There’s been good and bad news this week about Roxette’s enduring popularity. The good news was that the group’s 1990 hit “It Must Have Been Love” had been announced as officially joining YouTube’s Billion Views Club. The bad news is that the audience wanting to hear the track live may not be as large as expected, at least in North America.
On Friday, Roxette’s 40th anniversary tour in the United States and Canada was canceled and ticket holders were notified that their money for the shows would be refunded, even as the band issued a statement saying the tour was simply being “postponed.” The shows were scheduled to take place in amphitheaters across North America, with the Swedish act leading a triple lineup that also included ’80s favorites Taylor Dayne and Nick Lowe.
A statement on Roxette’s social media read: “Due to logistical issues and significant increases in touring expenses, Live Nation US has decided to postpone the North American tour. Hope to see you another time in the future.” The ad was signed “Team Rocks.”
Later on Saturday, founder and co-frontman Per Gessle added a personal message, telling fans that the decision was solely Live Nation’s. “Lena (Philipsson, new vocalist), myself and the band are of course disappointed. We were really looking forward to this North American tour, and the US is by far our largest streaming market. This was a decision made by Live Nation USA, which they probably based on their own calculations. I hope that at some point in the near future we will be able to perform for our amazing fans in the US and Canada.” (Diversity has reached out to Live Nation for comment.)
The North American tour was scheduled to begin on September 10 at the Pine Knob Musical Theater in Clarkston, Michigan, and was scheduled to take place at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles on October 5, ending on October 9 at the White River Amphitheater in Washington.
Some fans expressed disappointment over the cancellation after paying for non-refundable airfare to come to the U.S. from overseas to watch the show. But the number of foreign tourists who planned to attend concerts in North America may indicate a common belief that Roxette has always been more popular in Europe than in the United States.
There have also been instances on social media of fans saying they don’t plan to buy tickets for the tour because the band isn’t the same without the late singer. Marie Fredriksson died in 2019 from complications caused by a brain tumor first diagnosed in the early 2000s. The band last performed a limited series of concerts with Fredriksson in 2016.
In 2025, Gessle revived the group, replacing Fredriksson with a new lead singer, Swedish star Lena Philipsson. “I co-wrote Lena’s first major hit back in 1986, and she is one of the brightest stars Sweden has ever known,” Gessle said in a statement at the time. “I am extremely proud that she wants to join me on my journey to preserve Roxette’s legacy.”
The new Roxette continues to successfully tour abroad. Last week they gave concerts in the Czech Republic and Austria. Until the end of August they still have performances planned in Germany, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland.
In a press release announcing the tour, Live Nation cited Roxette’s enviable track record of hits. “With more than 80 million albums sold and countless No. 1 hits in Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia, Roxette remains the Swedish act with the most No. 1 singles on US Billboard, with four in total,” the promoter said.
Roxette’s departure from the North American tour followed a highly publicized wave of concert cancellations and postponements that became popularly known as “blue dot fever,” referring to the sea of unsold tickets visible in seating charts for low-selling concerts. The “fever” part of the saying was coined around the time Zayn Malik cited unspecified health issues as the reason for canceling his US tour.
Other artists who have canceled either entire tours or significant portions of their performances this year range from the Pussycat Dolls to Meghan Trainor to the only partially canceled Post Malone/Jelly Roll stadium tour. This month, Lily Allen canceled almost all of her arena shows across the United States and booked new shows at smaller amphitheaters. David Lee Roth joins the list of artists canceling their remaining shows this week. Kiefer Sutherland was one of the few who was candid enough to directly admit “poor ticket sales” to the tour’s cancellation. Of course, weak sales aren’t the only reason the show had to go off the road. Some artists have canceled concerts for legitimate health reasons, including reliable ticket sellers like Dolly Parton, the Beach Boys and Barry Manilow.
Despite a wave of media reports about flight cancellations in 2026, the travel business as a whole continues to remain stable. But some industry observers have sounded the alarm that increasingly high prices for superstar tours, which are guaranteed instant sellouts, could siphon consumer dollars from mid-tier artists whose ticket prices are also rising. While Roxette’s mention of “significantly increased touring costs” may not be the only reason for canceling a tour, rising costs that could turn a break-even tour into a loss-making one are not a mistake.