Ironically, the iconic song It Must Have Been Love by Roxette, a track that has echoed through radios and dance floors worldwide for over 30 years, originally launched in 1987 as a Swedish-only Christmas single titled “Christmas for the Broken Hearted.” Commissioned by EMI Germany to produce an “intelligent Christmas single,” the record label hesitated to release it internationally at first. Despite this, the song climbed to No. 4 in Sweden’s charts. But it was its inclusion in the 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman, starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, that ignited its astronomical global success.
Roaring into the international scene, the song spent 14 solid weeks on the UK charts, achieving a remarkable No. 3 position, while propelling the Pretty Woman soundtrack album to triple platinum status in the US. By the time songwriter Per Gessle resubmitted the song to the film, Roxette had already secured two US No. 1 hits, amplifying their rising fame. A subtle but impactful transformation was made—the original line “It’s a hard Christmas day” was smoothly changed to “It’s a hard winter’s day,” bolstering its universal emotional appeal. With over five million radio plays and a staggering revenue of half a billion dollars, this ballad is far more than just a pop song.
From a childhood enchanted by classics like “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” and “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” Per Gessle was deeply influenced by both the transformative power of epic pop and Swedish folk traditions. Despite their trademark 80s hairstyles, PVC outfits, gated snare drums, and squeaky synths, Roxette faced dismissals as mere pop fluff for years, a fate shared by no less iconic a Swedish group than ABBA. Gessle famously remarked, “In eight years, ABBA never got a good review in Sweden,” highlighting the often-dismissive local critical reception.
Today, the band is recognized with deeper reverence. The list of artists covering It Must Have Been Love spans from The X Factor: Celebrity winner Megan McKenna to the legendary Dame Shirley Bassey. Their spectacular 2010 comeback arena tour was powered by this very tune. This reunion was ignited when Marie Fredriksson, after battling years of illness, surprised fans by appearing at a Gessle solo gig, delivering a performance that brought the audience to tears.
What sets It Must Have Been Love apart is its seamless blend of musical ecstasy and lyrical agony, a hallmark of the classic Motown blueprint. The song’s theme of lost love, regret, and the painful feeling of a relationship slipping away resonates deeply, with the line, “It must have been good but I lost it somehow,” dripping with a gallows humor and brutal understatement. It also evokes the baffling mystery of love, as the singer admits the heartbreak might have been inevitable.
Despite the aching melancholy, the song’s narrative compels us to move on. Fredriksson’s delivery of the title line is stoic and resigned, avoiding melodramatic vibrato to show emotional strength. Yet, the sudden, urgent key change in the middle eight brings an overwhelming surge of pain, plunging listeners back to square one of heartache.
Though Marie Fredriksson is no longer with us, this signature Roxette anthem embodies the raw, torrid feelings of love and loss in a perfect four minutes and 15 seconds, ensuring its place as a timeless classic that will never truly end.
