Zara Larsson's Girls Trip!

Like many people last year, I became enthralled with Zara Larsson. First it was the ‘dolphin meme:’ an imagine of a Lisa Frank-esque dolphin jumping out of the ocean set to Clean Bandit and Larsson’s 2017 hit Symphony. Then, it was her opening for Tate McRae on her Miss Possessive tour. After that, it was the release of Larsson’s fifth studio album, Midnight Sun that went went very viral (especially the title track). The album catapulted Larsson from an artist who’d get radio play every couple of years for a major hit, to a full fledged popstar. Following the success of Midnight Sun, Larsson hit it big again on one of the remixed of PinkPantheress’ song Stateside. ‘Who knew opening up would make me a headline?’ Larsson aptly sings during her verse on the remix. Following a truly monumental 2025 for a woman who’s been active in the industry for over a decade now, Larsson is back with her most ambitious project to date: a remix album of Midnight Sun entitled Girls Trip.

Midnight Sun: Girl's Trip Album Cover

Midnight Sun with PinkPantheress

With just how incredible the remix of Stateside was, I have to admit that my expectations for this remix were extremely high. Unfortunately, I think that even if I hadn’t been anticipating this song, I still would’ve been a little disappointed. PinkPantheress sounds amazing and I love her version of the incredible (and very difficult) run that Larsson pulls off during the song’s chorus. However, I felt that the remixed instrumental, while fun, reminded me more of one of the preset Apple ringtones than anything else. I love the drum ‘n’ bass take brought to the song, but I would’ve liked it to hit a little harder, especially with how punchy Stateside ended up.

Blue Moon with Kehlani

Kehlani has been on a truly incredible run for the last nine months. From the viral success of her single Folded released last August, to her self-titled album released just last month that I am sure will become a modern classic of R&B, she’s been everywhere. She just won a Grammy, recorded with Pharrell, and performed on stage with Giveon at Coachella. It’s already been a busy year for her, and now she’s featured on arguably the best remix on Girls Trip. While I love the original, much more electronic mix of Blue Moon, Kehlani’s feature brings an incredible R&B take to this lovely ode to a beautiful relationship. Her voice soars over the slowed down version of the song, and her and Larsson’s harmonies are incredible. The song ends with a really satisfying run from Kehlani, which just puts the cherry on top.

Pretty Ugly with JT and Margo Xs

Remixed by Margo Xs, one of the women who Larsson made the original Midnight Sun album with, this remix is everything I could’ve hoped for. The song starts in the same way, with Larsson’s acapella chant of ‘Have you ever seen a pretty girl get ugly like this? / Messy like this? / Losing her shit?,’ except instead of hearing Larsson launch into her verse right after, you get JT’s voice responding to Larsson’s questions with a well timed ‘No!’ The new beat is faster and glitchier in every perfect way. It puts me in mind of the new Fcuker’s album with its high-speed dance-ability and club potential. JT’s voice is the perfect fit for the song, and her two verses breathe a whole new life to the track. She truly makes the song her own in an amazing way.

Girl’s Girl with Emilia

This is one of my favorite remixes on the whole album. The original lyrics of the song are, ‘I wanna be a girl’s girl / But what happens when a girl’s girl wants the boy?’ The original is an interesting and fun song about liking a boy that your friend is with. However, in the remix version, the lyrics are different. ‘I wanna be a girl’s girl / But what happens when a girl’s girl wants the spotlight?’ Larsson sings. The remixed version of this song is about how women emerging into the spotlight are often pitted against each other. ‘I think that she’s sweet and I’m happy that her track’s out / But the internet keeps saying I should pull her tracks out,’ Larsson sings later in the song. The song’s feature, Argentinian singer Emilia, confronts the reality of being a woman in the public eye in her verse as well. She sings about how scandals in the media involving women always stick around longer than scandals involving men, and how there’s a very gendered double standard in the music industry. I really love this take on the song!

Crush with Eli

This is another one of my absolute favorites on Girl’s Trip. Eli is a new name that I’ve been hearing a lot lately. Her song Girl of Your Dreams from her debut album, 2025’s Stage Girl, was the first song of hers I ever heard. Her very nostalgic strain of pop music is so satisfying, not to mention the fact that she has an impossibly beautiful falsetto. I was really excited to see her on the track list for Girls Trip, and was even more excited when I heard her version of Crush, and it exceeded any expectation I had for the song. I could say any number of positive things about this song. The lyrics are so fun and cute, and the song, being about the feeling of limerence that having a crush gives you, is only intensified. Larsson and Eli’s voices sound so incredible together. One of the major highlights of the song for me is how the song is interspersed with a brief moment of talking, where the two women perform a short skit about actually being inside of the song. Then, at the end, we hear Eli ask Zara out on a date, and it’s the most fun outro the song could have. It reminds me of Billie Eilish’s teasing ‘Charli likes boys but she knows I’d hit it’ at the end of the Guess remix from Charli xcx’s own remix album for Brat.

Eurosummer with Shakira

This song is just pure fun. One of the songs on the album that fades into the background for me a bit, but that doesn’t mean I think it’s bad. Shakira has one of the most recognizable voices in pop music, and her feature is perfect for this song. The beat remains weird, but is remixed in a more intense way that I love more than the original. This is the perfect song to blast in the car to me. I cannot wait to drive again so I can play this with all of the windows down.

Hot & Sexy with Tyla

Following Tyla and Zara Larsson’s first collaboration, She Did It Again, released just two weeks ago, this version of Hot & Sexy truly couldn’t have featured anyone else besides Tyla. Her voice suits the song so well, and both her and Larsson’s voices are so strong and distinctive. The mix of how they approach the song is really fun. However, I really wish that the original outro was kept. On the original version of the song, Larsson sings, ‘Tale as old as time, crime on womankind / Scared to go outside / It still blows my mind how we just let it slide.’ She talks about how prevalent and unchecked things like catcalling and sexual assault are, and how it really negatively impacts the lives of women. The original song also has the lyric ‘Wanna party all night without a fuckhead boy tryna touch my junk.’ I love that Larsson discusses this. I wish that that message had been carried throughout the song’s remix, with Tyla as well.

The Ambition with Madison Beer and BAMBII

BAMBII mixes this song into a track that demands you move. As Larsson and Madison Beer trade beautiful runs on lyrics about how ambitious they are about their careers, the beat carries an impact that’s necessary. While this song is so fun, it’s another that gets overshadowed a bit by how impactful the rest of the album is for me. I don’t think it’s bad at all, but it ends a little abruptly. I’m definitely going to check out the rest of BAMBII’s music, though, because the beat she crafted for this song is amazing.

Saturn’s Return with Malibu and Helena Gao

The original Saturn’s Return was my favorite song on the original Midnight Sun, and the Girl’s Trip version does not disappoint at all. The lyrics are some of my favorite on the whole project: ‘Made my decisions / But that don’t mean I have to live with them,’ Larsson sings at the beginning of the song. ‘It feels so good to know I don’t know what I’m doing,’ she sings later, during the chorus. The message on the remix remains the same: letting life unfold is mysterious and wonderful, and nobody has it all figured out. The remix just expands on how perfect this song already is. French producer Malibu turns the song into magic with a beat that makes you feel like you’re swimming underwater, and everything is shimmering around you. Helena Gao, another close collaborator of Larsson’s who co-wrote the album with her, sings and speaks her verses in Chinese and English. Her voice is light and beautiful, and adds so much depth and emotion to the song. Together, these three women have made an over-six-minute masterpiece that I can’t stop listening to.

Puss Puss with Robyn

Robyn turns this song into Swedish dance pop perfection. It’s only right that a Swedish woman was on this song, what with the title meaning ‘kiss kiss’ in Swedish. I was secretly hoping for a feature from other Swedish popstar Tove Lo, but Robyn makes this something really special regardless. Her voice brings so much heart and character to this lovely love song, and the remixed beat carries so much 2010s nostalgia that I can’t help but be reminded of Robyn’s own hits like Dancing on my Own. This is the perfect end to the Girl’s Trip as well. Larsson and her collaborators have done something really special here, and to close it with a perfect, Swedish anthem is only right.