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It Just Happens
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = It Just Happens
| cover = Roxette - It Just Happens.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Roxette
| album = Good Karma
| released = 8 April 2016
| recorded =
| studio = Aerosol Grey Machine, Scania
| venue =
| genre = Electropop
| length = 3:46
| label =
* Roxette Recordings
* Parlophone
| writer = Per Gessle
| producer =
| prev_title = The Look (2015 Remake)
| prev_year = 2015
| next_title = Some Other Summer
| next_year = 2016
| misc =
}}
"'It Just Happens'" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 8 April 2016 as the lead single from their tenth studio album, 'Good Karma'. An electropop track, it was their first release under a new deal signed with Warner Music Group. The music video was directed by Tobias Leo Nordquist. Although the song was not as successful as the duo's previous lead singles on commercial charts, it performed well on numerous airplay charts; the track has been broadcast almost 15,000 times on radio in Russia.
Composition and recording
Per Gessle wrote the song specifically for vocalist Marie Fredriksson. It was one of the first tracks recorded for parent album 'Good Karma', with Gessle saying he presented his original demo to Clarence fwerman, Christoffer Lundquist and Fredriksson, and "they all loved it. I never considered it to be a single but the others got a 'Wish I Could Fly'-feel out of it." The track was primarily produced by Lundquist; Gessle said that, while in the studio, Lundquist noted he had "never produced a 'classic' Roxette mid-tempo ballad before", so he "had to have a go". The recording would "set the tone for the whole ['Good Karma'] project." The backing track was recorded in Lundquist's studio Aerosol Grey Machine in Scania, while Fredriksson's vocals were recorded at her home in the Stockholm suburb of Djursholm.
Gessle described the chord progression in the verses as "very unlike me style-wise. Haven't got a clue how that happened. It just happened." According to Ultimate Guitar, the track is an electropop song with a vivace tempo of 156 beats per minute. The first verse consists of two sequencesthe first of these is made up of DmACFEAm; the second is identical, with the exception of the A being replaced by a G. This is followed by a bridge made up of three repetitions of AF, with the third repetition ending with a C, a chorus consisting of two repetitions of DmGFC and an ACFC sequence, and a post-chorus section of two repetitions of DmAFC. The second verse is made up of DmACAmEAm, followed by the aforementioned bridge. The second chorus amends upwards by almost two octaves, consisting of two repetitions of DmAFC and a concluding sequence of ACDmAC. The post-chorus is then repeated, followed by a final verse of DmGFGDmGFCACFC. The final chorus and outro consists of repeated sequences of DmAFC.
Release and promotion
The song was issued as a one-track digital download on 8 April, and was the first release issued by the band as part of a new deal signed with Warner Music Group. It was leaked a week before its official release via multiple Russian websites. The music video was directed by Tobias Leo Nordquist, and was published on YouTube on 18 May.
Critical reception
Anders Nunstedt from 'Expressen' said the song "embraces Roxette's most classic sound; the ballad sound", praising its production as "elegant and fantastic" while comparing it to several of the duo's previous singles, as well as Coldplay's "Paradise". Renowned for Sound said the song "packs the biggest punch on 'Good Karma'", describing it as a "power-pop love-letter full of hope". They went on to compliment the vocals, saying that Gessle's "slightly computerized verse" acted as a counterpoint to Fredriksson's "powerful chorus", a dichotomy which they said was a "reminder of why Roxette have remained as successful as they have, and remained a mainstay in pop music for 30 years." 'The Music' said the song was reminiscent of "Listen to Your Heart", calling it a "solid electro-ballad complete with 'modern' ambient production vibes and a mad drop."
Commercial performance
The song was not as successful as the duo's previous lead singles, failing to appear on any commercial record charts. It did, however, peak in the top ten of 'Billboard' Swedish Digital Songs, and spent four weeks on the unranked Belgian Ultratip chart, which acts as an extension to that country's official singles chart. The track performed better on airplay charts, peaking in the top fifty in Poland. Despite reaching a relatively low position on the Russian Airplay Chart, "It Just Happens" has been broadcast almost 15,000 times on Russian radio.
Charts
References
Category:2010s ballads
Category:2016 singles
Category:2016 songs
Category:Electropop ballads
Category:Roxette songs
Category:Songs written by Per Gessle
Category:Parlophone singles
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