Venus (Zara Larsson album)

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Venus
A nude Zara Larsson with long blonde hair covering her breasts, holding a seashell in front of her pubic area, as an homage to The Birth of Venus
Cover for digital and streaming formats
Studio album by
Zara Larsson
Released9 February 2024 (2024-02-09)
RecordedJanuary 2022 - March 2023
Genre
Length39:10
Label
Producer
Zara Larsson chronology
Honor the Light
(2023) 		Venus
(2024)
Singles from Venus
  1. "Can't Tame Her"
    Released: 26 January 2023
  2. "End of Time"
    Released: 19 May 2023
  3. "On My Love"
    Released: 15 September 2023
  4. "You Love Who You Love"
    Released: 19 January 2024

Venus is the fourth studio album by Swedish singer Zara Larsson. It was released on 9 February 2024 through Sommer House and Epic Records. A dance-pop album, Venus includes themes of love, heartbreak and also explores Larsson’s personal relationships with her family and friends. The album was described by Larsson as a "full-on rollercoaster ride of emotion".

It was supported by four singles; "Can't Tame Her", "End of Time", “On My Love” with David Guetta and "You Love Who You Love". "Can't Tame Her" became a European airplay hit upon its release while "On My Love" reached the top twenty in several nations.

Upon its release, the album was met with generally positive reviews. Most critics praised the upbeat tracks and Larsson's vocal performance while having mixed reactions toward the slower songs. To promote the album, Larsson embarked on the Venus Tour, which began on 16 February 2024 in Manchester, United Kingdom and will conclude on 26 July in Oulu, Finland.

Background[edit]

On 30 December 2022, Larsson announced that her upcoming album was 70% finished at the time.[3] 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".[4] 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".[5] 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.[6]

Larsson officially announced the album on 26 October 2023 via Instagram.[7] Venus sees the singer "assume greater ownership" over her output.[8] 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".[9] It includes the singles "Can't Tame Her", "End of Time" and "On My Love".[10] 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.[11]

Singles[edit]

"Can't Tame Her" was released on 26 January 2023 as the lead single from Venus, alongside its music video.[12][13] 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.[14]

"On My Love" was released as the third single from the album on 15 September 2023.[15] 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.[16] "You Love Who You Love" was released as the album's fourth single on 19 January 2024.[17]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[18]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[19]
Clash7/10[2]
DIY[20]
The Guardian[21]
The Skinny[22]

Venus was met with generally positive reviews from music critics upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 72, based on seven reviews.[23]

In a review for AllMusic, Neil Yeung commented that the album was "bold" and "fun", yet still "very personal". He praised Venus for evolving Larsson's sound.[19] 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".[2]

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".[20] 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".[21] In a negative review for The Skinny, Lucy Fitzgerald criticized Venus for feeling "out of date, trafficking in facsimiles of overproduced, mid-to-late 2010s pop".[22]

Track listing[edit]

Venus track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicProducer(s)Length
1."Can't Tame Her"
  • Karl Ivert
  • Kian Sang
3:17
2."More Than This Was"
3:13
3."On My Love" (with David Guetta)
3:42
4."Ammunition"
3:42
5."None of These Guys"
  • Sang
  • Ivert
  • Carl Tarland
2:42
6."You Love Who You Love"
  • Larsson
  • Emenike
  • Ivert
  • Sang
MTHR3:05
7."End of Time"Smith
  • Nowels
  • Smith
  • Nowels
  • Danja
  • Corona
  • Boissier[a]
3:29
8."Nothing"
  • Larsson
  • Marcus Sepehrmanesh
  • Erik Hassle
  • Guffe Jonsson
2:47
9."Escape"
  • Larsson
  • Smith
  • Smith
  • Nowels
3:14
10."Soundtrack"
  • Larsson
  • Smith
  • Smith
  • Nowels
3:23
11."Venus"Hannah Berney
  • Nowels
  • Berney
3:27
12."The Healing"Berney
  • Nowels
  • Berney
3:10
Total length:39:10

Notes

  • ^[p] signifies a primary and vocal producer.
  • ^[c] signifies a co-producer.
  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer.
  • ^[v] signifies a vocal producer.

Personnel[edit]

Musicians

  • 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)

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)

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Venus
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[24] 63
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 42
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 136
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[27] 73
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[28] 17
French Albums (SNEP)[29] 85
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[30] 71
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíðindi)[31] 37
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[32] 4
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[33] 98
Scottish Albums (OCC)[34] 8
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[35] 76
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[36] 3
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] 31
UK Albums (OCC)[38] 15

Release history[edit]

Release dates and formats for Venus
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various 9 February 2024
[39][40]
[41]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Mendez, Chris. "Zara Larsson Takes Fans To 'Venus' With New Album". Forbes. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Luke Winstanley (6 February 2024). "Zara Larsson – Venus". Clash.
  3. ^ Ingle, Alex (1 January 2023). "Zara Larsson says her next album is "like a 7" out of 10 complete". Dork. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  4. ^ Levine, Nick (1 July 2023). "Zara Larsson: "I now hold power over my songs, which is an incredible feeling"". NME. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  5. ^ Griffiths, George (4 April 2023). "Zara Larsson on Can't Tame Her's Official Chart success: "It hits you between the eyes, let's get it to Number 1!"". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  6. ^ Gonzalez, Alex (19 May 2023). "Zara Larsson Is Taking Control Of Her Own Destiny". Uproxx. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  7. ^ Mier, Tomás (26 October 2023). "Zara Larsson Blasts to Venus as She Announces Fourth Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  8. ^ Hussain, Shazaib (26 October 2023). "Zara Larsson Announces New Album Venus". Clash. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  9. ^ Lane, Lexi (27 October 2023). "Zara Larsson Announced Her New Album, Venus, And Will Be Touring Europe For It Next Year". Uproxx. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  10. ^ Carter, Daisy (26 October 2023). "Zara Larsson announces new album Venus and confirms 2024 UK and EU tour". DIY. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  11. ^ Taylor, Sam (27 October 2023). "Zara Larsson has announced a new album, Venus". Dork. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  12. ^ Kenneally, Cerys (12 January 2023). "Zara Larsson shares release date for "Can't Tame Her" single". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  13. ^ Jones, Damian (26 January 2023). "Zara Larsson Shares Rousing New Single 'Can't Tame Her'". NME. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  14. ^ Ackroyd, Stephen (19 May 2023). "Zara Larsson has delivered yet another gigantic megabop, 'End of Time'". Dork. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  15. ^ FitzPatrick, Hayley; Dresdale, Andrea (15 September 2023). "Zara Larsson releases emotional new song 'On My Love': 'A Iove letter to my best friend'". ABC News. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Zara Larsson songs and albums". Official Charts. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  17. ^ Skinner, Tom (19 January 2024). "Zara Larsson explores toxic relationships on new single 'You Love Who You Love'". NME. NME Networks. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  18. ^ "Venus by Zara Larsson Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  19. ^ a b Yeung, Neil. "Zara Larsson - VENUS Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  20. ^ a b Robinson, Otis (9 February 2024). "Zara Larsson – Venus Album Review". DIY.
  21. ^ a b Cragg, Michael (11 February 2024). "Zara Larsson: Venus review – fervour on the dancefloor". Guardian Media Group. The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  22. ^ a b Fitzgerald, Lucy (5 February 2024). "Zara Larsson – Venus". The Skinny.
  23. ^ VENUS by Zara Larsson, retrieved 23 February 2024
  24. ^ "AT-Longplay-Top75". Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – Zara Larsson – Venus" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – Zara Larsson – Venus" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  27. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Zara Larsson – Venus" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  28. ^ "Zara Larsson: Venus" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  29. ^ "Top Albums (Week 7, 2024)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  30. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Zara Larsson – Venus" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  31. ^ "Tónlistinn – Plötur – Vika 12 – 2024" [The Music – Albums – Week 12 – 2024] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  32. ^ "Album 2024 uke 07". VG-lista. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  33. ^ "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Note: Change the date to 09.02.2024–15.02.2024 under "zmień zakres od–do:". Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  34. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  35. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Zara Larsson – Venus". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  36. ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 7". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  37. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Zara Larsson – Venus". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  38. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  39. ^ "VENUS - COLOUR LP + SIGNED INSERT". Zara Larsson Official.
  40. ^ "VENUS - CD + SIGNED INSERT". Zara Larsson Official.
  41. ^ Zara Larsson (7 February 2024). "VENUS". Apple Music (NZ).
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