The Look
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Released 12 January 1989
Format
7″ single 12″ maxi cassette CD maxi
Recorded 1988 at EMI Studios, Stockholm, Sweden
Genre Pop rock
Length 3:57
Label EMI
Songwriter(s) Per Gessle
Producer(s) Clarence Öfwerman
“The Look” is a song by the 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 duo released their second album Look Sharp! in October 1988. It was an immediate commercial success in their home country, spending seven weeks at number one on the Swedish Albums Chart. The album’s first two Swedish singles, “Dressed for Success” and “Listen to Your Heart”, both became top three hits there; while another song, “Chances”, was released in Germany, Italy and France.
When “The Look” was about to be released in Sweden as the fourth single, an American exchange student named Dean Cushman returned from Sweden and urged his local Top 40 radio station KDWB in Minneapolis to play the song. It quickly became popular, and the station began distributing the track to their sister radio operations. EMI America had previously rejected the duo as unsuitable for the American market, and Roxette did not have a recording contract there. “The Look” had already entered the top fifty of the Billboard Hot 100 before the duo began official promotion. It would go on to peak at number one eight weeks later.
Formats and track listings
All songs written and composed by Per Gessle.
7″ single (Sweden 136336 · UK EM87 · US B-50190)
Cassette (UK TCEM87 · US 4JM-50190)
“The Look” – 3:56
“Silver Blue” (Demo) – 4:05
EU 12″ single (Sweden 1363336 · UK 12EM87)
“The Look” (Head Drum Mix) – 7:16
“The Look” (7″ Version) – 3:56
“Silver Blue” (Demo) – 4:05
US 12″ single (V-56133)
“The Look” (Visible Mix) – 6:03
“The Look” (Power Radio Mix) – 4:09
“The Look” (Big Red Mix) – 7:33
“The Look” (Invisible dub) – 5:11
“Silver Blue” (Demo) – 4:00
CD single (Sweden 1363332 · UK CDEM87)
“The Look” (Head Drum Mix) – 7:22
“The Look” (7″ Version) – 3:58
“Silver Blue” (Demo) – 4:06
“Sleeping Single” (Demo) – 3:46