Editing Roxette (section)

=== 2002–2008: Fredriksson's illness, compilation albums and solo work ===
Roxette received an honorary award from the Swedish government at the February 2002 Grammis ceremony.<ref name="Aren">{{cite web|url=https://grammis.se/om-grammis/grammisvinnare-genom-aren/|title=Grammisvinnare genom åren|language=sv|trans-title="Grammy winners over the years"|work=[[Grammis]]|access-date=25 September 2024}}</ref> On 11 September 2002, Fredriksson had an [[epileptic seizure]] and fractured her [[cranium|skull]] after collapsing in her bathroom.<ref name="vi">{{cite web |url=http://www.vi-tidningen.se/marie-fredriksson-no-faffing-around/ |title=Marie Fredriksson: "No faffing around" |website=[[Västerviks-Tidningen]] |author=Karin Thunberg |access-date=14 July 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610044138/http://www.vi-tidningen.se/marie-fredriksson-no-faffing-around/ |archive-date=10 June 2017}}</ref> Following [[Magnetic resonance imaging|MRI scans]], it was confirmed that Fredriksson had a [[brain tumour]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/a/ka6oyB/marie-har-en-hjarntumor|title=Marie har en hjärntumör|work=[[Aftonbladet]]|date=16 September 2002|access-date=22 August 2012 |trans-title="Marie has a brain tumour"|language=sv|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119014058/https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/a/ka6oyB/marie-har-en-hjarntumor|archive-date=19 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/a/WLRw0j/cancern-slog-ut-synen|title=Cancern slog ut synen|work=[[Aftonbladet]]|date=24 November 2004|access-date=22 August 2012|trans-title="The cancer destroyed vision"|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119014058/https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/a/WLRw0j/cancern-slog-ut-synen|archive-date=19 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The diagnosis led to the cancellation of Roxette's planned performance at the 2002 [[Night of the Proms]] concert series.<ref name="NOTP">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13|title=Pop Meets Classical On Starry German 'Night'|author=Weinhart, Ellie|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|publisher=[[Nielsen Holdings]] PLC|volume=114|issue=51|page=13|date=14 December 2002|access-date=8 January 2018|issn=0006-2510|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180110061642/https://books.google.ie/books?id=YQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13|archive-date=10 January 2018}}</ref> After waiting several weeks for the fracture to subside, she underwent surgery to remove the [[malignant]] tumour, followed by months of [[chemotherapy]] and [[Radiation therapy|radiation treatment]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sydsvenskan.se/familj/fodelsedag/article325900/Jag-har-haft-en-jakla-tur-som-klarat-det.html|title=Sydsvenska Dagbladet. "Jag har haft en jäkla tur som klarat det"|work=[[Sydsvenskan]]|access-date=22 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225063159/https://www.sydsvenskan.se/familj/fodelsedag/article325900/Jag-har-haft-en-jakla-tur-som-klarat-det.html |archive-date=25 December 2010|url-status=dead|language=sv|trans-title="It all started with a damn slip"}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2299745.stm|title=Roxette star's surgery 'a success'|work=[[BBC News]]|date=4 October 2002|access-date=4 January 2010}}</ref> Fredriksson was unable to speak for a considerable period of time afterward,<ref name="vi"/> and for the rest of her life was unable to read,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/roxette-lead-singer-overcomes-illness-to-tour/|title=Roxette lead singer overcomes illness to tour|work=[[CBS News]] |publisher=[[CBS]]|date=5 October 2011|access-date=6 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502235830/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/roxette-lead-singer-overcomes-illness-to-tour/|archive-date=2 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> was blind in one eye, and had limited hearing and mobility.<ref name="Collins">{{cite web|url=https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/joyride-all-but-over-for-roxette-ng-ya-108551|title=Joyride all but over for Roxette|author=Collins, Simon|work=[[The West Australian]]|publisher=[[Seven West Media]]|date=1 June 2016|access-date=6 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190706205953/https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/joyride-all-but-over-for-roxette-ng-ya-108551 |archive-date=6 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Roxette issued two greatest hits compilations, ''[[The Ballad Hits]]'' in late 2002 and ''[[The Pop Hits]]'' in early 2003.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laut.de/Roxette/Alben/The-Pop-Hits-4174|title=Ohrwurmartige Pop-Songs mit hohem Wiedererkennungs-Wert|author=Kindler, Tina|work=[[Laut.de]]|date=24 March 2003|accessdate=25 August 2017|language=de|trans-title="Earworm-like pop songs with high recognition value"}}</ref> On December 1, 2002, a 600-page discography book titled ''The Look for Roxette'' was released, which included a four-song EP of previously unreleased material. The release of ''The Ballad Hits'' was delayed until [[Valentine's Day]] 2003 in English-speaking territories such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA47 |title=Global Music Pulse {{!}} The Ballad of Roxette |author=Jeffrey De Hart |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=21 December 2002 |volume=114 |issue=51 |page=47 |issn=0006-2510}}</ref> In January 2003, Roxette received the [[Litteris et Artibus]] ("Culture and Education") award from [[King of Sweden]] [[Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden|Carl Gustaf XVI]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/a/KvzQnM/roxette-fick-pris-av-kungen |title=Roxette fick pris av kungen |work=Aftonbladet |author1=Vidlund, Susanna |author2=Johansson, Frida |author3=Lindner, Tobias |language=sv |trans-title="Roxette receives prize from the king" |date=31 January 2003 |access-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128083023/https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/a/KvzQnM/roxette-fick-pris-av-kungen |archive-date=28 January 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> for "achievements in Sweden and internationally".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2698679.stm |title=BBC News: Roxette get king's honour |work=BBC News |date=30 January 2003 |access-date=4 January 2010}}</ref> ''The Ballad Hits'' sold over a million copies within a year, and was the best-selling album released by a Scandinavian act that year.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/article165844.ab |title=Roxette prisas – säljer rekordmycket |newspaper=Aftonbladet |date=24 September 2003 |language=sv |access-date=4 December 2010 |trans-title="Roxette is praised – selling a record amount"}}</ref> The duo received a [[World Music Awards|World Music Award]] for the Best Selling Scandinavian Artist in October 2003.<ref name=wma>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/68677/2003-world-music-awards-winners |title=Billboard's list of 2003 World Music Award winners |magazine=Billboard |access-date=4 December 2010}}</ref> 

{{quote box
| width = 32%
| quote = "They were a legitimately popular band, but they don't fit neatly into the story of American pop music. The Swedish duo wasn't a boy band like [[New Kids on the Block]], they weren't [[Glam rock|glammy]] enough to be [[hair metal]], and vocalist Marie Fredriksson didn't have the outsize personality to be a diva like [[Whitney Houston]], [[Mariah Carey]], or [[Janet Jackson]]. They were far from the only guitar-based pop act on the airwaves in the '80s, but they came too late to be mentioned alongside [[Journey (band)|Journey]], [[Survivor (band)|Survivor]], or [[REO Speedwagon]], and they didn't have the rock legacy of [[Heart (band)|Heart]] or [[Starship (band)|Starship]]."
| author = Chris Conaton from ''[[PopMatters]]'' reviewing ''Greatest Hits''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/148764-roxette-greatest-hits|title=Roxette: ''Greatest Hits'' review|first=Chris|last=Conaton|date=2011-10-14|work=[[PopMatters]]|access-date=2011-11-22}}</ref>
}}

In 2003, Gessle released ''[[Mazarin (album)|Mazarin]]'' (''Cake''), which became his most successful solo album.<ref name="Afraid">{{cite web|url=https://www.expressen.se/noje/musik/jag-ar-radd-att-folk-ska-trottna-pa-mig/|title=Jag är rädd att folk ska tröttna på mig|language=sv|trans-title="I'm afraid people will get tired of me"|first=Anders|last=Nunstedt|work=Expressen|date=16 November 2005|access-date=30 September 2023|archive-date=13 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013233631/https://www.expressen.se/noje/musik/jag-ar-radd-att-folk-ska-trottna-pa-mig/|url-status=live}}</ref> The record sold over 335,000 copies in Sweden as of January 2005,<ref name="Gyllene">{{cite news|url=http://www.svd.se/kultur/gyllene-tider-salde-mest-album-2004_127933.svd|title=Gyllene Tider sålde mest album 2004|trans-title="Gyllene Tider sold the most albums during 2004"|date=11 January 2005|newspaper=[[Svenska Dagbladet]]|language=Swedish|accessdate=31 July 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210202601/http://www.svd.se/gyllene-tider-salde-mest-album-2004_127933 |archivedate=10 December 2015 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref> and received numerous awards.<ref name=rockbjornen/><ref name="Aren"/> Gyllene Tider reformed to celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2004,<ref name="hit">{{cite web|url=https://hitparade.ch/interview.asp?id=37|title=Interview mit Per Gessle|language=de|trans-title="Interview with Per Gessle"|work=[[Swiss Hitparade]]|access-date=10 October 2023|archive-date=16 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016213716/https://hitparade.ch/interview.asp?id=37|url-status=live}}</ref> releasing the studio album ''[[Finn 5 fel!]]'' (''Find 5 Errors!'') in June, their first new material since 1996.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.svd.se/a/d8927142-7456-3502-ae64-097b75d2d329/gyllene-tider-finn-5-fel|title=Recension: Finn 5 fel!|language=sv|trans-title="Review: Find 5 Errors!"|first=Stefan|last=Malmqvist|newspaper=[[Svenska Dagbladet]]|date=11 June 2004|accessdate=1 October 2023|archive-date=13 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013233631/https://www.svd.se/a/d8927142-7456-3502-ae64-097b75d2d329/gyllene-tider-finn-5-fel|url-status=live}}</ref> That album was also successful, selling 230,000 copies in Sweden by January 2005.<ref name="Gyllene"/> 

Fredriksson released her first English-language solo album, ''[[The Change (album)|The Change]]'', in October 2004,<ref name="Live">{{cite web |url=http://www.gp.se/kultur/livet-är-dagen-som-den-kommer-1.1147067 |title=Livet är dagen som den kommer |author=Vasell, Magnus |work=[[Göteborgs-Posten]] |publisher=[[Stampen Group]] |language=sv |trans-title="Live every day as it comes" |date=28 October 2005 |access-date=17 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824231516/http://www.gp.se/kultur/livet-%C3%A4r-dagen-som-den-kommer-1.1147067 |archive-date=24 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> which debuted atop the Swedish albums chart.<ref name="Mariecharts"/> Despite being unable to read or write, Fredriksson rediscovered her love of drawing during her illness, and began using [[charcoal]] to create artwork as a form of therapy.<ref name="Art">{{cite web |url=http://www.gp.se/kultur/kultur/marie-fredriksson-br-visar-sin-konst-1.1197965 |title=Marie Fredriksson visar sin konst |author=Ekström-Frisk, Eleonor |work=[[Göteborgs-Posten]] |publisher=[[Stampen Group]] |language=sv |trans-title="Marie Fredriksson shows her art" |date=19 September 2008 |access-date=17 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817225846/http://www.gp.se/kultur/kultur/marie-fredriksson-br-visar-sin-konst-1.1197965 |archive-date=17 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> She drew the cover art for ''The Change'',<ref name="Live"/> and held her first [[art exhibition]] – titled "After the Change" – at the [[vernissage]] of the Doktor Glas gallery in [[Kungsträdgården]], Stockholm in October 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/a/m6PV5O/fredriksson-jag-ar-frisk |title=Fredriksson: Jag är frisk |work=Aftonbladet |author=Peterson, Jens |language=sv |trans-title="Fredriksson: I'm healthy" |date=21 October 2005 |access-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128082711/https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/a/m6PV5O/fredriksson-jag-ar-frisk |archive-date=28 January 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The following month, Gessle released his second English-language studio solo album, ''[[Son of a Plumber]]''.<ref name="Afraid"/>

Also in 2005, several remixes of Roxette songs became hit singles. A remix of "Fading Like a Flower" by Dancing DJs was a top twenty hit in the UK,<ref name="OCC"/> while Belgian dance group [[DHT (band)|DHT]]'s 2003 trance cover of "[[Listen to Your Heart (Roxette song)#DHT version|Listen to Your Heart]]" became a top ten hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2157894/the-number-ones-roxettes-listen-to-your-heart/columns/the-number-ones/ |title=The Number Ones: Roxette's 'Listen To Your Heart' |author=Breihan, Tom |website=[[Stereogum]] |date=20 August 2021 |access-date=24 April 2022}}</ref> and was certified gold by the RIAA.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=DHT|title=Gold & Platinum – RIAA|publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]]|access-date=29 September 2024}}</ref> 

Fredriksson released her seventh solo album in June 2006, an album of Swedish cover songs titled ''[[Min bäste vän]]'' (''My Best Friend'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesliv/musik/recensioner/article385736.ab |title=En väntad comeback|author=Steen, Håkan|work=[[Aftonbladet]]|publisher=[[Schibsted]]|date=14 June 2006|accessdate=4 August 2018|trans-title="Awaited comeback"|language=Swedish}}</ref> To commemorate their 20th anniversary, Roxette issued the four-disc box set ''[[The Rox Box/Roxette 86–06]]'' on 18 October 2006. The set also included a DVD containing all their music videos and a previously-unreleased 1993 concert for ''[[MTV Unplugged]]''. Roxette recorded two new songs for the box set, "[[One Wish (Roxette song)|One Wish]]" and "[[Reveal (Roxette song)|Reveal]]", which both featured on a new greatest hits album, ''[[A Collection of Roxette Hits: Their 20 Greatest Songs!]]'', released on the same date as ''The Rox Box''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.expressen.se/1.443272|title=Roxette&nbsp;– Roxette hits! review|first=Anders|last=Nunstedt|date=18 October 2006|newspaper=Expressen|access-date=12 January 2012|language=sv|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620145428/http://www.expressen.se/1.443272|archive-date=20 June 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> Gessle released two more solo albums: ''[[En händig man]]'' (''A Handy Man'') in 2007 and ''[[Party Crasher (album)|Party Crasher]]'' in 2008.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://magasinetfilter.se/magasinet/filter-5/ |title=50 År Och Diskokung? Per Gessle Börjar Om |author=Regnell, Tobias|magazine=Filter|publisher=[[Offside (magazine)|Offside Press]]|issue=5|date=December 2008 – January 2009|language=sv|trans-title="50 Years Old and a Pop King? Per Gessle Starts Over"|location=Stockholm, Sweden|accessdate=6 August 2017}}</ref>