It Must Have Been Love – Roxette | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1); 1990
Story Behind The Song By Harris Sterling
By 1990, Swedish duo Roxette had already achieved international success, but It Must Have Been Love would become one of their most recognizable recordings. Written by Per Gessle, the song was originally released in 1987 as a Christmas single in Sweden under the title It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted).
The song was later reworked without seasonal references for inclusion in the film Pretty Woman. Released as part of the soundtrack in 1990, the revised version quickly gained global attention.
It Must Have Been Love rose to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and became one of the biggest hits of the year. Its association with Pretty Woman further expanded its audience.
Built around a piano-driven arrangement and Marie Fredriksson’s emotive vocal, the recording emphasizes reflection rather than drama. The lyric centers on looking back at a relationship that has ended, acknowledging both its intensity and its finality.
It Must Have Been Love remains one of Roxette’s signature songs and a defining power ballad of the early 1990s.
This content was created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Harris Sterling. © 2026 Harris Sterling. All rights reserved.
Produced by:
Clarence Öfwerman
Lyrics Written by:
Per Gessle
Awards:
No major Grammy Awards were awarded for the single.
Harris Sterling
Independent music label executive Harris Sterling has worked in the music industry for most of his career.
As Executive Vice President for independent music label Madacy Entertainment, he led the strategic marketing and business development for the label, negotiating agreements with the major record labels to release custom music compilations under license with major brands, such as Ford Motor Company, Crayola, Care Bears and Elvis Presley Enterprises.
Harris also led Madacy’s strategy for the licensing of its entire music catalogue to Apple for their launch of the IPOD.
In 2011, Harris co-founded Starting Five Media, a company that specializes in recording and licensing custom renditions of popular songs as well as clearing the rights to the music composition for use by their clients in media projects.
Harris has negotiated publishing and master recording rights for many Top 40 songs for use in various media projects, TV Commercials and more.