If you were anywhere on TikTok in 2024, the dolphins probably popped up on your screen. If you have no idea what I am talking about, a trend circulated where an image of dolphins jumping would have text over it. And the text, well it usually was some dark humor. The background sound was Zara Larsson’s hit “Symphony.” This trend blew up and Larsson herself became aware of what was going on. “I feel like this is my animal now. I own every single dolphin,” says Larsson in an interview.
In anticipation of her most recent album release, Larsson released two singles, “Pretty Ugly” and “Midnight Sun,” and music videos to go with them. These songs have a similar sound, but very different way of depicting her mindset. After hearing the album, the whole body of work is a combination of her alignment with her environment and the universe, love and reflection. I would argue that this is a no skip album. Breaking the album down, here is why Midnight Sun shines.
“Midnight Sun”
The title track and the second music video, “Midnight Sun,” shows just how involved the dolphins were in her visual inspiration for this song. The setting of her music video is her dancing in water with the exact color scheme as the dolphin meme. Becoming the dolphin herself, she deviates from the meme in the way that her lyrics talk about her interconnected connections with the universe and earth. “It’s been a while since I’ve cried over something so nice.” She stays true to the text over the meme, but words including protected, abundance, connected, awaken and eternal, speak more to her character and state in a positive light.
Midnight sun is an occurrence that happens in places like Norway, Sweden, Finland, and parts of Canada. Being from Sweden herself this is something she’s experienced and posted about since her album has been released. This song combines her home of Sweden and her mental state of connectedness to everything around her.
“Blue Moon”
“Blue Moon” is a very visual and visceral song. Larsson describes how she and the person she is with are laying in the grass under the stars. The title speaks more to her as a person rather than the actual moon they’re sitting under. “You say they don’t make ’em like me no more/ Maybe once in a blue moon.” Throughout the album Larsson claims her femininity and this song is her describing this place where someone else sees that she’s something special.
“Pretty Ugly”
“Pretty Ugly” begins and repeats a very cheerleader-like chant. In the music video, she and her dancers create a formation, but over the course of the video, it becomes destructured. She not only displays her dancing skills, but it’s a very beautiful depiction of her lyrics.“I-I-I-I might slit a tire, crash a Benz, I might hook up with your friend” and “They tell me to be nice, I should know my place/ Sometimes a girl doesn’t wanna be well behaved.” In the campy outfits of miniskirts, neepads, and a mudfight, she embodies her lyrics, “have you ever seen a pretty girl get ugly like this.” A very beautiful girl herself, the lyrics speak more to her behavior than her appearance. Off the album, it’s a powerful anthem of agency and breaking the mold of how a woman “should” behave.
“Girl’s Girl”
Obviously when something popular is circulating in society, it finds itself being included in music and other forms of media. Some shows try too hard to include “trendy” phrases and a lot of songs have been infused with them. “Girl’s Girl” is a song that thoughtfully includes the common phrase girl’s girl. She brings to light, “I wanna be a girl’s girl/ But what happens when a girl’s girl wants the boy?/ I know that she’s my friend, but I just can’t avoid/ The way I feel about you, if I had the choice.” She tastefully uses this phrase to explain that while she’s trying to support this girl she knows, she can’t help how she feels. I think it’s a brutally honest way of exploring this issue, because the term and dynamic itself can become toxic.
“Crush”
“Crush” is one of the saddest songs on the album. Throughout the album Larsson describes relationships with many different people, but this song evaluates what a crush really is. “Oh, baby, I’m crushed (Crush)/ It will never be us/ That’s why they call it a crush (Crush)/ It will never be love (Crush).”
“Eurosummer”
This is one of my favorite songs on the album. “Eurosummer” has the sounds of accordion and other European influences that make it feel like I’m on a vacation. “In my little sundress, barely covers me up/ Tell me, how sexy am I? Very/ Drunk on the beach, barely, gettin’ no sleep/ Tell me, how good is this life? Very.” One of the best elements of this song though is how it blends seamlessly with “Hot & Sexy.” There’s no break, which in a way speaks even more to the Euro summer.
“Hot & Sexy”
“Hot & Sexy” feels like a Zara Larsson version of Miley Cyrus’s “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved.” Instead of Naomi Campbell, Larsson uses Tiffany Pollard’s quote from Big Brother UK. Her album pulls summer into whatever season you listen in, and this song is one of them that is keeping the season,well, in season.
“The Ambition”
“The Ambition” is my favorite song off the album. As a self proclaimed “achievement oriented” person, this song shares the harsh reality of chasing a dream. With wanting something so bad and her being in such a competitive field, it’s hard not to look at what others are doing. “So, I was up late the other night/ Comparing myself to others’ lives/Scrolling up and down my phone/What does she have that I don’t?/ My dreams so big, they’re supersized/ I chase them like I chase the light/ I could live a simple life.”
An album that feels similar to “Midnight Sun” is “BRAT.” On their respective albums, both Larsson and Charlie XCX have a cohesive body of work that is incredibly reflective. Within this song Larsson looks at everything she’s achieved, and wonders if what it is taking to get there is worth it. “Raise on validation/ Consumed by aspiration/Numbers meaning more than words” and “LA state of mind,/ I’m never satisfied ’cause I want number one/Doesn’t everyone?”
“Saturn’s Return”
“Saturn’s Return” is a song I really relate to on the album. “The more I experience, the more mysterious it gets, better let it unfold/ ‘Cause I’m not young enough to know everything anymore, anymore.” With how fast social media moves and how much is going on at any one time, I always feel like I don’t know what’s going on most of the time.
This song reminds me of “I think about it all the time.” Charlie reflects, “But I finally met my baby/And a baby might be mine/ ‘Cause maybe one day I might/ If I don’t run out of time/ Would it give my life a new purpose?” Similarly Larsson reflects, “Ain’t the concept of time so crazy/ We were just kids, now my friends are having babies/ Got me thinking like, I want that too/ Damn, that’s new.” Many female artists now are writing music that question if they should continue to focus on their work, or having kids should be their priority — or even something they want.
“Puss Puss”
In Swedish, “Puss Puss” means, “kiss kiss.” The final song on this album includes themes and words that have been infused throughout the album. It’s a song that is saying, you hang up. No, you hang up — literally. The beginning of the outro lyrics begin , “(Ooh) Hahaha, no, you hang up/ I’m not gonna hang up, I can’t/ I just love talking to you too much (Puss puss, puss puss).”
Listening to this last song, following dancing with dolphins, contemplating the cost of success, going on a Euro Summer vacation, and confronting age, I don’t want to hang up either. Adding to her massive hits of “Lush Life,” “Uncover,” and “Never Forget You,” Larsson’s newest album is a vulnerable, upbeat, and thoughtful summer album. After having a trending TikTok audio and opening for Tate McRae for the past few months, she’s gained traction and celebration for her new music. After announcing her own headlining tour, I am excited to see how she brings “Midnight Sun” to the stage once again.