CAPE TOWN - A reader from South Africa lets us know that both Roxette's concerts in Cape Town have been sold out.

Ostrava in the Czech Republic, June 27 has been added to the tour. That's the second concert in the Czech Republic.

Update: A third concert has been added in Norway: July 29, Rådhusplassen, Haugesund

Check Roxette.se for tickets.

(Updated) - This weekend Roxette's forthcoming album Charm School leaked from French online store Qobuz which put up snippets of all songs from both CDs. Fans were fast and recorded them. Subsequently the snippets have been removed on EMI's request although the snippets are now all over YouTube and this reporter thinks that EMI is fighting a losing battle. Judging from the circa 30 second long snippets, fans are in for a treat!

Update: (Some different) snippets are now available on iTunes and JPC.

German fans have long hoped that Roxette would be a guest on the televison show "Wetten, dass…"  Well, their dream has come true. Roxette will be part of the next show on February 12th, according to the broadcasting company ZDF. Roxette is expected to perform "She's Got Nothing On (But the Radio)" along with a medley of other hits. Among the other artists to perform are Take That.

At least in the past, one of the conditions to perfom at 'Wetten, dass…' is that the featured song has never been perfomed in Europe before. Although its popularity has faded somewhat, 'Wetten, dass…' still reaches a huge audience and is the biggest Saturday night show on the German television landscape. For Roxette, this is an opportunity to step into the spotlight in Germany again.

RoXoR contributed to this article.

(Updated) - Mobile Roadie is releasing an official Roxette app for Android, BlackBerry and iPhone.

Official Roxette app! Stay up to date with all the latest news from Marie and Per. Sing along to your favourite tracks with lyrics

Connect with other fans and share your favourite Roxette stories, post photos and discuss the tour.

The Android version is already available (but on hold) on the Android Market, but we'll still have to wait for the iPhone version to appear on the iTunes Store.

Update:  The app is now available on iTunes.  AndroidZoom has screenshots.

MILAN - Sergio Staffieri, a writer who contributes reviews to the Italian music site Accordo.it, was somehow able to listen to an advance copy of Charm School and has submitted what appears to be one of the very first reviews of Roxette's new album.  Our reporter Paulo Kaltenhauser provides this translation:

By Sergio Staffieri 

Roxette used to be for many years one of the best European pop rock groups, coming from Sweden and placing an epic song like “It Must Have Been Love” into the Pretty Woman soundtrack.

With time, the two (Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle) managed to find a balance and bring out all the components of their own style: the Beatlesian influences, the ballads mostly for female voice, the rock songs (Per Gessle, the main author, has always given space to his beloved instrument, even when he used to sing about loving the “sound of crashing guitars”) and curious pastiches bound more to the eighties both for sound and intention.

Between the early and the mid-nineties they came out with three albums (Joyride, Tourism [which I think is one of the best albums of that period] and Crash! Boom! Bang!) which definitely blessed them, and then – as often happens in these cases – they slowed down and took a break.

Today, ten years after the last album, Charm School is released (EMI). All of the songs are written by Per Gessle and show, it’s unavoidable, some good points together with some attempts  to be (ironically or not, we're not allowed to know) “à la page” or, on the other side, “retro”. There’s always the usual alternation of songs given to his and her voice, their choruses and the mix of the two voices outstanding still today. When Gessle doesn't incline to youthfulness or to pander (some sounds, some episodes like “Only when I Dream,” the electro-funky “She’s Got Nothing On (But The Radio), or the closer “Sitting on Top of the World”), he proves once again to be one of the greatest rock assimilators and revisors, with enviable mimetic abilities.

Take as an example the first two songs: “Way Out” sung by him and “No One Makes It On Her Own,” where he looks to a Dylan's America through a George Harrison filter. The first one, starting with an acoustic mood – almost country – turns then more electric, with nice guitar sections. The second one, sung by her, again veined with country and with a piano, features a nice Harrisonian solo. Then there are the classic Roxette songs like “Speak To Me” and “I’m Glad You Called,” which has an acoustic rhythm a bit reminiscent of their classic “Crash! Boom! Bang!” …  the six-eight soul of “In My Own Way” and timeless pop songs like “Dream On,” with its twelve string and harpsicord … and a British-school jewel “After All” that show the true strength  of the duo: songs the stick inside your head and never come out.

LONDON - In a release issued by EMI Music today, confirmation is given that the European launch of Charm School will be on 14 February, while the UK will see a spring launch.

As we approach the release of their first new studio album in a decade, Roxette have just released the video to their new single, "She’s Got Nothing On (But the Radio)".

The European release date for the top-selling Swedish duo’s new album, Charm School, is February 14. In the UK the album and single will be out in the spring.

The official Roxette Facebook site is now live as well which you can check out here.

"Australia is definitely releasing Charm School, both versions of it" says Mark Holland, A&R rep at EMI Australia. "We are definitely putting some promotion into this album," he continues.

Marks also tells this reporter that there will be features in News Ltd Sunday papers, reviews to run in newspapers, women's magazines and the weeklys like Women's Weekly, NW, Who, Grazia etc. News Ltd. is owned by Rupert Murdoch and is the most read newspaper franchise in Australia.

Furthermore the single is being serviced to radio this week, so Mark hopes we'll be hearing it on the waves soon! Charm School is slated for release February 11.

More info will soon be available.

NEW YORK (Updated) - Kobalt claims in a press release announcing their administration deal with Roxette, that "Way Out" and "Sitting On The Top Of The World" will be future singles from Charm School.

The release states, "The new album, which will be released on EMI worldwide (excluding the U.S.), will feature twelve songs described as 'updated classic Roxette' including the singles "Way Out" and "Sitting On Top Of The World."

Update: A source The Daily Roxette has been in contact with says that these songs are not single candidates at all.

The new "She's Got Nothing On (But The Radio)" video is now available online on Roxette Official Facebook page and on YouTube. The video features Per and Marie singing in front of a bright white background, as well as people having a house party.

The video is directed by Mats Udd and produced by Rebecca Jemdahl Tepavac. The cinematographer of the video is Petrus Sjövik.