''Poster Girl'' is the third studio album by Swedish singer Zara Larsson. It was released internationally on 5 March 2021 by TEN Music Group and

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. Recording sessions for the album began in 2018 and continued during the Covid-19 pandemic. A deluxe edition of the album subtitled ''Summer Edition'' was released on May 21, 2021 and contains six additional songs. The album was supported by the release of four singles; “ Ruin My Life”, " Love Me Land", "

Wow Wow or WoW may refer to: Games and toys *''World of Warcraft'', a massively multiplayer online role-playing game *''World of Warplanes'', an online flight simulator *''World of Warships'', an online naval simulator *''Wizard of Wor'', a 1981 a ...

" and " Talk About Love", the latter featuring guest vocals from Young Thug. It also includes the promotional single "Look What You've Done". The album received generally positive reviews from music critics upon its release, with critics mainly complimenting its production. Musically, ''Poster Girl'' is primarily a Scandipop,

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

record with elements of 80s

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

. Commercially, the album debuted at number three on the

Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish R ...

, twelve on the UK Albums Chart, and reached the top twenty in several nations. Larsson embarked on the Poster Girl Tour in November 2021 to promote the album.

Composition

The album was described as a "

record from start to finish, fast-paced and symphonic" with no ballads and "'80s synths and R&B-influenced production". Its lyrical content "explore the best and worst parts of pop music's bread and butter: love". Also rooted in Scandipop and

, it was additionally described as "both a break-up album and a loved-up celebration of a new romance", as well as "weaving themes of unrequited devotion and sobering flits of romantic toxicity into near scientifically engineered pop songs".

Songs

The album opens with " Love Me Land", a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song built around a "pulsing,

string String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

-led" beat. " Talk About Love" is an R&B-styled song with a "mellow" feel, which, lyrically, is about the "phase before two people work out what they are to one another". "Need Someone" is a "glistening", midtempo tune, which has an "airy, easy-going vibe", but builds into a "much funkier, bigger anthem", and, musically, has a

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...

reminiscent of Tame Impala's "

The Less I Know the Better "The Less I Know the Better" is a song released by the Australian music project Tame Impala on 29 November 2015 as the fourth and final single from their third studio album, ''Currents''. The song's accompanying music video mixes hand-drawn anim ...

" and a "twinkly" piano line. "Right Here" is about a wondering of why she tries to get the attention of someone who "keeps his eyes on the screen", and references Swedish artist Robyn. "

" is an electro and

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstra ...

song produced by Marshmello, which has a "bold" bassline and "addictive" vocals. The album's title track is about Zara "feeling out of character as she develops a crush", backed by "glittery"

production. "I Need Love" is a tropical

song, that has been described as a "soulful bop", which includes the lyrics: "like an addict needs a drug". "Look What You've Done" is a

-tinged,

breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the termination of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a brea ...

track which bears resemblance to the music of ABBA. " Ruin My Life" is a "faintly

masochistic Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refe ...

song, which, in Larsson's words, is about "that unhealthy relationship that everyone has at one point in their life". Instrumentation-wise, it is accompanied by an electric guitar and

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, and its chorus is "swimming" with

synths A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

and a "danceable"

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

track. "Stick with You", co-written by Max Martin, has a guitar sound paired with a "driving", electronic beat and sees Larsson's vocal with a "slight country twang". "FFF" ( shorthand for "Falling for a Friend") is " playful", though "explicit"; its

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

is reminiscent of Italian classic " Tu Vuò Fà L'Americano". Vocals with similarity to

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...

, on the song, sing: "Is there a spark for us?/Or is it just purely platonic?/Is this our story arc?/'Cause if it are, it’d be iconic". The album closes with "What Happens Here" has a story of

self-assurance Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...

and is a "

Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...

-sized euphoric" song, in which she sings: "I'ma do it 'cause it's what I want… To be honest, I don't give no fucks".

Singles

The album was preceded by several singles. The lead single, " Ruin My Life", was released on 18 October 2018 and charted in several countries, reaching the top ten in Israel, United Kingdom, Ireland and her native Sweden, peaking at number two. Several standalone singles and collaborations followed between 2018 and 2020, including " Don't Worry Bout Me" and " All the Time". Both songs were later included on the Japanese deluxe edition of the album. The second single " Love Me Land" arrived on 10 July 2020, peaking at number eight and later being certificated Gold in Sweden. The previously released promotional single "

", produced by Marshmello, made a resurgence in popularity after being featured on the 2020 Netflix original movie '' Work It''. This led to Larsson releasing the track as a single. A remix featuring the film's lead actress

Sabrina Carpenter Sabrina Annlynn Carpenter (born May 11, 1999) is an American singer and actress. Carpenter made her acting debut with an appearance in the television crime show ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and had a recurring role on Fox Broadcasting ...

was unveiled on 25 September 2020 with its own music video premiering on 7 October. Another single, " Talk About Love" featuring American rapper Young Thug came out on 8 January 2021 with the album's pre-order.

Promotional single

"Look What You've Done" was released as the album's only promotional single on 22 February 2021.

Release and promotion

Larsson shared the cover art of the album on 8 January 2021, and revealed the track listing on social media on 10 February 2021. The deluxe edition of the album entitled the “Summer Edition” was released on May 21, 2021, including two new songs and multiple new versions of past songs. To promote the record, Larsson held an online concert on 8 March 2021 for

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

, in partnership with

IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...

and presented by

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertainme ...

. To celebrate the release of the “Summer Edition” of the album she held a virtual album release party on Roblox on May 21, 2021, with reruns airing throughout that weekend. Larsson embarked on the Poster Girl Tour in support of the album in November 2021.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised to reviews from professional publications, ''Poster Girl'' has an average score of 72 out of 100, based on nine reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews". Writing for '' NME'', Nick Levine described the album as a "catchy and characterful" one, that "feels like a job well done", while ''DIY'''s Emma Swann called the album "pure pop escapism". Robin Murray of ''Clash'' wrote that ''Poster Girl'' is "not all perfect", but an "entertaining" album. Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the '' Financial Times'' described the songs as "nimble and breezy", though said that the album "leaves one impatient for more".

Track listing

Personnel

Performers * Zara Larsson – vocals * Jason Gill – all instruments (1) *

Mattman & Robin Mattman & Robin is a Swedish songwriting and production duo composed of Mattias Per Larsson and Robin Lennart Fredriksson. They are published by Wolf Cousins, a publishing company administered by Warner Chappell Music. In 2016, they won a Grammy A ...

– all instruments (3, 4) * Noonie Bao – background vocals (3) *

Sarah Aarons Sarah Paige Aarons (born 4 October 1994, previously known as Paige IV and sometimes simply as Sarah) is a songwriter from Bentleigh, Melbourne, Australia. Now based in Los Angeles, Aarons is signed to Sony ATV Publishing. She co-wrote "Stay" by ...

– background vocals (3) * Julia Michaels – background vocals (4) * Marshmello – programming (5) *

Starsmith Finlay Dow-Smith (born 8 July 1988), known professionally as Starsmith, is a British songwriter and producer. He co-wrote and produced "Good Thing" by Zedd and Kehlani, and "I'll Be There" by Jess Glynne which went to number one in the UK and ...

– all instruments (7) * Chris Laws – drums (8) * John Parricelli – guitar (8) *

Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern British ...

– keyboards (8) * Brittany Amaradio – background vocals (9) * Jackson Foote – programming (9) * Michael Pollack – piano (9) *

The Monsters & Strangerz The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander "Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, Jordan K. Johnson and Oliver "German" Peterhof and The Strangerz: Marcus ...

– programming (9) * A Strut – all instruments (10) * Max Martin – background vocals (10) * Fatmax Gsus – guitar (10) * James Wong – synthesizer, guitar and drum programming (14) Technical * Emerson Mancini –

mastering engineer A mastering engineer is a person skilled in the practice of taking audio (typically musical content) that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distr ...

* Serban Ghenea – mixing engineer (1–4, 6, 7, 10, 15–16) * Manny Marroquin – mixing engineer (5, 14) *

Mark "Spike" Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sheeran ...

– mixing engineer (8) * Tony Maserati – mixing engineer (9) * Rafael Fadul – mixing engineer (13) * Lotus IV – mixing engineer (16) * John Hanes – engineer (1–4, 6, 7, 10, 15–16) * Jonathan Winner – engineer (6) * Sam Homaee – engineer (6) * Chris Laws – engineer (8) *

Dann Pursey Globus is a Santa Monica-based movie trailer music-inspired band consisting of a mix of producers, musicians, and vocalists. The band is led by composer and producer Yoav Goren. History Foundation Globus was founded as a result of increasi ...

– engineer (8) * Ian Kirkpatrick – engineer (11) * Bart Schoudel – vocal engineer (2, 3),

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

(4) * Mattman & Robin – vocal engineer (3, 4) * Hampus Lindvall – vocal engineer (7), recording engineer (9) * Billy Hicks – recording engineer (12) * Gian Stone – recording engineer (13) * DJ Riggins – assistant engineer (2) * Jacob Richards – assistant engineer (2) * Mike Seaberg – assistant engineer (2) * Robert N. Johnson – assistant engineer (5) Artwork * Ryder Ripps – creative and art direction * Michaela Quan – photographer * Jordan Rossi – photographer * Karen Clarkson – stylist * Sofia Sinot – make-up * Ali Pirzadeh – hair

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2021 albums Zara Larsson albums Albums produced by Ian Kirkpatrick (record producer) Albums produced by Jason Gill (musician) Albums produced by Marshmello Albums produced by Steve Mac Black Butter Records albums Epic Records albums TEN Music Group albums