Many TDR subscribers using our SmallTalk forum have been having fun figuring out and compiling the lyrics to the new single after having either heard the song on the radio, or a recording made of the premiere broadcast. Here’s the version almost everyone seems to agree on…. Read more…

STOCKHOLM - Fans around the world with access to the Internet will be able to hear Roxette’s new single, “A Thing About You” on Monday morning. Swedish radio station MixMegapol plans to premiere the song around 8 a.m. and will probably replay the song several times throughout the day. Over the weekend, they ran spots mentioning the premiere. Other Swedish pop music stations are also expected to air and webcast the song on Monday.

  Given that the Swedish tabloid newspaper Aftonbladet has already run an article about the making of the video for ATAY, it is possible that we’ll see additional coverage on their site as well (as has happened with Roxette’s single/video releases in the past).

  Meanwhile, the Netherlands-based Official Roxette Fanclub has posted a 30-second clip from the song on their site.

• MixMegapol
• OIRFC site (30 sec. clip available first-thing Monday morning)

With big international hits, come the inevitable cover versions… and we’ve learned about a couple of recent covers of Roxette songs.

  Belgian singer Belle Perez (who has Spanish roots) just released her second album entitled “Everything.” Included on the CD is a reggae-influenced cover she did of Roxette’s “It Must Have Been Love.”

  “This song has always been my big dream,” Belle commented, “and I knew this would be the perfect cover to do. Though, I had to convince many people before I could record this song. It’s one of my favourites on the album and the first time I heard it I just felt like WOW! It’s not really a slow song but it certainly is a fantastic song!”
  In addition, a thread in TDR’s SmallTalk section pointed out that a contestant on the Spanish version of Popstars also sang this song.

• 30-sec. clip of Belle’s cover version
• Belle’s site (in English)
• Popstars Spain (in Spanish)

STOCKHOLM - “A Thing About You”, the new Roxette single slated to be released on October 14th, will be available in two different packages.

 A 2-track CD will come in a paper wallet with “Weight of the World” as the ’B side’. The maxi-single version, housed in a jewel case, will include both songs and also the video directed by Jonas Åkerlund.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Despite some posts in our SmallTalk section concerning Spain and Germany, the date that radio stations will have this song available to them to play remains unchanged: it’s September 9th.

ANTWERP - Roxette, accompanied by the Il Novecento orchestra under the direction of Robert Groslot, will perform four or five hit songs during each of the upcoming ’Night of the Proms’ concerts. Jan Vereecke, founder of the successful concert series, has revealed to The Daily Roxette that the orchestra is busy rehearsing the following songs from which Marie and Per will make a final selection: “Joyride,” “Wish I Could Fly,” “Crash! Boom! Bang!,” “It Must Have Been Love,” “The Look” and “Dressed For Success.”

  The ’Night of the Proms’ is one of the most popular musical events in Europe. As of this date, 47 concerts have been announced in Belgium (20), Holland (13) and Germany (14). Roxette, as the headline act, will play all of them. “We’re expecting 600,000 people to attend the concerts this year,” Vereecke said.

Tonight at 1:30 a.m., VH-1 Europe will broadcast another classic Greatest Hits show featuring six or seven of Roxette’s catalogue of hits. VH-1 choses the videos themselves, but it’s probable that “The Look”, “Joyride”, “Listen to Your Heart” and “It Must Have Been Love” will be on included in the set. It’s also quite probable that the last Roxette hit single, “Milk and Toast and Honey,” will also be shown.

ANTWERP - The upcoming new single, “A Thing About You,” is not scheduled to be performed during Roxette’s time on stage during the Night of the Proms concerts, at least not at the moment.

  According to a spokesman at PSE, the group that organizes and promotes the very popular concert series, the song is not presently on the NOTP playlist.

  On the German NOTP messageboard, Dirk Hohmeyer of PSE-Germany writes that he recently heard “A Thing About You” and that it absolutely will be another big hit for Roxette. Jan Vereecke, one of the founders of NOTP, agrees. He told TDR that “the well-known Roxette hit-potential is there again.”

Will the girls on the moon get along?

  Fans attending the concerts in Germany in December will get to see Mick Jones and Lou Gramm of Foreigner perform two to three of their songs backed by the symphony orchestra. While “I Want To Know What Love Is” is a sure bet, “Girl On The Moon” will probably be avoided.

• Night of the Proms
• Foreigner’s site (“Girl On The Moon” clip available on their Jukebox)

STOCKHOLM - Jonas Åkerlund is referred to as Roxette’s third member in Sunday’s edition of the Swedish tabloid newspaper Aftonbladet because when Per and Marie release a new album, Jonas seems to always somehow be involved.

  Along with this interview with Jonas, the newspaper published several photographs taken during the video shoot in Stockholm this past week.

Click on “more” to read TDR’s translation of the entire article.

• Aftonbladet’s article (In Swedish - with photos)

Read more…

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The pop music biz has developed a nagging headache, and it’s not going away. So claims Mark Jenkins, who reviews music and film for the Washington Post and National Public Radio. His commentary was published this week in “Slate,” an e-zine that’s now part of MSN.

  TDR reader Sheba Agarwal (Kachina008), who recently recently returned to Europe after living in the U.S., found Jenkin’s viewpoint interesting and suggested our subscribers might like to read his column. While much of what Jenkins has to say was written for a U.S. audience, we agree with Sheba that his perspective on the state of the music industry will be of interest to our readers worldwide.

  Simply click on the link below, read the article on MSN, and then use your browser’s back button to return to The Daily Roxette.

• Hit Charade: Slate column by Mark Jenkins (Hit back button to return to TDR)

STOCKHOLM - Having tweaked the idea a bit, Roxette and EMI have changed the title of the second of the two upcoming compilation albums.

  The CD with the best uptempo songs will be titled “PowerPeas – The Pop Hits” and not “PopPeas – The Beat Hits” as originally announced.