Roxette surprised in its 2026 version: a sexy and roaring singer, a very tight band and a tribute to the Redonditos de ricotta

The current version of Roxette offered a recital full of hits with a renewed sound and the powerful voice of Lena Philipsson roaring throughout the Movistar Arena stadium, this Thursday, April 16. In front of around 15 thousand people (a full house) and after fourteen years of absence, the Swedish group came to revalidate their emblems and present their new line-up. The same ones that made him one of the best-selling artists on the entire planet in the early ’90s.

The Roxette show is good. Correction: the new Roxette 2026 show is very good. And here “very” goes with a capital M. Because Today it is a band (much more than a duo) of very guitar-driven pop, with three violas playing for moments in unison, moments very close to garage rock and others almost hard.. Just as it reads. And the recently recycled Swedish hit-pop machine has a live that directly crushes the heads of its audience. With Per Gessle leading in his role as ideologue and producer as well as singer, composer and guitarist,

The intelligence of this boy (perhaps not so much boy: he turned 66 last January) lies in the fact that he has managed to find no longer a replacement for the deceased original singer of the duo, the beloved Marie Fredriksson. That would have been an easy and pathetic low blow. No, he went to look for (and found) a counterpart for his former partner. And Lena Philipsson is a sexy animal unleashed, who literally devours the stage from the first minute.

The enormous change that the Roxette showed last night at the Movistar Arena in Buenos Aires is based on this. A “no one leaves here alive”, but said in Swedish. Owners of a forceful audio, with guitarists who sparked each other, a bass rhythm base and precise Swiss drums and a keyboard that accompanied without clouding the work of the electric strings. But of course, all eyes (and ears) were on Lena. And she knew it.

This mature woman (60 years of age very well managed) manages a powerful energy that never wanes during the two hours of the show. We could say without fear of exaggeration that Lena Philipsson is like a Swedish Tina Turner. He has plenty of voice, good legs and he handles himself on stage as if he were in the living room of his house. Be careful, you have to be in your place. Because whether they want it or not, Many of the 15 thousand fans who came to the stadium were to see if she was up to the task. or the microphone was too big.

But Lena is a howler (in blues terms, a howler) who has great listeners to great singers like Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin or Big Mama Thorton. Owner of a torn and gritty voice, she roared like a lioness in heat for much of the night. And her false eyelashes didn’t even move! The truth? A discovery, well there Per.

It is also fair to point out that Lena in her native Sweden (she was born in Vetlanda) already had an impressive career as a solo singer, with 19 albums to her credit, recorded between 1986 and 2015, when she crossed paths with Per and received his proposal.

Someone wanted to republish that apotheotic entry of the Coldplay in Argentina doing light musicin November 2017 at the Estadio Único in La Plata, and he whispered in Per’s ear that it wouldn’t be bad to start with the chords of Jijijione of Patricio Rey’s anthems and the most celebrated ricotta rounds. And there they were The New Roxettes, going out to the bull, as they would say in Madrid, before a very willing audience.

They started their repertoire with The big L, Sleeping in my Car and Dressed for Successthus, threaded and nervous. And the fans didn’t even have time to adjust. The attitude that this group has on stage is truly commendable. Smiles, a lot of mobility, a very cool wardrobe and seas of positive energy coming out from all four sides. With a replacement of guitars that was the order of the night, a whole parade of Rickenbakers, Gibson SG, 335. Epiphone and very well amplified acoustics that changed the sound color of each song. Well thought out.

But the question was: what had those 15 thousand souls gone to Movistar to look for? Let’s see. “There are very conflicting opinions among fans – said Rocío Silvo, 33 years old -, but the important thing is that we can continue enjoying the music and hits of this band. Lena comes by adoption and that’s fine, she’s up to the task. Marie is irreplaceable, but even so we prefer that Roxette can continue to be listened to. I came to look for a lot of rock, a lot of energy and a little bit of nostalgia.”

At his side Emiliano Basile (46) said: “I came to return when I was twelve years old, that was the age I was when I saw them in Vélez, when they came for the first time. This today is like watching Queen, no longer with Freddie Mercury but with Adam Lambert. You try to connect with the memory and see how that coexists with the current.” In a high percentage, the age range of the audience in attendance was around 45 years old, although of course there were older people and even some families who had brought their young children.

Could it be said that going to this show was an exercise in nostalgia alone? No not at all. Because for those who had just heard the band (and there were some) it was the surprise of coming across a pop steamroller (sorry Divided). The super respected original songs, although with a more packaging power and modern. Renewed in their dynamics (mainly thanks to Lena’s vocal range and tonality), although not blurred,

Roxette has a veritable cascade of hits under their belt, which allowed them throughout their career (started in July 1986) To date, they have sold an exorbitant 75 million records worldwide..

Legend has it that it all began that year when a young American traveled to Sweden for a student exchange and was given the duo’s first album. The boy took the record and gave it to a DJ in his neighborhood, who took to playing it periodically on his radio. And listeners began to ask for it. Another world, very different from today.

The night continued with several of their classics: Crash!, Boom!, Bang!, Wish I Could Fly, Curch of your Heart and It must have been Lovewell known for being part of the soundtrack of the film pretty womanin 1990. By the middle of the show, those on the fence about the female vocal change were in the bag. The magnetism of the new couple is no longer based on the empathetic, sweet and tender thing that Per and Marie proposed. Fredriksson’s soprano tone was now replaced by Philipsson’s brave throat.

Both Per and Lena have fun jumping from one side of the stage to the other, making the audience sing (him) or coloring the air with erotic pouts (her). Both very confident and demonstrating a millimeter knowledge of what a good pop-rock show should be. The band is irreproachable in every sense and this new formation earned the respect of its historic audience.

The recital ended with a barrage of hymns: How do you do, Dangerous, Joyride, Spending my Time and of course the inevitable The Look. Roxette grew up with their fans, and their fans grew up with them. Rarely in the history of Anglo pop has there been such a fidelity between the parties. Along with Kiss and Queen, the Roxette are on the podium of the artists with the most fan clubs in the world. And from now on in Argentina. And that is no coincidence. It speaks of a permanence based on the love of one another. Idols and their followers.

At the exit the opinions coincided: “I came to look for the original band, and although I knew it was not the one from the beginning, I found a tremendous group – says Carlos Alonso (46) -, Lena is accompanying very well. She is not part of Roxette, but it made us all happy to come tonight to listen to these songs. It is the soundtrack of the lives of many of us.” Erica, 45, regretted not having seen them before: “Now I’m older but it’s the first time I’ve come to see them, I’ve always listened to them but on record. This version is obviously different, but it’s also very good. And the truth is that it moved me a lot to listen to all their songs.”

And as if it were necessary, to demonstrate the high degree of fanaticism of Argentinians for this band, the owners of a small grill nearby, around the corner from the stadium, knowing about this, promoted the “choriroxette” and the “vacíojoyride”. Of course, both Swedish-Creole delicacies were sold out before the show started. What would Marie say about all this? I’m sure she would be happy. Your beloved Roxette is safe for several more years.