Zara Larsson – Swedish Singer and Songwriter

After winning the Swedish talent show “Talang,” Zara Larsson gained national recognition at the young at of 10-years-old. She then signed with the record label called TEN Music Group and released her first album in 2013 – Introducing. The hit single “Uncover” went platinum in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.

It has been many years since she won the Swedish version of “America’s Got Talent,” and Larsson is now one to look out for in the pop music scene. In fact, she has been a part of MNEK’s hit “Never Forget You” and the Euro Cup anthem “This One’s For You”. Recently, she has been performing at the UEFA Euro 2016 at the opening and closing ceremonies in France.

Her most recent single, “Ain’t My Fault,” is all about female empowerment – a type of unapologetic ode. Besides her strong message in songs, she also posts a lot on her social media site on equality and feminism. TIME magazine named her one of the 30 most influential teens of 2016 for her work in the music industry.

The feminine name Zara is the English version of Zaïre, which was used by Voltaire for the heroine in his play ‘Zaïre’, which is about a Christian woman who was enslaved by Muslims. In some English translations of the name the heroine is referred to as Zara. Voltaire might have taken the name from Zahrah that is derived from the Arabic word zahrah that means “blooming flower”. The name became even more popular when Princess Anne named her daughter Zara in 1981.