The ShortListen: Zara Larsson (no. 224)

Who? Zara Larsson

What’s the story? As we wait in vain for a new Rihanna album, it seems we were looking in the wrong place all this time. 18-year-old Zara Larsson won Sweden's Got Talent at the age of just 10 in 2008 but, wisely, was kept out of the spotlight afterwards, before reemerging in 2013 with her debut EP Uncover, which performed strongly in Scandinavia. You might know her already from her collaboration with MNEK on top five hit Never Forget You, but she's poised to strike out on her own with this track, Lush Life, which stormed the charts across Europe earlier this year and will finally get a push in the UK this coming January. It's a gloriously bouncy slice of carefree tropical house pop with an irresistible vocal and hooks all over the place. It's not a million miles away from Rihanna's early stuff, it's an absolute guaranteed slam dunk hit and we wouldn't bet against Zara becoming a new global star to rival Ms Fenty in 2016.

For fans of: Rihanna, Ariana Grande

In three words: Irresistible pop anthem