Zara Larsson says she feels ‘a little entitled’ to success and winning a Grammy

She first rose to fame as the 2008 winner of Talang, the Swedish version of Britain’s Got Talent (BGT).
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Zara Larsson has said if she wins a Grammy she will think “finally”, as she feels a “little entitled” to success in the music industry.

The 25-year-old pop star has won Swedish music awards, called the Grammis, and MTV Europe Music Awards as well as being nominated for Brit Awards.

She has also had one UK number one single with Symphony through her collaboration with British electronic music group Clean Bandit.

Larsson’s other songs such as Lush Life and I Would Like have made it to the top 10 in the charts as has her second studio album So Good.

When asked what her ambitions are on The Diary Of A CEO podcast, she said “world domination” before laughing.

Larsson added she wanted a number one album “everywhere” along with a stadium tour as fans want to “experience you live”, and a helicopter.

When asked the level of success she wants she replied (international superstar) ‘Beyonce’, before adding: “What is it like to be Beyonce? What is that life like? I don’t think we even can imagine that. I honestly don’t know.

“Imagine being on top of the world and being the celebrity of celebrities … and even people who are not specifically her fans would be on their best behaviour if she walked into the room.”

Zara Larsson
AP

Beyonce has the most wins of any artist at the Grammys following a ceremony in February where she reached 32 gongs.

Larsson was also asked about her confidence in saying “world domination”. She said: “I think I’m a little entitled to success and I think if I ever let’s say get a Grammy I won’t feel like ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe this is happening’ – it’s more like ‘Finally, it took long enough’.”

She added that success is about “grit” and “putting in the work” and told Dragons’ Den star and businessman Steven Bartlett that her perception of fame has changed.

Larsson said: “Since I first understood what fame was, I always said ‘I’m going to be more famous than Elvis Presley’.

“And actually now when I’m older, I don’t think anybody wants to be as famous as Elvis Presley or more famous.

“I do think it’s also a form of a prison, you can’t actually go out and meet people because they already have a version of you in their head, you’re never meeting someone for the first time.”

She first rose to fame as the 2008 winner of Talang, the Swedish version of Britain’s Got Talent (BGT), when she was 10 by singing Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On.

Larsson also said the public has “opinions of your private life” and fame is not all “glitz and glamour”.

She also said success to her in the future could just be about being “happy”, making music and perhaps acting in films.

Elsewhere, she added it was “strange” that the music industry is dominated by men who are 30 years older.

Larsson added: “I think because the big positions are being held by men, they are probably the ones making those advances.

“I don’t think it happens as much for young boys with women because there isn’t that many women in those seats … it doesn’t exist, that many women on top.”

The Diary Of A CEO podcast is available on YouTube.