Robyn and Zara Larsson met at Soho House Stockholm, a former Methodist church in the centre of the city, for a joint conversation in Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians series. The two Swedish stars spoke mostly in their own language and covered the hostility each faced as young singers, the value of humour, and the teams they now build around them.
Both began young. Robyn released her debut, Robyn Is Here, in 1995 at 16, with Show Me Love produced partly by Max Martin, while Larsson put out Lush Life and Never Forget You in 2015 at 17. Robyn described the early 2000s as lonely, with no Swedish peers making English-language pop and a hard adjustment to America. She recalled being called cocky and having eggs and tomatoes thrown at her, which she called real-life trolling. Larsson said she had been hit by a tomato once, and that a blog she started at 13 or 14 drew her into political arguments online. She said speaking up for abortion rights cost her a $3 million brand deal.
Humour came up repeatedly. Larsson said joy is her top priority and that jokes make serious subjects land more gently. Robyn explained “bananradio”, the playful state she and producer Klas Åhlund slip into in the studio, and said humour protects female pop stars by letting them seem fun while keeping their real selves private. She called Åhlund her second band member and said they met around 2005 outside a bar, on a night when he was arrested.
Larsson said she has recently assembled her own creative team. For Midnight Sun, her fifth album released in 2025, she worked with Margo XS and Helena Gao, with MNEK as executive producer, and said working with queer and female writers means less time spent explaining. Robyn said her latest album, made while going through IVF, having a baby on her own and dating, was never meant as a statement, although some Swedes read it as girlbossing.
The pair also discussed Madonna, with Larsson arguing that men are allowed to keep touring while women are judged for it. “I don’t think there is an expiration date on a pop star,” she said. Larsson is filming a documentary about her US tour, which began in small theatres and built towards Madison Square Garden. On younger fans filming concerts, Robyn noted that phones are banned at Berghain, the Berlin club.
