Grammy-nominated Swedish singer and songwriter Zara Larsson headlined Penn State’s 51st annual Movin’ On Festival on Friday, May 1. This was the perfect way to celebrate the last day of classes for the semester and gave us a preview of her sold-out, upcoming tour, “Girls Trip.”
This is not the first and only college show Larsson is doing this year. In fact, Larsson explained that she’s on “some kind of college show tour” in an effort to pay for her “real tour” as she revealed in a TikTok. She says that, “once she signs the contract, she is not pulling out,” which was great news for all Penn State students this past weekend.
A Penn State senior and self-proclaimed Zara Larsson enthusiast, Marissa Jones, couldn’t believe her eyes when it was announced that Larsson would be coming to Penn State.
“I was like, there’s literally no way Miss Mother Zara Larsson is coming to Penn State,” Jones said.
When asked why she thinks people love Larsson and her rebrand so much, Jones praised how refreshing an artist Larsson is and how she’s not afraid to express how she feels about certain topics and stay true to who she is.
“She is extremely inviting and just has a radiating energy that you want to be around,” Jones said. After watching her perform Friday night, I am in complete agreement.
The dance breaks during each song, and the high notes Larsson belted with ease proved that she truly is a double-threat. She was bubbly, entertaining, fun to watch onstage and had energy to pump up the huge crowd she brought to her performance. I firmly believe that her energy is what caused the ongoing rain to cease for her set.
Larsson first rose to fame with the releases of her hit songs, “Lush Life” and “Never Forget You” on her album, “So Good,” as well as her collaboration with Clean Bandit, “Symphony,” back in 2017. Her songs remained popular, but she didn’t quite have the cultural relevance to remain the pop princess. After escaping the so-called “Khia Asylum,” as discussed by Zara Larsson and Alex Cooper on “Call Her Daddy,” Larsson has finally found her musical and cultural identity.
In an interview with Dazed Magazine, Larsson explains, “I’ve always loved all my songs, but I think it’s been hard to identify me as an artist. As a person, I’ve always been very secure and confident, but I’ve been figuring out how to make people understand me as an artist. Before, people knew my songs, but it feels like they know me [as a person] better now.”
Lauren Breslow, a sophomore at Penn State, got as close to the stage as she could for Larsson’s performance.
“Zara brings the best energy and is full of positivity. She’s so fun to watch and so engaging with her audience,” Breslow said. “Zara’s brand now is very ‘summer fun,’ so it was the perfect choice to end out the year.”
Throughout the whole set, Larsson made it a point to be positive. At multiple points between songs, she stopped to compliment audience members. During her song, “Pretty Ugly,” Larsson started a chant, and the audience joined in. “I’m so pretty, I can get ugly / I’m so ugly, That’s what makes me pretty.”
The moment everyone was waiting for finally came: “Lush Life.” Was Zara Larsson going to pick someone from the audience to bring up onstage for the dance? The answer was yes!
PSU alum Sean Eden, with his body fully painted blue, was chosen to come onstage to dance during “Lush Life.” Larsson spray-painted a shirt for him, and he requested she write, “We Are Penn State” on it. Subsequently, she did the “We Are” chant with the audience and then got right into the dance.
Eden blended in great with Larsson and her dancers, despite being completely blue. The crowd was screaming, and an endless sea of phones came out to record the whole thing.
Before her last song of the night, Larsson made sure to remind us all that “summer is endless when it comes from within.”
Madison Miller, another senior at Penn State, said that when Larsson performed “Symphony” as her final song, she was moved to tears. She stood around hugging her friends and reminiscing about her time at Penn State. Like Miller, I couldn’t help but smile as everyone in the crowd danced and sang to the last chorus of the song.
Larsson’s nostalgia-filled performance at Movin’ On 2026 was the perfect wrap-up to my senior year and start to the summer.