Zara Larsson: How a dolphin meme launched the pop star’s rebrand & why she is the next big thing

Once at the top of the charts with summer hit after summer hit, Zara Larsson descended into career slump that no one thought she would recover from.

In the middle of her “flop” era, there came a light - a viral TikTok meme to the tune of the Swedish star’s 2017 song Symphony, a collaboration with Clean Bandit.

The song become the backing track of memes with colourful dolphin imagery paired alongside sarcastic or melodramatic captions.

The 2024 trend was so big, Symphony reached number one on the Billboard TikTok chart.

And Larsson wasn’t mad about it.

“Trying to think of ways to milk this dolphin trend so I can sell out my US tour,” she posted in a TikTok video with more than 3.5 million likes.

And think of ways she did.

Much to fans’ delight, she claimed the meme for herself and used the rainbow dolphin visuals as a backdrop while performing Symphony at concerts and festivals in 2024.

Then came the 27-year-old’s full aesthetic rebrand.

Taking cues from Barbie in a Mermaid Tale, Larsson went full seaside siren glam - with colourful maximalist makeup, shiny ocean inspired two piece sets and her signature beachy blonde waves.

Her summer single Midnight Sun was released in June 2025, sharing its name with her September album.

When the dolphin meme first stormed onto the scene, users compared the imagery to the artwork of Lisa Frank, who is known for rainbow-ified animal renditions.

Larsson then teamed up with Frank for a special edition of the album featuring a vibrant under the sea scene.

Lush Life giving me a rush

She’s currently touring the album, and has gone viral for the choreography used in her biggest ever hit, Lush Life.

The track is nearly 11-years-old and already had a big life when it debuted.

Revamped with an accompanying dance - Lush Life has stormed back into charts all over the world and sparked conversations about “pop-time” being forever changed by the power of social media trends.

The catchy dance is all over the internet, and during her shows Larsson has started to pick out fans to come onstage and do the moves with her.

She has also given them t-shirts and spray-painted messages on them mid-show.

With pop girls dominating both the charts and culture, Larsson’s own Y2K inspired make-up and fashion has already influenced trends.

It’s likely, as she continues to gain traction, her older songs, even the ones from her “flop” era might finally get their moment in the sun.

The same thing happened for Chappell Roan and Charli XCX after they found huge successes in Good Luck Babe and 360 respectively.

Roan had been on the scene for years before releasing her 80s inspired 2024 hit and the success of this song fostered interest in her artistry in general. It wasn’t long before her 2023 album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess took the mainstream.

In Charli’s case, hits like 360, Apple and Von Dutch led to a whole summer being named after her bright green album Brat.

But interest in her didn’t end there - and old tracks from years past also grew in popularity.

Songs like Track 10, claws, pink diamond and party 4 u went viral on social media as Charli backed her album with shared US tour with Troye Sivan before headlining festivals like Coachella and Laneway.

Larsson is also enjoying success after featuring in a remix of PinkPantheress’ Stateside as she continues her Midnight Sun tour.

After the rise of Addison Rae, who went from being mocked online to a festival drawcard, betting on Zara Larsson as the next big pop girl seems to be a sure thing.

The original dolphin artwork used in the first renditions of the dolphin meme is by Christian Riese Lassen.