Zara Larsson Reveals Why She Likes to 'Document' Herself in 'Ugly Moments' with Selfies (Exclusive)

• Zara Larsson's new single "Pretty Ugly" is out now
• The Swedish pop star tells PEOPLE about the inspiration behind the song and how she deals with feeling both pretty and ugly in real life
• "I take a lot of pictures of myself in the ugly moments too, because I just love to compare," says Larsson
  

Have you ever seen a pretty girl like Zara Larsson get ugly like this?

Ahead of her upcoming tour with Tate McRae, the 27-year-old Swedish pop star is launching a new era of music with her confident new single "Pretty Ugly," released April 25 alongside a dance-heavy music video.

The song arrives just over a year after Larsson's last album, Venus, and serves as the first offering from a forthcoming body of work — largely made alongside Grammy-nominated writer/producer MNEK, with whom she scored a global hit with "Never Forget You" in 2015.

Since the release of Venus, Larsson has headlined her own shows, toured with Kygo and scored an unexpected TikTok hit with 2017's Clean Bandit collaboration "Symphony," which you've likely heard alongside bright and colorful animations of dolphins and other oceanic imagery on the app.

Larsson sat down with PEOPLE to discuss the inspiration behind "Pretty Ugly," going viral on TikTok, having one of her songs covered by Kelly Clarkson, potential plans to walk down down the aisle with boyfriend Lamin Holmén in the future and more.

PEOPLE: What inspired your new song “Pretty Ugly,” and how did it come together?

Zara Larsson: It was a stream of consciousness that happened in the room, and that's the way we've been writing this whole album. Me, MNEK, Margo XS, and Helena Gao have been the cornerstones of the whole project, and “Pretty Ugly” was the song we did the first day of us together. We wanted to have a lot of energy, passion and aggressiveness. It's very instant. When you hear it, it slaps you in the face. You can't really ignore it. I feel like I did this project — ”Pretty Ugly” and the rest of the songs — with a small group of people who are my friends, who get me and understand me. A lot of the songs, we just had a conversation, and they're like, "Wait, press record. Say what you just said into the mic exactly the way you said it. That's the verse.”

PEOPLE: You teased the song with a billboard of heavily edited selfies at Coachella. What are your thoughts on Facetune and other editing apps? Do you use them?

Larsson: I try not to use a lot of that stuff, because it's so easy to fall into the trap. Once you start doing it, you can't stop. But I feel like I go in periods, also with makeup — sometimes I want so much makeup on my face that I look like a cake in real life, and I don't mind. Also, my skin's quite good now. It didn’t used to be very good, but now I don't mind if you see that I have a little pimple. I like to see when someone is real. There's something pretty about that super-Facetuned image, but there's also something ugly about it because it's not real. I just wanted to be the opposite of that — free and beautiful. I have Facetuned in my life. I'm like, "Oh, please take away my dark circle. Oh, I'm shiny here." But I know once I start doing that, I get into a cycle of wanting to do that with images that already look good. My sister will tell me off. She'll be like, "I know you don't look like that." I'll be like, "I know.” It's crazy that you could do that to yourself, and it's so easy. But in general, do I think it's a good thing? No, I don't.

PEOPLE: When do you feel the most pretty?

Larsson: I feel so beautiful the ten first seconds of waking up. When I'm puffy, I'm swollen, I'm like, "Yes." I feel like I look so cute when I wake up in the morning, and then once the puffiness settles a bit, I'm like, "No, bring it back." I also feel beautiful after two glasses of wine. I'm like, "Oh, I'm stunning," in the bathroom. Like, "Let's get another bottle."

PEOPLE: How do you work through moments when you feel ugly?

Larsson: I take a lot of pictures of myself in the ugly moments, too, because I just love to compare. I know that I will feel really ugly now, but give me an hour with a makeup brush or 12 hours of a good night's sleep, I know that I will feel beautiful again. Maybe not right now, but in the future. I don't know when, but it's going to happen. Let's document it.

PEOPLE: While on tour for your last album Venus, you had a surprise TikTok hit with 2017’s “Symphony.” How did the trend come to your attention, and what did you make of it? 

Larsson: My friends kept sending it to me in the very beginning. At that point, it was maybe around 5,000 to 10,000 [likes] on each video they sent me. I was like, "What is going on?" Every time they sent a new video, it was just bigger and bigger and bigger. And then it was all over my For You page. It is the craziest trend because it's the very explosive chorus of it all mixed with Lisa Frank-core, Technicolor, vivid, happy dolphins and unicorns mixed with a very depressing, dark, rude message. I think that combination was just like, "Huh?" I have no idea, honestly, who came up with it. If my label or my management came to me like, "We have an idea for a trend," I would be like, "Shut up." It just doesn't make sense. But I'm super thankful it happened because I feel like it definitely brought “Symphony” back. What's fun about an internet trend is that it feels like we're all in on this inside joke in a way. My mom, she's like, "What's with the dolphins?" But anyone who has a screen time over 30 minutes would know what's happening. Hopefully a trend like that will also happen with my new songs.

PEOPLE: Also during the Venus era, Kelly Clarkson covered your song “You Love Who You Love” for Kellyoke on her talk show. What was your reaction to that?

Larsson: It's her song now. She has such a good voice and such charisma in her voice, and also who she is as a person. I love to see that she did that. She kills it every time. She really does. 

PEOPLE: If you were to do a duet with Kelly, what would you sing?

Larsson: When I started seeing [record] labels before I was signed, and when I first got to the U.S. — I was maybe 11 — the song I used to always sing for all the executives would be “A Moment Like This.” So maybe that would be the song I would pick. That would feel very full-circle.

PEOPLE: Your boyfriend Lamin Holmén inspired a lot of the love songs on Venus. Did your relationship feed into the process of making this album?

Larsson: We're in year six now. I'm also 27, so I'm way more comfortable and confident in who I am. I feel secure in a way I've never felt before. We still have a long-distance thing because I travel so much. But it's so nice to know you have your person that anchors you. I think it allowed me to explore feelings I've had previously or things that I have gone through. There's one song that I wrote specifically for him on the album, which is called “Blue Moon.” But in general, I think he has just made me more expressive and confident in saying what I'm thinking or who I am as a person.

PEOPLE: Six years! Have you thought about getting engaged?

Larsson: Yeah. I'm not going down on one knee, though. I don't think much about it, but it would be cute. I just don't know. I love attention, and I love to be the center of it, but there's something about a wedding that I'm like, "Mm-mm-mm." I would love to be married, but I would literally do a courthouse wedding. Just sign the papers. We'll have matching white Jordans or something. No, I won't wear a sneaker. I'll wear a heel. Just get it over with and maybe have a party. It's cringey to me. I don't know why. It's very weird. But I know I want to marry him. I know I want to be with him for the rest of my life, and I want babies. I mean, if we're having a family, we might as well get married.

PEOPLE: You are about to open for Tate McRae on the Miss Possessive Tour. Have you met her before?

Larsson: I met her briefly once. She's so sweet. Beautiful. I just can't believe she's 21 because she seems so mature, like she's been doing this for a really long time, kind of like I have. Maybe that's what people thought about me when I was 21. Now, I'm old. I'm so in awe of her work ethic and how hard she goes at it. She has not stopped for years. But I think she loves what she's doing, and she's so passionate. I feel really inspired by the way she really has embraced her dancing side. I would love to dance more because I remember growing up, I listened to a lot of the big pop vocal divas, but the one woman who made me [who I am] was Beyoncé because she was so good at dancing. I've always felt like it is such a huge part of who I want to be as an artist, not only the singing part, but I want to entertain physically. I want to have dancers. I want to dance. I want a show. And she's really bringing that. So I'm going to step up my game. I have to stretch and be in the dance studio a lot.