Zara Larsson thinks fans pitting her against Tate McRae is “how people speak about girls in pop”.
The 28-year-old singer supported the 21-year-old hitmaker on her Miss Progressive Tour in 2025, but some of her supporters wondered why she wasn’t the headliner for the arena shows.
She told the Call Her Daddy podcast: “I think it’s just the nature of how people speak about girls in pop.
“We are similar in the sense that we both dance, although she’s a way better dancer. And I do pop, she does pop.
“I think it’s easier to root for someone who’s an underdog, you know?”
Zara heaped praise on Tate during the podcast appearance, calling her “incredible” and describing the tour as a “perfect match”.
When it comes to people pitting them against each other, she wondered if it was because she’s “been doing this for longer”.
She added: “I’m older. And maybe some people felt like I deserved to be in the arena.”
However, she had a simple response to fans thinking she should be in those spots instead.
She said: “I’m like, ‘Well, buy the ticket then’. That’s not Tate’s fault.”
After the tour, playing the likes of Madison Square Garden in New York City and the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, Zara dropped her breakthrough album Midnight Sun in September.
Once the run of shows came to an end, Zara posted a photo with Tate on Instagram and commented on the “strange” reaction some people have had to the tour.
She wrote: “It’s been strange seeing some people putting us against each other when we’re just two pop girls who love and support each other back stage!”
Zara previously admitted to being a huge fan of the Greedy hitmaker.
She told People: “She’s so sweet. Beautiful. I just can’t believe she’s 21 because she seems so mature, like she’s been doing this for a really long time, kind of like I have. Maybe that’s what people thought about me when I was 21. Now, I’m old.
“I’m so in awe of her work ethic and how hard she goes at it. She has not stopped for years. But I think she loves what she’s doing, and she’s so passionate.”