STOCKHOLM - The Daily Roxette had a chance for a brief interview with Marie Fredriksson.

When The Daily Roxette asks Marie how she is feeling, Marie responds "I feel great, thanks!" Marie is currently on a break from the "Stjärnklart" tour, after playing five nights in Stockholm, she will play in Malmö tomorrow and until Friday, and in Gothenburg next week. Marie explains how everything started with this show; "They asked me, I thought about it and said yes. It's been a challenge and a pleasure." And it surely seems to have been the right decision, as Marie adds, after having more than half of the tour behind her, "It's great being on stage again."

Last Saturday, day of one of the shows in Stockholm, was a special day for many. Fans travelled from far outside of Sweden to see Marie live and had the chance to meet Marie. Marie, how did that feel? "It was a lot of fun, especially when someone [note: Rosa Planas from Spain] gave me a really really old record of 'Strul.' They were sweet and friendly as always," says Marie to The Daily Roxette.

As you may know, Marie not only composes music, she is also an artist, and has already had three art exhibitions, the last one in Gothenburg in October, "It was great in Gothenburg, even better than Stockholm." The Daily Roxette wonders if there are any plans for another exhibition, "I paint and I write music whenever I get the feeling, so we'll see what happens first," Marie smiles.

As Marie has mentioned often in the past, she takes a step at a time and has no fixed plans for the future. When we ask about more possible shows, or a solo album or with Roxette, she again answers "We'll see, one step at a time."

STOCKHOLM/BILBAO - Marie Fredriksson is currently touring with the show "Stjärnklart". Fans coming from Spain, Germany, Romania and Russia attended the show on Saturday, November 29 in Stockholm and this is their story about the show.

The night started with a meet & greet. Meeting point was the ticket office, a sign requested fans from the above mentioned countries to follow "this way," they were welcomed by the show organizers in a big room, where they waited for Marie while standing around some tables. Marie and Mikael Bolyos appeared a couple of minutes later, and spent a great amount of time talking with the more than the 30 fans present. "Marie was smiling all the time, she took her time to speak to everybody, one could see she was very glad to meet her fans again," says one of the fans. Photos were taken, albums were signed, until it was time for Marie to go backstage and get ready for the show.

Fans then headed to the concert hall, and got seated. The show was about to start. 

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Per has been nominated for three Grammis awards which is the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy.

• Male Artist of the Year (Vote for Per here)
• Composer of the Year
• Producer of the Year (together with Clarence and Christoffer)

You can't vote in the other categories.

tomos85 contributed to this article.

Visa: Here we are again, reviewing a new album together. This time, joining in are Thomas, Judith, Colin and I. We'll go through Per Gessle's new album "Party Crasher" song-by-song.
Colin: Yes, we're back! Yet again Per manages to surprise us and create an album that is totally different from anything else he's ever done - and yes, me like!
Judith: I'm very surprised, positively surprised, about this album. I was impressed by "Silly Really" from the first moment, and I actually expected the whole album to be like that, kind of disco feeling "let's dance!". The album, however, contains only a few fast songs. At the beginning one might think "Why is this called 'Party Crasher'?", but after listening to the album a couple of times, I started to understand what the title means to me. This release is a big party, a welcome back. For once, finally, I like most of the songs on the album! Any frequent reader of TDR will know, the past Gessle albums for me have been like "yeah, it's ok but nothing special" and I've forgotten about them after a few listenings and ended up with 2-3 songs of each in my mp3-player. This is totally different this time.
Thomas: Wow, time goes so fast, here is another album by the Man… This is the fifth Aerosol Grey Machine-album, and it sounds nothing like the other four. Let's get it on!

Silly Really

Visa: The first track and single shows the new direction of Per. Gone is the back-to-basics pop-rock of "Mazarin," "En händig man," and "Son of a Plumber," now it's time for computers and dance beats. "Silly Really" stands out on the album. I'm not sure if it's entirely a good thing. It feels a bit more polished, more "produced," if you will, than the other songs. It's hard to say if the other songs have the same hit potential. This song certainly has. And it's going all Michael Jackson-Thriller in the end. Gotta love it!
Thomas: I asked Per about the album's direction sometime this summer, and when he said "Thriller" I assumed he was joking, as usual. But turns out he wasn't! I love this song, it does stand out, but I wouldn't say too much? A perfect album opener, and you just gotta love the video… I do hope this gets a wider release. Remixes anyone??
Colin: Oh yes, let's get this party started (or should I say crashed?) - it kicks off with the single, groovy!

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Telia's webshop has added "Party Crasher" and also of course added snippets of the "Telia Edition" with 13 tracks. Unfortunately the album can't be bought from IP-addresses outside of Sweden, plus that the album is in WMA format. The price is 129 SEK.

The album is also available on iTunes Sweden, with its respective edition, including "I'm Glad You Called" instead of "Roberta Right." iTunes offers the album in 256 kbit AAC plus format. The price is 95 SEK.

STOCKHOLM - In a recent interview in Aftonbladet Per says he keeps "…three damned great Roxette songs sitting in a drawer…"

It's only been about a year since the last album. Why the speed?
- I've made many albums in a short period of time so I shouldn't really make another. But the normal tempo of today's artists is three-four year cycles. That doesn't work anymore, the albums have to get out faster. What else to do?

What do you do inbetween albums then?
- I'm always making albums, laughs Per. There's always a project in the air. I think there will be more Roxette and Gyllene Tider, Swedish projects and English ones.

Anything concrete?
- I have three damned great Roxette-songs sitting in a drawer, and just as many GT-songs. It's all there.

When is this happening then?
- It all depends on what feels right. Gyllene Tider's problem is its greatness. The 2004 tour is hard to beat, so if we are to do something else there has to pass some time to re-energize the guys. Roxette is from obvious reasons at a stand still, but as Marie is out doing "Stjärnklart" now who knows. There may be Roxette.

Does Marie have the hunger as well?
- I'm sure she does. We've recorded songs for the compilation albums so sure, it will probably happen.

Will your age be a problem for Gyllene Tider and Roxette?
- No but the logistics will be different. Just look at Roxette, between '88 and '95 we toured and worked constantly. It was seven years and you only do that once a lifetime.
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STOCKHOLM - In a recent interview with Expressen, Per lists the best songs he has ever written. Per is notorious for giving different answers each time he is asked this kind of question, but this is his latest response:

1. Tycker om när du tar på mej (Per Gessle: Mazarin, 2003)
   "One would think writing love songs becomes easier when you get older, but it only gets trickier. Maybe it's because you lack the naïvety that you had when you were young. But this is a real love song, written to my wife, and I'm very proud of it."
2. The Look (Roxette: Look Sharp!, 1988)
   "A fantastic little song, isn't it? It was so easy to write — everything was obvious. I built up a little ZZ Top groove and all the pieces fell into place without effort. It still sounds like a hit."
3. Perfect Excuse (Per Gessle: Party Crasher, 2008)
   "I'm really happy about the new album. This ballad is great. I sing it really quiet and it makes my voice sound very different. I feel like I've found a new way to sing."
4. Perfect Day (Roxette: Joyride, 1991)
   "We found out that Vicki Benckert could play the accordion and we wanted to do something out of it. You can never go wrong with an accordion. And it became a very nice ballad that was written the same way as 'Listen To Your Heart;' I borrowed a chorus that MP had written, made it the verse and wrote a new chorus. Marie sings wonderfully."
5. Det hjärta som brinner (Gyllene Tider: Moderna tider, 1981)
   "If I'm not mistaken, I wrote this in a park… somewhere. I can't think of any direct reason why this song is so good. It just has the pop quality that feels so obvious and it's always great to play live."

Per also lists the best female singers he has had the pleasure to work with:

1. Marie Fredriksson
   "It was a revolution when she came into my life. Just like Clarence (Öfwerman), she makes my ideas take off. She made my songs have credibility, as if taken from the Bible. She can sing sexy, softly, expressively. Marie is everything."
2. Helena Josefsson
   "She is a completely different type of person than Marie. Helena has sung on all my solo albums since 2003 and is a fantastic singer. She is a poetic, spiritual singer who is incredible at improvising. I usually just say 'sing as you wish' and she sings four to six different versions and we choose the one that fits best."
3. Belinda Carlisle
   "I wrote 'Always Breaking My Heart' and 'Love Doesn't Live Here' for her. The English record company said that she is a mediocre singer and it would be a problem in the studio. She sang perfectly! And in addition, made the songs have her own sound at the very first try. A real professional!"
4. Camilla "Milla" Andersson
   "Eva Dahlgren and Anne-Lie Rydé have also made a nice effort, but Milla from Millas Mirakel has probably meant more to me. She has sung on many, many demos in the Tits & Ass studio and actually has quite a great voice. Hmm… I should write her a hit single soon!"

STOCKHOLM - The Stjärnklart tour with some of Sweden's top artists started yesterday in Norrköping. One of the performers in the show is Marie Fredriksson who hasn't toured since her brain tumor was discovered and treated in 2002.

"It is wonderful to be here," she told the audience from the stage of the Louis De Geer concert house. According to Expressen, the other artists of the show sang duets and had dance numbers, but Marie had a more peaceful moment between the acts. She performed three songs, "Ännu doftar kärlek," "Så skimrande var aldrig havet" and "Tro."

The tour continues on November 25 in Stockholm. More shows will follow in Malmö and Gothenburg until December 13.

STOCKHOLM - Catch Per on the radio the 26th:

07:00 Mix Megapol with Adam & Gry
07:40 Vinyl 107
08:40 P4 Radio Sthlm
09:00 Morgonpasset P3
13:25 P4 extra Lotta Brome'

The "Silly Really" video will be shown on SVT next Thursday, the 27th, on the morning show Gomorron Sverige at 07:45 CET. Per will also talk for about 15 minutes.

And that's not all!

Per with band will perform a new song from the album at Faddergalan on TV4 December 13!

STOCKHOLM - Tomorrow on Swedish TV4 between 20 and 22 CET "Team Gessle" will perform his new hit single "Silly Really." The occasion is of course Fotbollsgalan - The Soccer Gala.

Team Gessle:

Drums: JENS
Bass: MAGNUS
Guitar: CHRIS
Keys: CLARENCE
Vox: EMMA CHRISTENSEN
Moves: PG