The Pop Hits is the third greatest hits compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 24 March 2003 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol Records. It was the second in a two-part series of "best of" albums released by the duo in quick succession, and was preceded by The Ballad Hits in November 2002. The album was not as commercially successful as its predecessor, although it did peak within the top twenty of various Scandinavian record charts. It was also certified gold in Brazil.
"Dangerous" is a song by Swedish pop duo Roxette. Written by Per Gessle, the song was released as the fourth and final single from their second studio album, Look Sharp! (1988). Gessle penned it just before Roxette's first tour in 1987. Released in May 1989, it was the group's third top-10 single on the US Billboard Hot 100, reaching number two. It also entered the top 10 in Australia, Canada, and six European countries. The music video was recorded in the ruins of Borgholm Castle. In the UK and Ireland, "Dangerous" was released as a double A-side with "Listen to Your Heart".
"The Look" is a song by Swedish pop duo Roxette. It was released in early 1989 as the fourth single from their second studio album, Look Sharp! (1988). It became an international hit, and was one of the most successful singles of 1989. It topped the charts in 25 countries, and was the first of their four number ones on the Billboard Hot 100. The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics.
"Chances" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 28 December 1988 by EMI as the first international single from their second studio album, Look Sharp! (1988). The single was issued on 7" and 12" vinyl formats exclusively in West Germany, France and Italy, where it failed to chart. The single was followed two weeks later by "The Look", which became their breakthrough international hit.
"Dressed for Success" is a song by Swedish pop rock duo Roxette, released in Europe, on 3 August 1988 as the lead single from their second studio album, Look Sharp! (1988). Following the international success of "The Look" – the album's third single in their home country, but the first to be released outside of Sweden – "Dressed for Success" was re-issued internationally in 1989 and became a worldwide hit, most notably in Australia, where it peaked in the top three and was certified platinum by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).
"Crash! Boom! Bang!" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released in May 1994 by EMI as the second single from the duo's fifth studio album, Crash! Boom! Bang! (1994). The song became a moderate hit in several European countries, peaking in the top 20 in Austria, Belgium, Finland and Sweden. It spent over five months on the German Singles Chart, peaking at number 31. The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Michael Geoghegan, had to be filmed twice before release, due to technical issues.
"Fireworks" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 5 September 1994 by EMI as the third single from the duo's fifth studio album, Crash! Boom! Bang! (1994). Written by Per Gessle, the song achieved moderate success in various European countries, peaking within the top 20 in Austria and Finland and reaching number 30 on the UK Singles Chart. Its accompanying music video was directed by Michael Geoghegan.
"Run to You" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 21 November 1994 by EMI as the fourth single from the duo's fifth studio album, Crash! Boom! Bang! (1994). Written by Per Gessle and produced by Clarence Öfwerman, the song charted moderately in several territories, peaking at number 20 in Finland, while reaching the top forty in Belgium, Scotland, Switzerland and the UK. "Run to You" was the duo's final single to chart in the top fifty of the Australian Singles Chart, peaking at number 49. The song's music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund.
"Almost Unreal" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 10 May 1993 as the lead single from the soundtrack of the 1993 live action film Super Mario Bros., which starred Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, and Samantha Mathis. The song became a top-20 hit in numerous territories, including Scandinavia, Ireland and the UK. It would also be the duo's final top ten hit in the latter two countries, excluding a re-release of "It Must Have Been Love" two months later. The song proved to be unsuccessful in North America, peaking at number 94 on the Billboard Hot 100, although it performed better in Canada, where it peaked within the top 30. It appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their next studio album, Crash! Boom! Bang! (1994), mistitled "It's Almost Unreal".
"Vulnerable" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released in February 1995 by EMI as the fifth and final single from their fifth studio album, Crash! Boom! Bang! (1994), while simultaneously acting as the lead single from the duo's 1995 compilation album, Rarities.
"The Big L." is a song by Swedish pop duo Roxette. Written by Per Gessle, it was released on 26 August 1991 by EMI as the third single from their third studio album, Joyride (1991). The song became a top ten hit in Belgium, Ireland and Sweden, and was the highest-charting single released from Joyride in France. It also reached the top twenty in a number of other countries, including Australia, Austria, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. Despite a US radio mix of the song appearing on CD versions of the single, it was never released as a single in North America.
"Spending My Time" is a song by Swedish duo Roxette, released as the fourth single from their third studio album, Joyride (1991). It was written by Per Gessle and Mats Persson, and produced by Clarence Öfwerman. The single attained moderate success, reaching the top ten in Germany and Italy, and the top twenty in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, while peaking at number twenty-two on the UK Singles Chart and thirty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Its music video was directed by Wayne Isham.
"Church of Your Heart" is the fifth and final single taken from Swedish pop duo Roxette's third studio album, Joyride (1991). Written by Per Gessle, the song was a top-20 hit in Canada, where it peaked at number 11, and charted throughout Europe, entering the top 40 in several countries. "I Call Your Name" – originally released as a single from their 1986 debut album Pearls of Passion – appeared as the B-side. On UK editions of the single, the song was backed by an exclusive megamix consisting of a medley of "It Must Have Been Love", "Listen to Your Heart", "The Look", "Joyride" and "Fading Like a Flower ".
"Opportunity Nox" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 25 February 2003 as the lead single from the duo's third greatest hits compilation album, The Pop Hits (2003).
"You Don't Understand Me" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette. Written by Per Gessle with American composer Desmond Child, it was released as the lead single from the duo's first greatest hits compilation album, Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus! Roxette's Greatest Hits (1995). It was also the only new song from the original edition of the album to appear on the 2000 U.S. edition. The song was a hit in several European countries, reaching the top 20 in Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the duo's native Sweden. The song was also a hit in Germany where, despite peaking at number 44, it would spend over three months on the German Singles Chart.
"She Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is a song by Roxette, released as the third and final single from their greatest hits compilation Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus! Roxette's Greatest Hits (1995). The song had originally been written and recorded for the duo's 1994 studio album Crash! Boom! Bang! but, according to Marie Fredriksson, that version "sounded really tired", and has yet to be released. It was later re-recorded in July 1995 with members of Per Gessle's former band Gyllene Tider. It is the only song in Roxette's discography to not be produced by Clarence Öfwerman. "She Doesn't Live Here Anymore" was only released in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, also in Hungary, in the Czech Republic peaking at number 86 on the German Singles Chart. The single included two remixed versions of "The Look" as b-sides. Its music video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund.
"A Thing About You" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 14 October 2002 as the lead single from the duo's second greatest hits compilation album, The Ballad Hits (2002). Their first release following vocalist Marie Fredriksson's brain tumour diagnosis, the song charted in the top forty of numerous national record charts, including Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Taiwan. The song received moderate airplay in the United Kingdom via BBC Radio 2, and remains their last single to enter the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 77. Its music video was directed by longtime collaborator Jonas Åkerlund.
"Real Sugar" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 18 June 2001 as the second single from their seventh studio album, Room Service. The single was not released in the United Kingdom.
"Always Breaking My Heart" is the second single from American singer Belinda Carlisle's sixth studio album, A Woman and a Man (1996). The song was written by Per Gessle from Swedish band Roxette, and a demo of the song recorded by Gessle was later released as a B-side of his single "Do You Wanna Be My Baby?", as well as the 2009 reissue of Crash! Boom! Bang! (1994). Released on September 9, 1996, "Always Breaking My Heart" peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and number 50 in Australia. It remains Carlisle's final UK top-10 hit.
"In Walked Love" is a song by the American girl group Exposé. Written by Diane Warren and produced by Steve Thompson and Michael Barbiero, the song can be found on the group's 1992 album Exposé, their third studio album. Lead vocals on the pop ballad were performed by Ann Curless. The song features Al Pitrelli as guest guitarist. In 1996, British singer Louise covered the song and reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart with her rendition.
