Rox Evolution: 1986 - Present Quiz | Music

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Both Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson were solo artists before forming Roxette.

Answer: True

Per Gessle was first known as the founder, musician, songwriter and vocalist of Gyllene Tider (Golden Age in English); Marie Fredriksson, on the other hand, is a former member of both Strul (Structure) and MaMaS Barn (Mama's Children). They released two solo albums each -- Marie's "Het vind (Hot Wind)" (1984) and "Den sjunde v�gen (The Seventh Wave)" (1985) and Per's "Per Gessle" (1983) and "Scener (Stages)" (1986) -- before forming Sweden's most successful pop duo.

2. The name "Roxette" was first used during the promotion of Gyllene Tider's "Heartland Cafe" album.

Answer: True

Gyllene Tider used "Roxette" (derived from a Dr. Feelgood song) as their new name in America. Their album "Heartland Cafe" was released in 1984, and their single "Teaser Japanese" reached the US but was unsuccessful.

3. What was Roxette's first song to capture the attention of their homeland, Sweden?

Answer: Neverending Love

"Neverending Love" was the first release of Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson as Roxette, and it hit Swedish charts at #3 in 1986. "Soul Deep", a track from "Pearls of Passion", was also featured as the bonus track of "Joyride". "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)", was released in late 1987 as a holiday-themed song and it was also released in the European market. "The Look", on the other hand, was released in 1988 -- and the rest is history...

4. In what year did Roxette break out of the European market to see worldwide popularity?

Answer: 1989

"Look Sharp!" was released in late 1988 in Europe and Sweden only. But in early 1989, the "Look Sharp!" single "The Look" unexpectedly became the most popular song in the radio airwaves not only in Sweden but also in other continents like America, Asia, and Australia -- supposedly due to the influence of a student, Dean Cushman, who had heard the song while studying in Sweden. Roxette never expected that one exchange student from America could change their lives forever!

5. This song, released on the soundtrack of a romantic movie, reached the hearts of many people around the world. Identify Roxette's 1990 hit from the soundtrack of "Pretty Woman."

Answer: It Must Have Been Love

"It Must Have Been Love" and "Pretty Woman" were the most successful song and film of 1990, respectively, and the song reached number 1 in more than 20 countries worldwide. Three years later, "Almost Unreal" (also seen in the album, "Don't Bore Us: Get to the Chorus") and "2 Cinnamon Street" were released as singles from the "Original Soundtrack: Super Mario Bros."

6. Roxette's popularity continued to grow. Their album "Join the Joyride" followed up the success of their previous album, "Look Sharp!"

Answer: False

"Join the Joyride" was the title of Roxette's first worldwide tour; it was "Joyride" that was Roxette's fourth album.

7. "Tourism: Songs from Studios, Stages, Hotelrooms, and Other Strange Places" was released in 1992 with a mix of live tracks and studio recordings.

Answer: True

After the "Join the Joyride" tour, Roxette decided to make a different kind of album without much new effort. The result was a compilation of tracks recorded around the map.

8. In January 1993, Roxette performed live for "MTV Unplugged". Which of these songs were performed live for the first time there?

Answer: all of these songs

A 16-track unreleased "MTV Unplugged" album includes these songs and other tracks from "Look Sharp!", "Joyride", and "Tourism".

Additional info from miss april (added 30th March 2009)

These were the original artists and their respective songs refreshed by Roxette:

Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man (The Way That I Loved You)
Neil Young - Heart of Gold
The Bryds - So You Wanna Be a Rock n' Roll Star

9. "Almost Unreal" was originally submitted for one movie, but in the end the song wasn't used in the film. Identify the name of the 1993 film that was originally supposed to use the song.

Answer: Hocus Pocus

Walt Disney's "Hocus Pocus" had the "Almost Unreal" copy, but composer Per Gessle was frustrated by the changes to his composed song. Instead, "Almost Unreal" went to Nintendo's "Super Mario Bros", which was not regarded as a high-quality film -- but the song was still popular with listeners.

10. In 1994, Roxette managed to change everything in their lives, starting with the release of "Crash! Boom! Bang!" album. Which of these events did not happen around that time?

Answer: The members got married to each other.

In 1993, Per Gessle married his long time girlfriend Asa Nordin; Marie Fredriksson married Mikael Boylos and had a daughter named Inez Josefin the same year.

Roxette got a new look: Marie's boy's cut hairdo and Per's natural long hairdo.

From mid 1994 to mid 1995, their second world tour took them to other countries in Asia, Oceania, and Africa. Their crowning achievement during the tour was to play in China (the first Western artists allowed to perform there since Wham!'s 1985 visit).

They also sold a million copies of an exclusive compilation through a McDonald's promotion.

11. Roxette released two albums in 1995.

Answer: true

Their first compilation album "Don't Bore Us - Get to the Chorus: Roxette's Greatest Hits", was released worldwide; "Rarities", on the other hand, was released only in Japan and in South America.

12. Which of these Roxette albums was not re-released with a different track listing?

Answer: Joyride

"Pearls of Passion" was re-released in 1997, nine years after its first release; "Have a Nice Day" was re-released in 1999, the same year it was originally released; "Don't Bore Us - Get to the Chorus" was re-released in 2000. All of these re-released albums had additional tracks; for "Don't Bore Us - Get to the Chorus", tracks from "Have a Nice Day" were included and some other songs were omitted some songs, so that the re-release had only 16 tracks compared to the original 18.

13. Roxette sang one album in a language other than English in 1996. Which language was this?

Answer: Spanish

"Baladas en Espa�ol" was a compilation of Roxette's hits, translated into Spanish by Luis Gomez Escolar. Even though the album was criticized as a not-so-good translation of Spanish, it became popular in Spanish-speaking countries.

14. Roxette's comeback album in March 1999 was titled "Have a Nice Day". The first single from this album was also "Have a Nice Day".

Answer: False

"Have a Nice Day" was not the title of a song; it was a phrase from the single, "You Can't Put Your Arms Around What's Already Gone". The single "Wish I Could Fly" was released first, as their comeback single.

15. In 2001, "Room Service" was Roxette's first album in the new millennium. Which of these tracks was not in any version of the album?

Answer: The Weight of the World

"The Weight of the World" was an outtake from the album "Room Service", and was released in "The RoxBox" compilation album. "Entering Your Heart" was included in the Japanese release of the "Room Service" album as a bonus track.

16. "The Ballad Hits" and "The Pop Hits" were both released in 2002.

Answer: False

"The Ballad Hits" was first released in late 2002 with a track list made up of power ballads; five months later, in March 2003, "The Pop Hits" was released as a collection of uplifting pop songs. They were Roxette's second and third compilations, respectively.

17. 2002 was also a bittersweet year for Marie Fredriksson, who suffered from the "big C". The tumor was located in which part of her body?

Answer: Brain

Marie was rushed to the hospital after a fall and doctors found a brain tumor that damaged her brain permanently. A few months after the surgery, she worked hard to get back on track in both her solo and Roxette careers.

18. In 2003, Roxette received the "Royal Medal with ______ Ribbon" for their contribution as music icons. What was the color of the medal's ribbon?

Answer: Blue

It was Sweden's King Gustav XIV himself who awarded Roxette the prestigious medal with the blue ribbon in it. Marie also made her first public appearance after the operation and the recording of her solo album "The Change."

19. In 2006, another two compilations were released in celebration of their 20 years in the music industry: "A Collection of Roxette Hits: Their 20 Greatest Hits!" and the "Rox Box / Roxette 86-06". What new single did they release as their 20th-anniversary song?

Answer: One Wish

In celebration of Roxette's 20th anniversary, "One Wish" was released as their single in 2006. The song's video had some previews from past and present smash hits like "Soul Deep", "The Look", etc.

20. And a question for all Roxette otakus: Roxette is one of the most successful Swedish pop duo since ABBA. Going by the Billboard Hot 100 charts, how many number-one hit songs did Roxette have in the U.S.?

Answer: 4

Roxette's number 1 singles in USA were the following: "The Look", "Listen To Your Heart" (both "Look Sharp!" tracks), "Joyride" ("Joyride"), and "It Must Have Been Love" ("Pretty Woman Original Soundtrack"/"Don't Bore Us: Get to the Chorus").

Source: Author miss_april

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Rox Evolution: 1986 - Present Trivia Quiz

After ABBA, it was Roxette that made Sweden's music world-popular. Think first before answering each question. Good luck!

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