"Lush Life" is a song by Swedish singer and songwriter Zara Larsson. It was released as the lead single from her second studio album So Good (2017) on 5 June 2015 in Sweden, and internationally on 9 June 2015, through TEN Music Group and Epic Records. "Lush Life" is an electropop song, and has been described as a "summer jam", which lyrically explores living in the moment and enjoying yourself. The song received praise from critics, many of whom noted its summery sound and catchiness. "Lush Life" was nominated for a Swedish Grammis Award in 2016 for Song of the Year, and won a GAFFA Award for Best Swedish Song in 2017.
"Lush Life" received commercial success, peaking at number one in Sweden, and within the top five in 17 other countries, including Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom. It became one of the best-selling songs of the 2010s in the United Kingdom, and one of the best-selling songs of all time in Sweden. It has received certifications in 21 countries, 18 of which are Platinum or higher, including a Diamond certification in France and Poland, respectively. In 2026, the song reached number one in several countries, after a viral clip of her performance of the song from the Midnight Sun Tour caused it to resurge in popularity worldwide.
A remix of the song featuring British rapper Tinie Tempah was released on 26 February 2016, followed by an extended play (EP), Lush Life (The Remixes), on 4 March 2016, which includes four additional remixes of the song. Larsson has included "Lush Life" in the setlists of all of her concert tours, starting with her first major concert tour, the So Good World Tour, in 2017, and most recently the Midnight Sun Tour in 2025.
Background and composition
"Lush Life" was written by Emanuel Abrahamsson, Marcus Sepehrmanesh, Linnea Södahl, Fridolin Walcher, Christoph Bauss, and Iman Conta Hultén, during a writing camp in Stockholm, and was personally chosen by Larsson to record after the track "really stood out" to her.[2] The track's production was handled by Freedo and Shuko. The song has been described as a "summer jam",[3] and features electropop production, written in the key of G minor with a tempo of 98 beats per minute.[4]
Larsson explained the lyrical content of the song in an interview with Genius in 2017, describing the first part of the chorus ("I live my day as if it was the last / live my day as if there was no past / Doin' it all night, all summer / Doin' it the way I wanna") as being about "just [living] in the moment and [trying] to enjoy it as much as possible" and "[living] the lush life all summer".[2] On 27 August 2021, in celebration of the song surpassing 1 billion streams on Spotify, Larsson revealed that the released version of "Lush Life" was a remix, and she later released the original version of the song under the name "Retro Version".[5]
Critical reception
"Lush Life" was compared to the earlier works of Barbadian singer Rihanna (pictured)
Many critics noted that "Lush Life" had similarities to the music of Barbadian singer Rihanna. Nolan Feeney of Time described the song as a potential "song of the summer" for 2015, and praised the track's "island-pop" sound, comparing it to earlier works by Rihanna.[6] Writing for The Guardian, Tim Jonze described "Lush Life" as a "brilliant Rihanna-sounding single",[7] while Rick Pearson of The Standard described the track as incorporating the "dancehall-inspired grooves of Rihanna".[8]
Following the release of the song's parent album So Good (2017), multiple reviewers of the album offered further praise to the track. Harriet Gibsone of The Guardian described "Lush Life" as having a "rubbery bounce" and being "naggingly catchy".[9] Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic commended the track as being an "effective dose of tropical pop" that has a "playful whistle and undeniable bounce".[10] Writing for Rolling Stone Australia in 2025, Cyclone Wehner described "Lush Life" as a "trop-house banger" that became a "streaming smash" and augured her "blockbuster international debut" with So Good.[11]
Music videos
Three music videos were released for "Lush Life". The first was released in Sweden and was directed by Måns Nyman, who had previously directed the video for Larsson's song "Bad Boys". The music video shows Larsson dancing in front of a white background, along with scenes of her reclining while wearing sunglasses and dialing a telephone. The second version is a recut version of the first with coloring and visual effects added, which was released to international markets and was directed by Mary Clerté. The international version of the video reached 100 million views on YouTube in March 2016.[12]
The third version was made for the US release of "Lush Life". Also directed by Mary Clerté, the music video premiered on 5 July 2016.[13] The video shows Larsson dancing in pastel-hued sets. Some scenes from the video feature backup dancers and a love interest played by British model and media personality Eyal Booker, who would eventually become a contestant in the fourth series of the UK dating reality show Love Island in 2018. This version is listed as an "Alternate Version" on YouTube, and has since garnered 68 million views as of January 2026.[14]
In the United States, Larsson performed the song on the Today Show in November 2016.[22] At the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards, Larsson performed "Lush Life" during the pre-show festival.[23] In August 2017, she performed the song at her US festival debut, at Lollapalooza 2017.[24] Larsson performed "Lush Life" during her debut concert shows in the US, on her Don't Worry Bout Me Tour in 2019, and most recently on the North American leg of her Midnight Sun Tour in 2026.
Commercial performance
In Sweden, "Lush Life" topped the Sverigetopplistan chart for five weeks,[25] becoming Larsson's second number-one single in her native country, and spent 102 weeks overall on the chart.[26] It later became the 51st best-selling single of all time in the country,[27] and was certified ten times platinum.[26] In the United States, "Lush Life" debuted at number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dating 30 July 2016, after spending 27 weeks on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, eventually peaking at number 75 during the chart week ending 20 August 2016.[28] Additionally, the track entered the top forty on US pop radio, peaking at number 39 during the chart week ending 13 August 2016.[29] "Lush Life" has since been certified triple platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting sales of three million units in the country.[30] In the United Kingdom, "Lush Life" debuted at number 88 on the UK Singles Chart in January 2016.[31] It eventually peaked at number three during the chart week ending 24 March 2016, and became the sixth biggest song of 2016 in the country, moving 1.16 million combined units that year.[32] "Lush Life" has spent 63 weeks overall on the UK Singles Chart,[31] and was the 63rd biggest song of the 2010s in the United Kingdom.[33] It has been certified quintuple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry, denoting sales of three million units in the country.[34] Additionally, "Lush Life" topped the charts in Mexico[35] and Poland.[36] It also peaked at number two in Denmark, Ireland (where it spent 17 consecutive weeks in the top ten), and Norway, number three in the Netherlands and Switzerland, number four in Germany, Austria, and Australia, and number six in Finland.
Starting in November 2025, "Lush Life" saw a resurgence on the charts, following a viral video of a fan who performed the song's choreography on stage with Larsson during her Midnight Sun Tour concert in Amsterdam.[37] Subsequently, the song reached number one for the first time in Austria,[38] the Czech Republic,[39] Germany,[40] Norway,[41] and Lithuania,[42] entering the chart for the first time in the latter country. In Sweden, the song re-peaked at number one for the chart week dated 23 January 2026, where it remained for two weeks.[43] On the chart week dated 5 March 2026, the track matched its original peak of number 3 in the United Kingdom. Elsewhere, the song reached new chart peaks in multiple countries, including Canada (number 14),[44] Iceland (number five), and on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it reached number 36, significantly higher than its previous peak position of number 75.[45] "Lush Life" also appeared on numerous countries' charts for the first time, including in Greece (number 7),[46]Israel (number 32),[47]India (number 14),[48]Romania (number 20), the Philippines (number 44),[49]Singapore (number 19),[50] and the United Arab Emirates (number 12).[51] Additionally, the song debuted on the Billboard Global 200 for the first time, peaking at number eight.[52] On Spotify, "Lush Life" achieved its highest peak on the Spotify Global Daily Chart of number four on 19 January 2026.[53]
↑"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 20161 into search. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
↑"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 20163 into search. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
↑"Top singles 2016". SNEP - Syndicat Nation de l'Edition Phonographique (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
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