Zara Larsson on why opening for Tate McRae was ‘inspiring and motivating’

Zara Larsson starts her Midnight Sun tour Feb. 28 in Portland, and she spent all last year getting good practice for it by opening for Tate McRae on the Miss Possessive tour. Zara says watching how Tate gave her tour her all was very “inspiring and motivating.”

“I mean, she’s just very hardworking. It’s insane. She’s so hardworking, I don’t understand how she does it,” Zara told ABC’s On the Red Carpet. But Zara offered an explanation of how Tate does, in fact, do it.

“She’s very young still, and she’s been doing this for like her whole life,” Zara, 28, said of Tate, 22. “So it’s, like, a part of who she is as a person. But that’s why she’s so successful.”

Zara explained that there’s a lot the average fan doesn’t know about what an A-list pop star does on tour, aside from the two hours they’re onstage. 

“I think a lot of people see bits and bobs online, and, you know, here and there some songs,” she noted. “But to see the full schedule of the touring, and then to go and do things [like press and promotion] in between that, and then to [perform] — like, it’s a lot.”

But the Swedish singer said watching Tate has her fired up for what her own tours in the future could be like.

“She’s very focused, very disciplined, and it’s very inspiring and motivating for someone to see that and experiencing it close [up],” noted Zara. “Great team, great vibes, just, like, a really good experience.” 

Ahead of her tour, Zara will compete for her first-ever Grammy Award Feb. 1. She’s also nominated for a Pollstar Award in the category of support/special guest of the year for Tate’s tour.

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