Venus (Zara Larsson album)

On 30 December 2022, Larsson announced that her upcoming album was 70% finished at the time.{{cite web|url=https://readdork.com/news/zara-larsson-says-her-next-album-is-nearly-done/|title=Zara Larsson says her next album is "like a 7" out of 10 complete|last=Ingle|first=Alex|website=Dork|date=1 January 2023|access-date=29 October 2023}} For the project, Larsson enlisted songwriters and producers Casey Smith, Rick Nowels and Danja to help her "pin down" the sounds she wanted to include. Nowels in particular assisted in creating a "foundation" for her new album, enabling Larsson to "do a little bit of this and a little bit of that".{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/zara-larsson-interview-end-of-time-3463344|title=Zara Larsson: "I now hold power over my songs, which is an incredible feeling"|last=Levine|first=Nick|website=NME|date=1 July 2023|access-date=29 October 2023}} In an interview with the Official Charts Company in April 2023, she told fans to expect "uptempo, fun dance songs" as well as the "emotional balance". Larsson referred to the project as a "full-on rollercoaster ride of emotion".{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/zara-larsson-on-cant-tame-hers-official-chart-success-it-hits-you-between-the-eyes-lets-get-it-to-number-1-__38959/|title=Zara Larsson on Can't Tame Her's Official Chart success: "It hits you between the eyes, let's get it to Number 1!"|last=Griffiths|first=George|website=Official Charts Company|date=4 April 2023|access-date=29 October 2023}} In May 2023, she described the record as "super fun" and summed it up as a "collection of really good music", ranging from ballads to "dancey" tracks.{{cite web|url=https://uproxx.com/pop/zara-larsson-interview-end-of-time-new-album/|title=Zara Larsson Is Taking Control Of Her Own Destiny|last=Gonzalez|first=Alex|website=Uproxx|date=19 May 2023|access-date=29 October 2023}}

Larsson officially announced the album on 26 October 2023 via Instagram.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/zara-larsson-announces-fourth-album-venus-1234863434/|title=Zara Larsson Blasts to Venus as She Announces Fourth Album|last=Mier|first=Tomás|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=26 October 2023|access-date=29 October 2023}} Venus sees the singer "assume greater ownership" over her output.{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/news/zara-larsson-announces-new-album-venus/|title=Zara Larsson Announces New Album Venus|last=Hussain|first=Shazaib|website=Clash|date=26 October 2023|access-date=29 October 2023}} A press release described the record as a "pop album fit for a goddess" that determines Larsson's "own agenda" partly by "looking back on where she's come from".{{cite web|url=https://uproxx.com/pop/zara-larsson-venus-new-album/|title=Zara Larsson Announced Her New Album, Venus, And Will Be Touring Europe For It Next Year|last=Lane|first=Lexi|website=Uproxx|date=27 October 2023|access-date=29 October 2023}} It includes the singles "Can't Tame Her", "End of Time" and "On My Love".{{cite web|url=https://diymag.com/news/zara-larsson-venus-2024-uk-eu-tour|title=Zara Larsson announces new album Venus and confirms 2024 UK and EU tour|last=Carter|first=Daisy|website=DIY|date=26 October 2023|access-date=29 October 2023}} The album's release is set to be accompanied by a European headlining tour, the Venus Tour, which will take place from February to July 2024.{{cite web |last=Taylor |first=Sam |date=27 October 2023 |title=Zara Larsson has announced a new album, Venus |url=https://musicbear.net/album-zara-larsson-venus/ |access-date=29 October 2023 |website=Dork}}

"Can't Tame Her" was released on 26 January 2023 as the lead single from Venus, alongside its music video.{{cite web|url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/zara-larsson-shares-release-date-for-cant-tame-her-single|title=Zara Larsson shares release date for "Can't Tame Her" single|website=The Line of Best Fit|last=Kenneally|first=Cerys|date=12 January 2023|access-date=18 January 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/zara-larsson-shares-rousing-new-single-cant-tame-her-3387626|title=Zara Larsson Shares Rousing New Single 'Can't Tame Her'|work=NME|last=Jones|first=Damian|date=26 January 2023|access-date=27 January 2023}} The song entered the top five and top ten in Sweden and Norway, respectively, and peaked within the top ten of four other territories' airplay charts. The album's second single, "End of Time", was released on 19 May 2023, with a music video premiering the next day.{{cite magazine|url=https://readdork.com/news/zara-larsson-end-of-time/|title=Zara Larsson has delivered yet another gigantic megabop, 'End of Time'|magazine=Dork|last=Ackroyd|first=Stephen|date=19 May 2023|access-date=23 May 2023}}

"On My Love" was released as the third single from the album on 15 September 2023.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/zara-larsson-releases-emotional-new-song-love-iove/story?id=103228438|title=Zara Larsson releases emotional new song 'On My Love': 'A Iove letter to my best friend'|last1=FitzPatrick|first1=Hayley|last2=Dresdale|first2=Andrea|website=ABC News|date=15 September 2023|access-date=24 September 2023}} Her second collaboration with David Guetta, the song reached top three in Sweden and also became Larsson's first top twenty hit in the United Kingdom since "Ruin My Life" peaked at nine in 2019.{{cite web |title=Zara Larsson songs and albums|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/48368/zara-larsson/ |website=Official Charts |publisher=Official Charts Company |access-date=12 January 2024}} "You Love Who You Love" was released as the album's fourth single on 19 January 2024.{{cite web |last1=Skinner |first1=Tom |title=Zara Larsson explores toxic relationships on new single 'You Love Who You Love' |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/zara-larsson-explores-toxic-relationships-on-new-single-you-love-who-you-love-3573909 |website=NME |date=19 January 2024 |publisher=NME Networks |access-date=20 January 2024}}

The cover art of the digital and streaming edition reenacts the Sandro Botticelli painting, The Birth of Venus, and depicts Larsson as partially nude with a long golden hair and an "H" tattoo honoring her sister Hannah and holding a pink chrome seashell.{{cite news |first=Martina Rebecca |last=Inchingolo |date=2024-02-09 |url=https://apnews.com/article/zara-larsson-venus-music-review-a3d81f771d024b2655c3028084b1c48f |title=Music Review: Swedish pop singer Zara Larsson's Venus imparts wise and caring lessons of love |website=Associated Press |access-date=2025-01-29 }} A previous title and previous cover art shot in February 2023{{Cite interview |date=2024-02-09 |first=Zara |last=Larsson |title=Pop girls are expected to constantly reinvent themselves |magazine=NME |url=https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/zara-larsson-venus-3585060 |interviewer-first=Tom |interviewer-last=Stichbury |access-date=2025-01-29}} were planned for the album, but Larsson was less than pleased with the results. Thus, she had the main artwork made without notifying her record label and paid for the artwork. She anticipated various editions for certain areas, like the Middle East, substituting a different artwork due to potential censorship.{{Cite magazine |date=2024-02-09 |title=Zara Larsson Feels 'So Comfortable Being Naked' on New Venus Album Cover: 'Quite Liberating' (Exclusive) |magazine=People |last=Irvin |first=Jack |url=https://people.com/zara-larsson-feels-comfortable-naked-venus-album-cover-exclusive-8575398 |access-date=2025-01-29}}

{{Music ratings

| MC = 72/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/venus/zara-larsson|title=Venus by Zara Larsson Reviews and Tracks|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=23 February 2024}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web |last1=Yeung |first1=Neil |title=Zara Larsson - VENUS Album Reviews, Songs & More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/venus-mw0004128480 |website=AllMusic |access-date=13 February 2024}}

| rev2 = Clash

| rev2score = 9/10{{cite magazine|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/zara-larsson-venus/|title=Zara Larsson – Venus|magazine=Clash|author=Luke Winstanley|date=6 February 2024|access-date=22 April 2025}}

| rev3 = DIY

| rev3score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://diymag.com/review/album/zara-larsson-venus|title=Zara Larsson – Venus Album Review|magazine=DIY|last=Robinson|first=Otis|date=9 February 2024|access-date=22 April 2025}}

| rev4 = The Guardian

| rev4score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite news |last1=Cragg |first1=Michael |title=Zara Larsson: Venus review – fervour on the dancefloor |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/feb/11/zara-larsson-venus-review-fervour-on-the-dancefloor |access-date=12 February 2024 |agency=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian Media Group |date=11 February 2024}}

| rev5 = The Skinny

| rev5score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/zara-larsson-venus|title=Zara Larsson – Venus|magazine=The Skinny|last=Fitzgerald|first=Lucy|date=5 February 2024|access-date=22 April 2025}}

}}

{{Metacritic album prose|Venus||72|7}}

In a review for AllMusic, Neil Yeung commented that the album was "bold" and "fun", yet still "very personal", describing that Larsson "expands her scope" to include "more shimmering dance-pop" and "neon-synth sheen". He praised Venus for evolving Larsson's sound. Writing for Clash, Luke Winstanley stated that Venus was "heaps of fun" and "packed with plenty of europop bangers to satisfy the faithful", though he criticized Larsson for surrendering to "commercial viability" during the album's "unfortunately frequent lows". He also noted that the album features a mix of euphoric dance-pop anthems, tender ballads, and sleek scandipop, drawing comparisons to the retro-leaning style of The Weeknd.

In a review for DIY, Otis Robinson said that Venus was "crystallised" and "super fun", calling it a "lush flex of skill". However, he critiqued the album for having a "slightly crowded mishmash of genres - from dance to R&B to balladry". He noted that while the album at times leans into "conveyor-belt pop", it is "opulently executed", and highlighted Larsson's strength in embracing her scandipop roots with "campy, hyperbolic sugary-sweetness" and a "full pop princess" flair. Michael Cragg from The Guardian appreciated the album's upbeat tracks but criticized its more serious, slow songs, commenting that Larsson was better at saving those emotions for "big floor-fillers". In a mixed review for The Skinny, Lucy Fitzgerald criticized Venus for feeling "out of date, trafficking in facsimiles of overproduced, mid-to-late 2010s pop", and noted that Larsson’s talents were undersold by uninspired and incohesive shifts between EDM, europop, and balladry.

{{Track listing

| headline = Venus track listing

| extra_column = Producer(s)

| title_width = 30%

| writing_width = 45%

| extra_width = 25%

| title1 = Can't Tame Her

| lyrics1 = {{hlist|Zara Larsson|Uzoechi Emenike}}

| music1 = {{hlist|Karl Ivert|Kian Sang}}

| extra1 = {{hlist|MTHR|Danja{{ref|c|[c]}}}}

| length1 = 3:17

| title2 = More Than This Was

| lyrics2 = {{hlist|Larsson|Jacob Kasher|Amanda Ibanez}}

| music2 = {{hlist|Svante Halldin|Jakob Hazell}}

| extra2 = {{hlist|Jack & Coke|Danja}}

| length2 = 3:13

| title3 = On My Love

| note3 = with David Guetta

| lyrics3 = {{hlist|Larsson|Jerome Castillo|Dewain Whitmore Jr.|Patrick Smith}}

| music3 = {{hlist|Pierre Guetta|Giorgio Tuinfort|Andre Davidson|Sean Davidson}}

| extra3 = {{hlist|David Guetta|Tuinfort|Cesqeaux{{ref|c|[c]}}}}

| length3 = 3:42

| title4 = Ammunition

| lyrics4 = {{hlist|Larsson|Brittany Hazzard|Casey Smith}}

| music4 = {{hlist|Smith|Rick Nowels}}

| extra4 = {{hlist|Danja|Manny Marroquin|Austin Corona|Nowels{{ref|p|[p]}}|Anastasia Boissier{{ref|a|[a]}}|John Christopher Fee{{ref|v|[v]}}}}

| length4 = 3:42

| title5 = None of These Guys

| lyrics5 = {{hlist|Larsson|Elin Bergman}}

| music5 = {{hlist|Sang|Ivert|Carl Tarland}}

| extra5 = {{hlist|MTHR|Danja{{ref|c|[c]}}}}

| length5 = 2:42

| title6 = You Love Who You Love

| lyrics6 = {{hlist|Larsson|Emenike}}

| music6 = {{hlist|Ivert|Sang}}

| extra6 = MTHR

| length6 = 3:05

| title7 = End of Time

| lyrics7 = Smith

| music7 = {{hlist|Nowels|Smith}}

| extra7 = {{hlist|Nowels|Danja|Corona|Boissier{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length7 = 3:29

| title8 = Nothing

| lyrics8 = {{hlist|Larsson|Marcus Sepehrmanesh}}

| music8 = {{hlist|Erik Hassle|Guffe Jonsson}}

| extra8 = {{hlist|Dave Hamelin|Rob Kinelski|Johan Lenox{{ref|c|[c]}}}}

| length8 = 2:47

| title9 = Escape

| lyrics9 = {{hlist|Larsson|Smith}}

| music9 = {{hlist|Smith|Nowels}}

| extra9 = {{hlist|Nowels{{ref|p|[p]}}|Danja|Corona|Boissier{{ref|a|[a]}}|Fee{{ref|v|[v]}}|Smith{{ref|v|[v]}}}}

| length9 = 3:14

| title10 = Soundtrack

| lyrics10 = {{hlist|Larsson|Smith}}

| music10 = {{hlist|Smith|Nowels}}

| extra10 = {{hlist|Nowels{{ref|p|[p]}}|Danja|Corona|Boissier{{ref|a|[a]}}|Fee{{ref|v|[v]}}|Smith{{ref|v|[v]}}}}

| length10 = 3:23

| title11 = Venus

| lyrics11 = Hannah Berney

| music11 = {{hlist|Nowels|Berney}}

| extra11 = {{hlist|Nowels{{ref|p|[p]}}|Corona|Fee{{ref|p|[p]}}|Marroquin|Boissier{{ref|a|[a]}}}}

| length11 = 3:27

| title12 = The Healing

| lyrics12 = Berney

| music12 = {{hlist|Nowels|Berney}}

| extra12 = {{hlist|Nowels{{ref|p|[p]}}|Boissier{{ref|a|[a]}}|Fee{{ref|v|[v]}}}}

| length12 = 3:10

| total_length = 39:10

}}

Notes

• {{sup|{{note|p|[p]}}}} signifies a primary and vocal producer.
• {{sup|{{note|c|[c]}}}} signifies a co-producer.
• {{sup|{{note|a|[a]}}}} signifies an additional producer.
• {{sup|{{note|v|[v]}}}} signifies a vocal producer.

Musicians

{{div col}}

• Zara Larsson – lead vocals (all tracks), background vocals (tracks 1, 2, 4–11), vocal arrangement (7)
• MTHR – drums, keyboards, synthesizer (tracks 1, 5, 6); programming (1, 5), arrangement, guitar (1); bass (5, 6)
• Danja – drums (tracks 1, 2, 4–7), synthesizer (1, 5, 6), programming (1, 9), bass (2, 4, 7, 9), keyboards (2), percussion (2)
• Amanda Ibanez – background vocals (track 2)
• Jakob Hazell – bass, drums, keyboards, percussion (track 2)
• Svante Halldin – bass, drums, keyboards, percussion (track 2)
• Pierre-Luc Rioux – guitar (track 3)
• Timofey Reznikov – programming (track 3)
• Rick Nowels – acoustic guitar, piano (tracks 4, 9); keyboards (7, 10, 11), strings (7), bass (9, 10, 12), Mellotron (11)
• Starrah – background vocals (track 4)
• John Christopher Fee – percussion (tracks 4, 9, 10, 12), drum machine (4), drums (7, 9, 11), synthesizer (10); keyboards, programming (11)
• Austin Corona – keyboards (tracks 4, 7, 9, 11), drums (7, 9, 11), bass (7, 11), guitar (7, 9), programming (10)
• Patrick Warren – keyboards, synthesizer (tracks 4, 10); strings (7, 10, 11), Mellotron (10)
• Zac Rae – theremin (tracks 4, 11), keyboards (7, 9, 11), synthesizer (9, 11), strings (9, 12), piano (10, 12)
• Casey Smith – background vocals (tracks 7, 9), vocal arrangement (7)
• David Levita – guitar (tracks 7, 9, 11)
• Johan Lenox – piano, strings (track 8)
• Dave Hamelin – programming, synthesizer (track 8)
• Isaiah Gage – cello (track 8)
• Marta Honer – viola (track 8)
• Bianca McClure – violin (track 8)
• Nick Kennerly – violin (track 8)
• Yasmeen Al-Mazeedi – violin (track 8)
• Evan Sutton – keyboards (track 9)
• Violet Skies – background vocals (track 11)
• Dean Reid – bass (track 11)
• Wyatt Bernard – keyboards (track 11)

{{div col end}}

Technical

• Dave Kutch – mastering (tracks 1, 2, 4–11)
• Pierre-Luc Rioux – mastering (track 3)
• Rob Kinelski – mixing (tracks 1, 7, 8)
• Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing (tracks 2, 5, 6)
• Peppe Folliero – mixing (track 3)
• Timofey Reznikov – mixing (track 3)
• Manny Marroquin – mixing (tracks 4, 11)
• Dean Reid – mixing (tracks 9, 10, 12)
• John Christopher Fee – engineering (tracks 4, 7, 9–12)
• Evan Sutton – engineering (tracks 4, 9–11)
• Chris Rockwell – engineering (track 4)
• MTHR – engineering (track 5)
• Kieron Menzies – engineering (track 7)
• Marcella Araica –engineering (track 7)
• Different Sleep – vocal engineering (track 3)
• Eli Heisler – engineering assistance (track 7)

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Venus}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Sweden|artist=Zara Larsson|title=Venus|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=2024|certyear=2024|source=artist|access-date=12 January 2025}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|noshipments=true|nosales=true}}

{{reflist}}

{{Zara Larsson}}

Category:2024 albums

Category:Albums produced by Danja (record producer)

Category:Albums produced by David Guetta

Category:Albums produced by Giorgio Tuinfort

Category:Albums produced by Rick Nowels

Category:Epic Records albums

Category:Zara Larsson albums