Zara Larsson’s Midnight Sun was already designed as a polished, high-gloss pop statement, but Midnight Sun: Girls Trip arrives less as a straightforward deluxe edition and more as a full-scale reconstruction. Released as a 20-track remix companion to her 2025 album, the project swaps subtle expansion for aggressive reinvention, recruiting an all-female lineup that aims to transform Zara’s summer-pop framework into something louder, clubbier, and more collaborative.
That ambition is immediately clear — and occasionally divisive. Rather than simply adding bonus tracks, Girls Trip reworks much of the original album’s DNA, often pushing songs toward UK garage, hyperpop, EDM, and R&B hybrids. At its best, that strategy gives Zara’s material new dimension. At its weakest, it can feel like experimentation overpowering songwriting.
The opening title track featuring PinkPantheress sets that tone early. On paper, it should be a defining crossover: Zara’s sleek pop instincts meeting PinkPantheress’ nimble, internet-era production sensibility. In execution, however, “Midnight Sun” feels slightly overworked, with PinkPantheress sounding more naturally suited to the beat’s fragmented momentum than Zara herself. The contrast isn’t disastrous, but compared to the duo’s sharper chemistry on “Stateside,” it lands more as curiosity than essential upgrade.
“Blue Moon” offers a far stronger case for the remix project’s purpose. Kehlani’s presence immediately shifts the song’s emotional center, introducing richer R&B textures that allow Zara to lean into melodic territory that suits her surprisingly well. The result is one of Girls Trip’s clearest successes.
Energy spikes elsewhere on “Pretty Ugly,” where JT and Margo XS intensify an already confrontational track into something sharper and more chaotic. “Hot & Sexy,” meanwhile, stands among the album’s best tracks. Zara and Tyla reunite with noticeably stronger chemistry, building on the momentum of “She Did It Again” while allowing Tyla’s rhythmic instincts to guide the record into a more natural groove.
Not every experiment lands. “The Ambition,” featuring Madison Beer and BAMBII, feels like a case of vocal capability misaligned with production choices, with Madison’s voice often seeming constrained by the remix’s dance-heavy architecture rather than enhanced by it. “Saturn’s Return,” with Malibu and Helena Gao, introduces ethereal layers.
As a broader artistic statement, Midnight Sun: Girls Trip invites inevitable comparisons to recent remix-forward expansions from artists like Charli xcx (Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat) and PinkPantheress (Fancy Some More?), both of whom used guest-heavy revisions to sharpen already successful frameworks. Zara’s approach is riskier. She often prioritizes transformation over refinement, which means this collection can feel uneven — but also more willing to fail in pursuit of surprise.
Check the full ranking to see which Midnight Sun: Girls Trip tracks actually improve on Zara Larsson’s original vision
Related
Girl’s Girl with Emilia
The Ambition with Madison Beer & BAMBII
Midnight Sun with PinkPantheress
Saturn’s Return with Malibu & Helena Gao
Pretty Ugly with JT & Margo XS
Hot & Sexy with Tyla
Eurosummer with Shakira
Crush with Eli
Blue Moon with Kehlani
Puss Puss with Robyn
Photo: Charlotte Rutherford
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