Zara Larsson Shares Bittersweet New Single 'Crush'
(Epic) Zara Larsson releases "Crush," a bittersweet single destined to soundtrack endless crying-in-the-club moments before summer's end. The new single hails from the Swedish star's highly anticipated new album, Midnight Sun, which is set for release on September 26 via Sommer House / Epic Records.
Written by Zara with Helena Gao and producers Margo XS, MNEK and Zhone, "Crush" serves up a masterclass in dancing through the pain while our heroine details the exquisite torture of catching feelings for someone while you've already got a good thing at home. The track evolves from soft tones and a shuffling beat into something driving and determined as Zara pushes back temptation and commits to a decision: "Then it hits me like reality, I can't lose him to a fantasy / It ain't heartbreak, but it still hurts enough / Oh baby I'm crushed, it will never be us / That's why they call it a crush, it will never be love."
"Crush" follows the album's transcendent title track, "Midnight Sun," which has penetrated the culture with virality all summer thanks to the song's Charlotte Rutherford-directed, Y2K-inspired music video and Zara's own vocal prowess on the track. With cosigns and memes from everybody from Renee Rapp, Kylie Jenner, PinkPanthress, Ariana Grande and Halle Berry, creations on TikTok around the song have tripled in recent weeks. The press have also rallied around "Midnight Sun." Rolling Stone called it a "song-of-the-summer contender," while Pitchfork highlighted it on their own "2025 Song of the Summer" list. In a Q&A, PAPER Magazine dubbed "Midnight Sun" a "shimmering pop anthem soaked in nostalgia," while GRAMMY.com wrote "the beat drops with such hypnotic force that the track's climax feels like staring directly into, well, a midnight sun."
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