins her brand.
A Never-Ending Midnight Sun
In September 2025, Zara Larsson dropped her hit album, Midnight Sun. Now, this album is the epitome of summer. The sun is shining, the dolphins are swimming, and we’re all trying to get those crisp tan lines from our bikinis. Not only does the album sound like the soundtrack to summer, but it looks just like it, too.
Larsson intentionally made all the visuals for this album coincide with the meme that helped her music resurface. The music video for the title track, “Midnight Sun,” was basically just Larsson swimming in the dolphin background that everyone had been previously posting a year before. She’s always seen dressing up in bright colors and wearing fun makeup at every show of her Midnight Sun tour.
Larsson became an absolute mastermind by using the dolphin meme to help promote her new album, and it worked exactly as she planned. Because of Midnight Sun, Larsson has become an internet sensation, started selling out tours, and has now been nominated for her first GRAMMY! She even performed for the first time at the GRAMMYs this year.
2026 Is the New 2016
Along with Zara Larsson popping out with brand new music that people are obsessed with, her old music has now started to make a reappearance as well. We all know that everyone loved 2016, and with the new year, everyone is trying to make 2026 the new 2016.
Larsson’s song “Lush Life” is currently trending all over TikTok, with everyone dancing to it and putting on 2016 filters. “Lush Life” is Larsson’s most successful song, and with the 2016 resurgence, it seems everyone is streaming it again.
No differently from before, Larsson has continued to push this narrative as well. She’s jumped onto the trend, pretending it’s 2016 again by dancing to her own song. She’s even added the dance as a part of her tour and made it a part of her rebrand! I have no doubt that the 2016 era is contributing to Larsson’s rise back to stardom.
By promoting her own music in the way that she has, Zara Larsson has grown in popularity tremendously over the past year. She took a funny meme, embraced it, and saved her career by turning it into her rebrand. Larsson might honestly be one of the most strategic celebrities we’ve seen in a while.
After falling off over the past decade, she’s made her way back into the big leagues, and I really hope to see more of her. She’s fun, joyful, hilarious, and extremely talented. That girl can sing! I can’t wait to watch her continue to grow as a star, and I have no doubt she will.
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