“Never was a quitter…she’s Got The Look…”  

Getting to know
Lena Philipsson.

For audiences outside of Sweden, Lena Philipsson may be a new voice many are discovering for the first time on the Roxette 40th Anniversary Tour, but at home in Sweden she’s been part of the pop landscape for decades.

A singer, songwriter and performer with serious stage presence, Lena first made her name in the 1980s and quickly became one of Sweden’s most recognisable artists.

Her career has taken in hit singles, major tours, television, theatre, Melodifestivalen, and Eurovision, where she represented Sweden in 2004 with ‘It Hurts’ and finished 5th.

During her now four decade career, Lena has released some 14 studio albums, and over 50 singles. But statistics only tell part of her story. Lena is one of those performers who knows exactly how to hold a stage. Confident, charismatic and full of personality, she brings a rare mix of power, warmth and playful precision to everything she does.

Her connection with Per Gessle also goes back much further than the current Roxette tour. Per wrote the lyrics to early breakthrough song, ‘Kärleken är evig’, in 1986, and almost 40 years later their musical paths have crossed again in spectacular fashion. What’s funny about that is that it means “Neverending Love” in English!

On the Roxette 40th Anniversary Tour, Lena has brought her own voice, energy and experience to some of the most loved songs in Swedish pop history. This is not an artist stepping into the spotlight for the first time, this is a seasoned star helping celebrate another extraordinary chapter in the Roxette story, and doing it with style, respect and a whole lot of sparkle.

The #ROX40 Interview

Part 1: A Star is Born…

★ How did singing first become part of your life?
Singing and playing the piano was a natural part of my life. I was interested in making up my own little songs at the piano early on, right from around the age of 7.

★ What music did you grow up listening to?
The music I grew up with when I was younger in Vetlanda was very mixed: current hits (mostly danceable music) and artists like David Bowie, classical music, Kraftwerk, ABBA, Stevie Wonder, and British synth-pop bands. My parents played a lot of jazz, soul, big band jazz, etc. at home—a blissful mix.
Later on, Prince has been a huge part of my musical inspiration.

★ Was becoming a singer always your ambition, or did it grow into something bigger over time?
I didn’t have any big dreams of becoming an artist one day, simply because I didn’t think it was possible. I grew up in a small town in Sweden, Vetlanda, and it was a very long way from that reality to being on TV. As I used to say, “The people who were on TV might as well have been on the moon”. 

I sang in choirs, and I was also in a local band for a while. After that, I participated in a talent contest with a major final in Stockholm. I was 16 then. I won my group (together with another contestant) and from there one thing led to another; people in the industry showed interest in me, and suddenly I had a record deal. It was probably somewhere around there, at 15–16 years old, that I started thinking about whether it actually was possible to become an artist.

★ What kind of music do you listen to when you’re not performing or working on your own songs?
When I have time off, I very rarely listen to music. I mostly listen to the radio… interview programs, documentaries, factual programs, etc. If I ever have music playing in the background at a dinner, for example, it is probably something jazzy like EST, or something soft and loungey. With that said, I’ve always loved dancing to club music, house, quite heavy electronic music, etc. Benny Benassi – Satisfaction… haha.

Part 2: Joining the Joyride…

★ Roxette songs mean so much to people all over the world. How did you approach bringing your own voice and personality to them?
When it comes to Roxette, my strategy was to sing the songs as close to the original as possible, so that all the fans would feel as much at home as possible. Right from the start, I felt that I didn’t have any right to come in and do “my own thing.” That would be completely wrong. On the other hand, I can’t change my stage presence or my way of connecting with the audience, so in that sense, there is a difference, and I show who I am. Perhaps my singing style might differ slightly from Marie’s nowadays, because the more times I sing the songs, the more the music flows through me and my own style.

★ Was there one song that felt natural straight away when you started rehearsing?
The song that felt the easiest to start with was ‘Sleeping in My Car’.

★ Was there a song that surprised you, either because it was harder than expected or because you connected with it more than you thought you would be?
Many of the ballads are quite demanding vocally, with large pitch intervals, high and low notes alternating, so ‘Sleeping In My Car’ feels simpler and more straightforward.

★ Your great version of ‘Never is a Long Time‘ feels very true to the emotional spirit of the song. What are your memories of recording it?
I barely remember when I recorded the song ‘Never is a Long Time’. I do remember that we got a couple of songs from Per for my record back then in 1987, and I think we were later asked if it was okay for Roxette to record ‘Never’ too. Which it obviously was as he was the one who had written the song, after all.

Part 3: Life on Tour 

★ What have been your personal highlights from the shows?
As for highlights, it’s clear that concerts with an extra amount of engagement from the audience make an impression. We still talk about Munich last year. Argentina this spring. Copenhagen and Stockholm last autumn.  I don’t really tend to have “highlights” when I work; when I’m on stage delivering, I’m not finished until I’m finished.

★ And do you happen to have a favourite song to perform live on this tour?
I really like the actual mix of songs, rocking out first with ‘Sleeping In My Car’ and ‘Dressed For Success’, being more emotional in ‘Crash! Boom! Bang!’ (which, by the way, I really enjoy singing). It feels good to do the tribute to Marie with ‘It Must Have Been Love’ and it becomes very special when Per and I are completely on our own during ‘Spending My Time’.  A highlight could be ‘Queen of Rain’ the last slow, meditative song and seeing how the audience remains standing until the very last note feels very beautiful and satisfying. It means we’ve done a good job, and that people don’t want to go home.

Part 4: After the Tour…

★ After Roxette 40, what comes next for you? Should we be hoping for a new Lena album?
For my own part, a project of my own awaits in Sweden during spring ’27. And I’m writing some new music. We’ll see how it gets released, when, etc.

It feels almost a bit unfamiliar after a few years with Roxette…

Lena’s Album Discography

1980s: Synth-Pop Era

Kärleken är evig (1986) – Her breakout debut album featuring her first major hit title track.

Dansa i neon (1987) – Solidified her status as Sweden’s pop princess with the legendary title track.

Talking in Your Sleep (1988) – Her first English-language studio album, showing her evolving style.

My Name (1989) – A massive commercial success in Sweden, entirely recorded in English.

1990s: Artistic Evolution

A Woman’s Gotta Do What a Woman’s Gotta Do (1991) – A conceptual pop album where she adopted an action-hero secret agent persona.

Fantasy (1993) – A dance-oriented, house-infused English language album.

Lena Philipsson (1995) – A self-titled return to singing in Swedish, taking a more mature adult contemporary direction.

Bästa vänner (1997) – Translated to “Best Friends”, featuring a more soulful, laid-back pop sound.

2000s: ‘Comeback’ & Collaborative Eras

Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan (2004) – A massive, double-platinum comeback album driven by her Eurovision hit “Det gör ont”.

Jag ångrar ingenting (2005) – Translated to “I Regret Nothing”, continuing her hit-making collaboration with songwriter Orup.

Dubbel (2008) – A full-length, highly successful collaborative duet album recorded entirely with Orup.

2010s to Present: Electro-Pop & Introspection

Världen snurrar (2012) – A modern electro-pop club album featuring collaborations with prominent Swedish producers.

Jag är ingen älskling (2015) – An intimate, critically praised album written entirely by Lena herself, focusing heavily on piano-driven pop.

Maria Magdalena (2020) – Her latest solo studio album, featuring synth-driven tracks and autobiographical songwriting inspired by her real birth name.

ONE LONG JOYRIDE… Lena THROUGH THE YEARS

1982 – Lena wins the Swedish talent competition ‘New Faces‘, an early sign that her voice and stage presence were already turning heads.

1984 – She releases her debut single, ‘Boy‘, marking the official start of her recording career.

1986 – Lena has her major breakthrough in Sweden with ‘Kärleken är evig‘, written by Torgny Söderberg and Per Gessle. She performs the song at Melodifestivalen, finishing 2nd, and begins a connection with Per that would come full circle many years later.

1987 – She returns to Melodifestivalen with ‘Dansa i neon‘, which becomes one of her signature songs and helps cement her place in Swedish pop.

1988 – Lena competes at Melodifestivalen again with ‘Om igen‘, finishing 2nd once more and continuing her strong run through the Swedish pop scene.

Late 1980s and early 1990s – She builds a major pop career in Sweden with albums including ‘My Name‘ and ‘A Woman’s Gotta Do What a Woman’s Gotta Do‘, showing she was far more than a competition performer.

1994 to 1995 – Lena enjoys another strong chapter with songs including ‘Månsken i augusti‘ and ‘Stjärnorna‘, both remembered as key tracks in her catalogue.

2000 – 2003 – She co hosts Melodifestivalen, showing another side of her talent as a confident television personality and live presenter.

2004 – Lena wins Melodifestivalen with ‘Det gör ont‘ and represents Sweden at Eurovision with the English version, ‘It Hurts‘, finishing 5th. It becomes one of the defining moments of her career.

2004 to 2005 – She releases and performs a string of major songs including ‘Lena Anthem’, ‘Delirium‘ and ‘På gatan där jag bor‘, keeping her firmly at the centre of Swedish pop culture.

2006 – Lena hosts Melodifestivalen, returning not as a contestant, but as one of Sweden’s most established entertainers.

2008 – She collaborates with Orup on ‘Dubbel‘, another successful chapter in a career full of smart reinventions.

2015 – Lena releases ‘Jag är ingen älskling‘, continuing to create new music rather than simply relying on past hits.

2020 – She releases ‘Maria Magdalena‘, an album that uses her full birth name and adds a personal, reflective chapter to her catalogue.

2021 – Lena is awarded the ‘Litteris et Artibus‘ medal by the King of Sweden for her contribution to Swedish Music and Culture. On the evening of July 10, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Prince Daniel, Princess Estelle, Princess Madeleine, Princess Leonore and Christopher O´Neill attended the concert of Lena Philipsson at Solliden Palace in Borgholm.

2022 – She releases her autobiography, ‘I händelse av min död‘ (‘In the event of my death’), and appears as one of the summer hosts on ‘Sommar i P1‘, further underlining her place in Swedish cultural life.

2024 – Per Gessle records a duet album (‘Sällskapssjuk’), using among others Lena. The cooperation worked so well that soon after Per announces Lena as the guest vocalist joining him and the Roxette Band for the return of Roxette live shows, bringing together 2 artists with a shared musical history going back to the 1980s.

2025 – Lena performs with Per and the Roxette Band on the Roxette 40th Anniversary Tour, bringing her own voice, confidence and personality to some of Sweden’s most famous pop songs. Per and Lena release a single, ‘Bad Blood‘.

2026 – The Roxette 40th Anniversary Tour hits South America and continues throughout Europe, with Per, Lena and the Roxette Band taking the songs to even more audiences, including the upcoming North America Tour in September and October.

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Big Thanx to:
LENA PHILIPSSON ★ MARIE DIMBERG

Interview conducted June 2026 by:
 Thomas Evensson ★ Thomas Lawrie-Clark

Photography by:
Thomas Evensson ★ Kai-Uwe Heinze ★ Thomas Lawrie-Clark
All other photographs via Roxette / Lena Philipsson Official Facebook
Copyright remains with original owners.