Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock ) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock music . Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll , early pop rock was influenced by the beat , arrangements, and original style of rock and roll (and sometimes doo-wop ). It may be viewed as a distinct genre field rather than music that overlaps with pop and rock. The detractors of pop rock often deride it as a slick, commercial product and less authentic than rock music.
33-496: Per Håkan Gessle ( Swedish pronunciation: [ˈpæːr ˈhôːkan ˈɡɛ̂sːlɛ] ; born 12 January 1959) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the male half and primary songwriter of the pop rock duo Roxette , which he formed with Marie Fredriksson in 1986 and which was disbanded after her death in 2019. The duo achieved international success in the late 1980s and early 1990s with their albums Look Sharp! (1988) and Joyride (1991), and topped
66-774: A 25th-anniversary celebration that included the band's first album in 20 years, Finn 5 fel! , and another very successful tour in Sweden. They beat the Ullevi stadium attendance record, which was later broken by fellow Swede Håkan Hellström in 2016 (70,144), and the band played to almost half a million fans. As a result, the group was honoured with four awards in Sweden. With Son of a Plumber , he continued his association with other Swedish artists. Jens Jansson along with previous collaborators Josefsson and Lundquist, helped Gessle create his second English album. Released in November 2005,
99-523: A book of " Att vara Per Gessle " was published, telling some of the unknown facts about Gessle and his 30-year career. Party Crasher his seventh solo album and third in English was released in late 2008. The first single " Silly Really " gave him his fourth No. 1 hit. After that, Gessle started his Party Crasher Tour , where Fredriksson joined him on stage twice, in Amsterdam and Stockholm . This
132-450: A car between Lund and Lomma when Christoffer called and wondered if I was interested in starting singing with Per who wanted a girl for his solo projects.", recalled Josefsson. Mazarin topped the charts in June that year, going five times platinum in 2004. The lead single from the album " Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)" ("Here comes all the emotions (at the same time)"),
165-635: A demo compilation album in 1992, På väg, 1982–86 . After the release of Crash! Boom! Bang! and subsequent world tour, Roxette took a break. In 1996, after a reunion and subsequent tour of Gyllene Tider, Gessle recorded his first English solo album, using Brainpool and Gyllene Tider as backing musicians. Christoffer Lundquist from Brainpool would also come to collaborate with Gessle on later releases. The World According to Gessle , released in 1997, produced three singles, " Do You Wanna Be My Baby? ", " Kix " and " I Want You to Know ". The videos to all three songs were directed by Jonas Åkerlund . The album
198-473: A few years before they came together as Roxette in 1986. After the success of their first hit " Neverending Love ", which was written by Gessle, they quickly recorded Pearls of Passion using material which was originally intended for Per's third solo album. Roxette went on to achieve four U.S. #1's and two #2's, with their albums Look Sharp! and Joyride attaining platinum status in a number of countries. After Roxette's early nineties success, Per released
231-477: Is Gessle's most successful song in his home country, spending two months at No. 1 and was certified platinum. Following the success of the album, Gessle won numerous awards; four Grammis awards: Best Artist, Best Male Pop Performer, Best Composer and Best Song, three Rockbjörnen awards: Best Swedish Male Artist, Best Swedish Album and Best Swedish Song, and a Guldälgen (The Golden Moose) Award for Best Song. Also in 2004, saw Gessle and Gyllene Tider reunite for
264-550: Is a Swedish filmmaker and musician who is best known for his work in music videos. Åkerlund was a member of the Swedish black metal band Bathory . He has directed well-known videos for artists such as Queens of the Stone Age , Christina Aguilera , Beyoncé , Blink-182 , Blondie , Duran Duran , Lady Gaga , David Guetta , Jamiroquai , Lenny Kravitz , Madonna , Paul McCartney , Metallica , Moby , Ozzy Osbourne , P!nk ,
297-582: Is a noun-adjective that music critics often use in reference to guitar pop with a bright mood. Critic Philip Auslander argues that the distinction between pop and rock is more pronounced in the US than in the UK. He claims that in the US, pop has roots in white crooners such as Perry Como , whereas rock is rooted in African-American music influenced by forms such as rock and roll . Auslander points out that
330-504: The 1960s, Frith termed it "folk rock", and the pop-infused styles of the 1970s were called "pop rock". Moore-Gilbert claims that this approach unfairly puts rock at the apex and makes every other influence become an add-on to the central core of rock. In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau discussed the term "pop-rock" in the context of popular music's fragmentation along stylistic lines in
363-494: The 1970s; he regarded "pop-rock" as a "monolith" that "straddled" all burgeoning movements and subgenres in the popular and semipopular music marketplace at the time, including singer-songwriter music, art rock , heavy metal , boogie , country rock , jazz fusion , funk , disco , urban contemporary , and new wave , but not punk rock . Jonas %C3%85kerlund Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund ( Swedish: [hɑːns ˈʉ̌ːnʊ ˈjûːnas ˈôːkɛˌɭɵnd] ; born 10 November 1965)
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#1732802520392396-456: The B-side of their single " Spending My Time ". The song was also used by Laura Branigan featuring on her Over My Heart album. He has also participated with the Swedish singer Nisse Hellberg in the project The Lonely Boys . In 1996 he worked with Belinda Carlisle and wrote two songs for her album, A Woman and a Man ; " Always Breaking My Heart " and "Love Doesn't Live Here". The former
429-729: The Prodigy , the Smashing Pumpkins , Rammstein , Britney Spears , the Rolling Stones , U2 , Robbie Williams and Ghost . Åkerlund's video for Madonna's song " Ray of Light " won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video and a record five MTV Video Music Awards , including Video of the Year . In 2008, he won the Grammy Award for Best Music Film for directing Madonna's The Confessions Tour DVD, and won
462-528: The album contains a song dedicated to Gessle's father who was a plumber, "Kurt – The Fastest Plumber in the West". The album which was certified platinum, was also released in several other European countries in April 2006. In June 2007, he released another solo album in Swedish with the name En händig man , which shipped three times platinum. A single of the same name was released; " En händig man ". Later on October
495-431: The award again in 2014 for his work on Paul McCartney's Live Kisses DVD. He also directed the films Spun (2002), Horsemen (2009), Small Apartments (2012), Lords of Chaos (2018), and Polar (2019). Åkerlund was a member of the Swedish black metal band Bathory from 1983 to 1984. He directed Candlemass ' first music video "Bewitched", which was also his debut as a music video director. He then became
528-699: The charts in the US four times, most notably with " It Must Have Been Love " which was featured in the film Pretty Woman . Prior to the formation of Roxette, he had a successful career in his native Sweden as the frontman for Gyllene Tider . The band released three number-one albums during the early 1980s but disbanded shortly after their fourth album, The Heartland Café (1984). In-between periods in Roxette and Gyllene Tider reunions, Gessle recorded numerous solo albums, both in Swedish and English. After Fredriksson's illness in 2002 he released Mazarin (2003). The album
561-456: The concept of pop rock, which blends pop and rock, is at odds with the typical conception of pop and rock as opposites. Auslander and several other scholars, such as Simon Frith and Grossberg, argue that pop music is often depicted as an inauthentic, cynical, "slickly commercial", and formulaic form of entertainment. In contrast, rock music is often heralded as an authentic, sincere, and anti-commercial form of music, which emphasizes songwriting by
594-526: The designer and photographer for the Roxette album Room Service in 2001. His first full-length film, Spun , debuted in 2002. Åkerlund directed commercials for Swedish clothing retailer MQ and the re-imagining of the Devo song " Watch Us Work It " used in Dell Computers commercials. He is a long-time collaborator of Madonna, having worked on such music videos as " Music ", " American Life " (which
627-513: The form of, rock music. Writer Johan Fornas views pop/rock as "one single, continuous genre field", rather than distinct categories. To the authors Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman, it is defined as an "upbeat variety of rock music" represented by artists and bands such as Andy Kim , the Bells , Paul McCartney , Lighthouse , and Peter Frampton . The term "pop" has been used since the early forties to refer to popular music in general, but in
660-470: The main video director for Roxette . In 1997, he directed the video for the Prodigy 's " Smack My Bitch Up ", which sparked controversy due to its depiction of drug use, violence, and nudity. In 1998, he worked with Madonna on the song " Ray of Light ". He directed the music video for the Smashing Pumpkins ' song " Try, Try, Try ", from which a short film entitled Try was spawned. He was also
693-499: The mid-1950s, it began to be used for a distinct genre, aimed at a youth market, often characterized as a softer alternative to rock and roll. In the aftermath of the British Invasion , from about 1967, it was increasingly used in opposition to the term rock, to describe a form that was more commercial, ephemeral and accessible. As of the 2010s, "guitar pop rock" and " indie rock " are roughly synonymous terms. " Jangle "
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#1732802520392726-704: The pseudonym Mono Mind, first releasing a few singles before delivering a full album, Mind Control , in 2019. Gessle was the main songwriter for both Roxette and Gyllene Tider. Per Gessle was a founding member of Gyllene Tider , in 1976. They quickly became a popular group in Sweden, but after their fourth album, The Heartland Café (1984), sold poorly compared to their previous albums, the group disbanded. Gessle wrote. "We decided to put Gyllene Tider to rest... until further notice." In 1982, Gessle released his first solo album, Per Gessle and after Gyllene Tider split-up his second album, Scener , quickly appeared in 1985. Gessle and Marie Fredriksson had been friends for
759-422: The pseudonym Mono Mind, first releasing a few singles before delivering a full album, Mind Control , in 2019. In June 2022, Gessle released a single called "The Loneliest Girl In The World" under the name PG Roxette. The single previews an album Gessle has recorded with members of Roxette's live touring band called Pop-up Dynamo . In 1983 Gessle wrote the song ”Stjärnhimmel” to Elisabeth Andreassen . He wrote
792-430: The singers and bands, instrumental virtuosity, and a "real connection with the audience". Frith's analysis of the history of popular music from the 1950s to the 1980s has been criticized by B. J. Moore-Gilbert, who argues that Frith and other scholars have overemphasized the role of rock in the history of popular music by naming every new genre using the "rock" suffix. Thus, when a folk-oriented style of music developed in
825-482: The song Kärleken är evig which Lena Philipsson competed with in Melodifestivalen 1986, where the song finished in second place with 42 points. The song charted on the 6th place on the swedish singles chart and became Philipssons big breaktrough single. In 1990, Gessle wrote a single, "The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye", for Thomas Anders (of Modern Talking fame); Roxette would release their version as
858-562: The summer of 2013, Gessle reunited with Gyllene Tider once more, performing some 20 shows in Sweden. After Roxette's Neverending World Tour finished in 2015 he produced another set of solo efforts, En vacker natt (2017), En vacker dag (2017) and Small Town Talk (2018). All three albums were recorded in Nashville after Gessle felt the need to do sessions abroad. The albums featured the use of local musicians, Dan Dugmore , Stuart Duncan and Mickey Raphael . In 2016 he started using
891-533: Was a critical and commercial success for Gessle and started the beginning of a long-term collaboration with the backing vocalist Helena Josefsson . With Fredriksson's continued treatment and recuperation he made three more albums, Son of a Plumber (2005), En händig man ( A handy man , 2007) and Party Crasher (2008). After Roxette's Neverending World Tour finished in 2015 he produced another set of solo efforts, En vacker natt (2017), En vacker dag (2017) and Small Town Talk (2018). In 2016 he started using
924-461: Was a critical and commercial success in Sweden and started the beginning of a long-term collaboration with the backing vocalist Helena Josefsson . Lundquist, now Gessle's producer was looking for a female singer and picked Josefsson. She first came to the attention of Lundquist after she and her band Sandy Mouche wanted to record at Lundquist's Aerosol Grey Machine (AGM) studio. "I remember driving
957-704: Was eight years after their last live performance together during Roxette's Room Service Tour in 2001. Following Fredriksson's guest appearance in Amsterdam, Roxette started to perform live again. Initially this was during the Night of the Proms concert series in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany in 2009, later followed by extensive concert tours in 2010, 2011 and 2012, performing over 100 shows on all 6 continents. In
990-557: Was held in nearby Trollenäs Castle . They have a son, Gabriel Titus, born on 5 August 1997. Along with Björn Nordstrand he also owns Hotel Tylösand on the Swedish westcoast, known for its vast art and photo collection as well as The Joyride Car Collection, Per Gessle's private collection of Ferrari cars. Pop rock Much pop and rock music has been very similar in sound, instrumentation and even lyrical content. The terms "pop rock" and " power pop " have been used to describe more commercially successful music that uses elements from, or
1023-648: Was pulled due to its graphic content and the Iraq War ), and " Jump ". He also directed the documentary film I'm Going to Tell You a Secret about Madonna and her concert special The Confessions Tour: Live from London . Åkerlund's other work includes the controversial music video for Rammstein 's " Pussy ", the video for the song " Telephone " by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé , " Moves like Jagger " by Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera , and Duran Duran 's single "Girl Panic!" Åkerlund's second movie, Small Apartments (2012), went direct to DVD. Per Gessle , of Roxette,
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1056-437: Was re-released in 2008, with extra bonus material and demos. In 1997 Hjärtats trakt – en samling was released as a best-of album. After Roxette released Have a Nice Day (1999) and Room Service (2001) to moderate success, Fredriksson collapsed and was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2002. While Fredriksson received treatment for her illness, Gessle continued with his solo work. The subsequent album Mazarin (2003),
1089-510: Was released as a single, becoming a UK top 10 hit. He sung duet with Nick Lowe on the title track for the Small Town Talk album. Gessle is the youngest son of plumber Kurt Gessle (1917–1978) and Elisabeth Gessle (1925-2013). He had an older brother, Bengt (1950-2014) and older sister Gunilla (1944-2016). Gessle married his long-time girlfriend Åsa Nordin (born 1961) in 1993 at Västra Strö Church, Eslöv, Sweden. The wedding reception
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