When a government borrows an artist's voice to narrate its exercise of power, it enters a contest over meaning that the artist did not consent to join. This week, Swedish singer Zara Larsson became the latest in a growing line of musicians to reclaim that voice, objecting to the White House's use of her song 'Midnight Sun' as a soundtrack to footage of immigration enforcement raids. Her protest, viewed more than four million times, sits within a broader human tension as old as art itself: who controls what a song means, and in whose service it is allowed to speak.
Zara Larsson slams White House for using 'Midnight Sun' in deportation video
The video depicted undocumented immigrants being detained and deported by ICE agents, raising concerns about the dehumanizing portrayal of vulnerable populations.