Roxette is a Swedish pop rock duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson (vocals) and Per Gessle
(vocals and guitar). Formed in 1986, the duo became an international
act in the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough album Look
Sharp!. Their third album Joyride, which was released in 1991, became
just as successful as its predecessor. Roxette went on to achieve
nineteen UK Top 40 hits and several US Hot 100 hits, including four US
number-ones with "The Look", "Listen to Your Heart", "It Must Have Been
Love", and "Joyride". Other hits include "Dangerous", "Fading Like a
Flower", "Dressed for Success" and "The Centre of the Heart".
Before coming together to form the duo, Fredriksson and Gessle were
already established artists in Sweden, with Fredriksson releasing a
number of solo albums and Gessle being the lead singer and songwriter of
Gyllene Tider, which had three No. 1 albums. On the advice of the
managing director of their record label, they came together to record
"Neverending Love", which became a hit single in Sweden.
After the release of Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus!, a greatest hits
record, the duo took a hiatus from the mid-1990s before returning with
the albums Have a Nice Day (1999) and Room Service (2001). They
continued to chart in other territories, mainly in Europe and Latin
America, where they earned various Gold and Platinum awards until the
beginning of the new millennium. In 2002, the duo took a break from
recording and touring when Fredriksson was diagnosed with a brain
tumour. Gessle went on to release solo albums and reunited with Gyllene
Tider before Roxette took to the stage together again for the first time
in 8 years, in 2009, during Gessle's European Party Crasher tour. In
2011, they released Charm School, their first studio album in ten years.
This was followed by Travelling a year later.
Their songs "It Must Have Been Love" and "Listen to Your Heart" continue
to receive wide radio airplay, with both singles recently receiving
awards from BMI for achieving five million radio plays. They have sold
an estimated 60 million records worldwide, with over 10 million in
certified units from Germany, the US and the UK, achieving gold and
platinum certifications for Joyride and Look Sharp! in all three
regions.