The North American tour was to have begun on September 10 at the Pine Knob Music Theater in Clarkston, Michigan, and was scheduled to arrive at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles on October 5 before concluding on October 9 at the White River Amphitheater in Washington.

Some fans expressed disappointment at the cancellation after having paid for non-refundable flights to enter the US from abroad to see the shows. But the number of foreign tourists who had planned to see concerts in North America may speak to the common belief that Roxette had always been bigger in Europe than in the United States.

Social media also cited cases of fans saying they were not planning to buy tickets for the tour because the group was not the same without its late lead singer. Marie Fredriksson died in 2019 from complications of a brain tumor first diagnosed in the early 2000s. The band last did a limited run of dates with Fredriksson in 2016.

In 2025, founder and co-leader Per Gessle revived the group with a new lead singer taking Fredriksson’s place, Swedish star Lena Philipsson. “I co-wrote Lena’s first big hit in 1986 and she is one of the brightest stars Sweden has ever known,” Gessle said in a statement at the time. “I’m so proud that you want to join me on my journey to keep Roxette’s legacy alive.”

The new Roxette continues to tour successfully abroad. Last week they did shows in the Czech Republic and Austria. From now until the end of August they still have shows scheduled for Germany, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland.

In a press release when the tour was announced, Live Nation highlighted Roxette’s enviable track record of success. “With more than 80 million albums sold and countless number one hits in Europe, the United States, Latin America and Asia, Roxette remains the Swedish group with the most number one singles on Billboard in the United States, four in total,” said the promoter.

Roxette’s departure from the North American touring circuit follows a well-publicized wave of cancellations and postponements that have become popularly known as “blue dot fever,” in reference to the sea of ​​unsold tickets visible on seating charts for low-selling concerts. The “fever” part of the saying was coined around the time Zayn Malik cited unspecified health issues as a reason for canceling his US tour.

Other artists who have canceled entire tours or significant portions of their dates this year range from Pussycat Dolls to Meghan Trainor to the Post Malone/Jelly Roll stadium tour, the only one partially scrapped. This month, Lily Allen canceled nearly all of her American stadium dates and booked new shows at more modest amphitheaters. David Lee Roth joined the list of acts to cancel the rest of their dates this week. Kiefer Sutherland was one of the few sincere enough to openly acknowledge the “poor ticket sales” of a tour cancellation. Of course, weak sales aren’t the only reason to take a show off the road. Some artists have turned down dates due to what are considered legitimate health reasons, including such reliable ticket sellers as Dolly Parton, the Beach Boys and Barry Manilow.

Despite the wave of media reports about cancellations in 2026, the overall touring business remains strong. Some industry observers, however, have sounded the alarm that the rising prices of superstar tours, which guarantee instant sellouts, may be siphoning consumer dollars away from mid-tier acts, whose ticket prices are also rising. While the “vastly increased tour costs” cited by Roxette may not be the only reason to cancel a tour, the increase in expenses that can turn a break-even tour into a waste of money is not a fallacy.