By Marri Shaeffer ’29
Staff Writer
Zara Larsson’s Midnight Sun: Girls Trip released on May 1, 2026.
This album, featuring 20 songs in total, includes remixes of the ten songs originally released in Larsson’s 2025 album, “Midnight Sun.” With collaborators such as PinkPantheress, Tyla, Shakira and Madison Beer, Larsson attempts to elevate what is already a summery, upbeat, glittery and dance-forward album.
Larsson’s “Midnight Sun” has gone insanely viral in the past few months, particularly praised for its boardwalk, summer, bright neon aesthetic. It’s completely unique and original, which feels especially significant in an era where pop music feels like it’s blending together into one bland sound. This aesthetic is absolutely what helped “Midnight Sun” gain as much popularity as it did.
Before “Midnight Sun,” however, Larsson gained internet popularity due to a meme featuring her vocals. Clean Bandit’s “Symphony,” which Larsson is heavily featured on, originally went viral in August of 2024 due to a meme that featured the song laid over images of Lisa Frank-esque dolphins, with captions proclaiming some concerning thought that the poster had. It was this meme that inspired the aesthetic of “Midnight Sun,” which puts an emphasis on that bright feeling that only summer can bring. With lyrics proclaiming that “summer isn’t over yet,” Larsson’s album begs the listener to soak in that feeling for just a few moments longer.
Her tour for the original album started in Oct. 2025. While performing her song “Lush Life,” she would pull audience members on stage to sing and dance with her. In November 2025, one audience member surprised her by performing the choreography to the song, starting a trend that later fans would follow. This trend caused “Lush Life,” originally released in 2015, to re-enter worldwide record charts.
The amount of hype for Larsson has been steadily increasing, and with that hype came expectations for new music. These hopes were answered when the pop singer teased her remix album with an Instagram post on April 15. However, when the album was released, it was to disappointment and mixed reviews. While some fans agreed that the collaborations added significantly to the music, others thought that this album fell flat.
I fall somewhere in the middle. I think that “Midnight Sun” managed to capture such a unique, summery feeling, and there was no way Larsson would have been able to add onto that. Additionally, the original song was Larsson’s first Grammy nomination, nominated in the Best Dance Pop Recording category at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. The remix with PinkPantheress is definitely fun, almost club-y music, but it lacks the warmth and charm that the original track has. PinkPantheress, known for her plaid, preppy aesthetic, clashes on a track that feels like a very distinct contrast to that aesthetic.
“Pretty Ugly - Girls Trip” is another flop for me. The remix features rapper JT and producer Margo XS. This remix, almost more than anything else on the album, felt so unnecessary. The mixing isn’t great, with awkward moments such as JT’s first verse on the song. The backing track comes off as aggressive and almost harsh, and not in an appealing way. It’s especially frustrating knowing that each of the artists on the song have great vocals. It just seems that the production of the song managed to turn that vocal talent into something hard to listen to.
However, some tracks absolutely benefit from their collaborators. “Hot & Sexy - Girls Trip” is one of these. Tyla’s feature on the song absolutely transforms what was already a great song. Her voice melts into Larsson’s like honey and blends in a way that draws you into the hot girl summer Larsson and Tyla are undoubtedly experiencing. This song feels like glittery tanning lotion, soft beach towels and sunsets while you’re laying on the sand.
“Crush - Girls Trip” is also completely changed with the addition of Massachusetts-raised singer Eli. Larsson’s smooth, almost silky tone is juxtaposed with the slightly raspy, enchanting voice of Eli. They contrast but don’t clash, and help to turn this song into something unique. The addition of Eli adds a sort of whimsy and fun to the song, and when paired with Larsson, feels like late night drives on the beach with the windows down.
While I do appreciate some of the songs on this remix album, I just think as a whole it reads as unnecessary and a little bit redundant. The features are good, with heavy hitters like Shakira, and I just think they’re wasted on a remix album. Larsson struck absolute gold with the original album, and I think with more time, she’ll be able to continue that hype into an equally successful album.
Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 contributed fact-checking.