Zara Larsson says Venus is ‘absolutely’ a queer album

Zara Larsson has blessed our ears with her brand new album Venus this week, and she wants you to know it’s “absolutely” a queer record.

Just in case that wasn’t clear, the Swedish popstar chose certified bop ‘You Love Who You Love’ as the lead single.

/In a new interview with Advocate, Larsson, who has been a rock-solid LGBTQ+ ally for years, revealed that the single was inspired by Pride festival in Stockholm.

“Let’s just write about loving whoever you want to love,” she raved. “Love is beautiful. Love is amazing.”

Not only that but the title track ‘Venus’, written by Violet Skies, is inspired by the songwriter’s “first experience falling in love with a girl.”

She continued: “Of course, I’m an ally. Everyone who has a brain is. Of course, you can love whoever you love.”

Larsson, who has been known to feature on Pride festival line-ups around the world, made headlines last year when she shut down a TikToker who had joked that she aimed a homophobic slur at him.

“I get that it’s a joke, but we need to make a study on what it is that makes white gay men feel like making a woman look homophobic is the funniest thing ever,” she said in a TikTok at the time.

“I thought that was a little played out. It’s 2023, why are you still trying to Millie Bobby Brown people? I don’t get it,” she continued. “Everybody who knows me knows that I am an ally. I’ve always been, and I will always be.”

The LGBTQ+ community have shown Zara Larsson love and support since the very beginning of her career, and her new album Venus shows them that love and support right back.

“I’m so thankful for [LGBTQ+ support], ever since the start,” she told Advocate.

“I really realised it when I released my first single ‘All The Time.’ We expected it to go number one. FLOP! 

“You know where it didn’t flop? The LGBTQ+ community on Twitter. They loved that! I really appreciate that.”

Venus, which dropped on Friday (9 February) and is out everywhere now, is inspired by the goddess of love herself, says the pop singer.

“The whole album is basically about love from different perspectives and sides. That’s why it’s called Venus… I am obsessed with love. We should all just sprinkle it a bit more.”

And, would Larsson describe Venus as a queer album? “Absolutely.” 

If you’re already dying to hear these new songs live, Zara is set to kick off her UK and European tour next week, starting in Manchester on 16 February and wrapping up in Dublin on 21 June.