Some artists know when to let a moment breathe — and then there's Zara Larsson, who decided the moment wasn't over yet. Fresh off her Breakthrough Artist win at the 2026 Billboard Women in Music Awards on April 29, the Swedish pop powerhouse kept the energy alive just 24 hours later with an exclusive listening party for her highly anticipated remix album, Midnight Sun: Girls Trip.
Hosted by iHeartRadio and broadcast live on TikTok and radio stations across the country, the April 30 event took place at the intimate iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles — a 450-seat venue that transformed into a girls-night-out celebration for Larsson's most devoted fans. Those in the room, tuned in via TikTok, or listening through the iHeartRadio app all got an early listen to five full tracks before the album's official release.
From Acoustic Opener to Album Preview
Larsson launched the evening with a stripped-down, acoustic performance of her Hot 100 hit "Midnight Sun" — a quiet but powerful reminder of the song's staying power before the remixed world she built around it took center stage. She then sat down for a candid Q&A with iHeartRadio host EJ, where she opened up about why she felt compelled to extend what she called the "Midnight Sun universe.""I think music and culture in this day and age, it moves quickly, but I'm definitely not ready to move on from Midnight Sun, for a little while at least," Larsson said. "And I just thought, have fun. It'll be so fun."
The decision wasn't made in isolation. Larsson pointed to two of pop's most creatively restless women as her blueprints for the project: Charli xcx and PinkPantheress.
"Even though a song is out, you can still have so many different worlds and sounds around the song," she explained. "If a song is good enough, it can kind of be anything."
Ten Remixes, One Iconic Girls Trip
Midnight Sun: Girls Trip features ten reimagined versions of songs from the original album, with each track anchored by a feature from a standout woman artist. Before every song played at the listening party, Larsson set the scene — breaking down the creative origin story, the sound direction, and why she chose each collaborator.The night kicked off with "Crush" featuring Eli, followed by "Blue Moon" with Kehlani, an artist Larsson described as a long-time personal favorite. The energy shifted into a harder groove with "Hot & Sexy" featuring Tyla — the second collaboration between the two following "She Did It Again," which had dropped earlier in the month — cementing their chemistry as one of the more exciting pairings in contemporary pop.
Next came "Pretty Ugly" with JT and Margo XS, a remix Larsson openly admitted she preferred over the original — high praise from the artist herself. Then the room buzzed with what became the undeniable standout of the evening: "Eurosummer" featuring Shakira.
The Shakira Moment
Larsson's storytelling around the Shakira collaboration was pure Hollywood magic. She recounted the moment her A&R called with news that the global icon had heard about the project and wanted in on "Eurosummer.""This is legendary status going on right here," Larsson said, visibly lit up. "One day I got a call, it was my A&R, and he was like, 'Shakira heard about this project and she really likes Eurosummer.' And I was like, 'let's go.'"
Having admired Shakira since childhood, Larsson made clear the collaboration carried weight far beyond a career milestone — it was personal.
A Swedish Reunion: Zara Larsson and Robyn
The final preview track was perhaps the most emotionally resonant of the night. "Puss Puss" featuring Robyn brought together two of Sweden's most defining pop voices — a moment that felt less like a feature and more like a passing of the torch between generations."This is my Swedish icon, legend Robyn," Larsson said as the track began. "Who else would be on this song?"
It was a rhetorical question with an obvious answer, and the crowd clearly felt it.
Fan Moments, Viral Dances, and the Spirit of a Girls Trip
Between tracks, the evening opened up into something more intimate — Larsson fielded questions from the live audience, TikTok viewers, and radio listeners tuning in from across the country. Many questions leaned into the album's theme, with fans curious about Larsson's own approach to the perfect girls trip."I think the music is quite important," she said. "The girls trip starts when you get in the car, or on the train, or on the way to the airport." She also proudly claimed the dual role of driver and DJ — a detail that felt very on-brand.
The night closed on an unexpectedly nostalgic note. "Lush Life" — Larsson's 2015 Hot 100 track — has been experiencing a full-scale viral revival thanks to a trending dance challenge on TikTok, and Larsson leaned into the moment by inviting fans who knew the choreography to join her onstage. What followed was less a concert finale and more a communal celebration, a reminder that some songs don't age — they just find new generations to claim them.
Midnight Sun: Girls Trip Is Out Now
With Midnight Sun: Girls Trip officially available to stream, Zara Larsson has made one thing clear: the summer is hers to extend as long as she wants it. The remix album isn't a postscript — it's a fully realized creative expansion, one that showcases her ability to build a world around a sound and invite some of the most compelling women in music to inhabit it alongside her.From Kehlani to Tyla, Shakira to Robyn, JT to PinkPantheress-inspired ambition — Girls Trip is less a remix album and more a statement: that great music doesn't need to be finished, it just needs to evolve.
