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Biography
Marit Larsen and Marion Raven were born, one year apart from the other, in LØrenskog, Norway. They met when they were just small five-year olds, living just houses away from each other. Eventually, they discovered that they both had a huge passion for creating music.
Marit learned to play the guitar at age thirteen and Marion learned the piano before she was even a teenager. They made their first Norwegian album for kids, featuring a collection of children's songs. The album got nominated for a Norwegian Grammy Award, but unfortunately, they lost in that category.
At the age of 13, Marion was attending school when one of her first crushes broke her heart. Expressing her emotions through what she loved the most, music, she went on to write a song about it. She performed it in front of a crowd with her piano, and embarrassed the hell out of the guy. Girl In Your Dreams, the first finished piece from Marion Raven, inspired by her heartbreaker, was eventually put on M2M's debut album, Shades of Purple, and was an album favorite for many.
When Marit and Marion were 14, their manager signed them onto Atlantic Records. They left their home country of Norway to make the album and tour the world. Having no idea what to call themselves, they ran a contest at the Alloy website and one of their first fans came up with the name "M2M." Taking a liking into the name, they became M2M!
One of the many songs from Shades of Purple, made the kick-off for M2M's career. People from the motion picture called Pokemon: The First Movie discovered the M2M song, Don't Say You Love Me. They used it as the first sindle off of the Pokemon soundtrack, and brought attention to many soon-to-be M2M fans. Shades of Purple sold over 10 million copies in Asia and over 1 million in North America.
M2M came out with their second album almost years later. They called it The Big Room, in reference to the name of the studio in which they recorded the album in. The album focuses on the edgier, rock side of Marit and Marion, a change from Shades of Purple. The ability for M2M to renovate themselves in such a way shows that they are truly two very talented teenage girls.
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FAQ About M2M
Q: What does "M2M" stand for?
A: We both have names that start with M's, and we're a team, so it's both Marion to Marit and Marit to Marion. Plus there's also two of us. We guess you've pretty much figured it out by now, huh?
Q: How did you come up with the name?
A: We had a contest on Alloy.com where people could write in names they thought we should have. We went by the name M&M before (Marit and Marion), but that's used by both the candy and the rapper Eminem. So we needed a new name. We loved M2M 'cause it's kinda the same name as M&M.
Q: How would you describe the music and style of M2M to someone who is unfamilar with your music? Any similarities to other artists that we might be familar with?
A: Comparing our own music to another band is really hard, but there are similarities to the bands we admire. Since Marion plays keyboards and Marit plays guitar there's a lot of both in our music. It's hard to put our own music in a special group, but we guess you would call it pop. Some people have compared our music to a cross between Hanson and TLC.
Q: What are your musical influences?
A: Marit - I grew up listening to a lot of classical music, but as I grew older I got into guitar-players such as Eric Clapton. I guess you are inspired by everything you hear along the road, and you just kinda have to choose what you keep with you. Marion - I am inspired by performers like Madonna and Cher, since they have been doing it for so long and are still on top of the charts with good music. I also like the voice of Celine Dion very much, she's taught me a lot. I also like groups who are themselves, write their own music and stand for their message.
Q: What was the first song you ever wrote together? Where and how did you write it?
A: Marion - The first song I ever wrote was "Girl in Your Dreams." I was 13 and the song is about this boy I met. The song shows that young people also can fall in love. I was sitting in my room studying for a history test and was so bored I started writing the song instead. Marit - I think the first song we ever wrote together was a melody we both played on piano at the same time, in harmony. I'm pretty sure that must have been the first one...
Q: How do you write your music and how long does it take to write a song?
A: It's different each time... but this one time (hehe... American Pie) we wrote a song in 4 hours, "Smiling Face." It can take 2 hours or 2 days.
Q: Do you write songs while on the road?
A: Yes, definitely, all the time.
Q: Do you write your own songs?
A: We write our own songs. Sometimes we write with other people too. They don't necessarily help us, they just write together with us. We don't need help with writing songs, but sometimes it's great to have other people with different ideas than you have to write with!
What inspired you to write "Don't Say You Love Me?"
A: A boy of course...haha. Seriously though, we got fed up with guys who think they can sweet talk girls into doing anything for them, including saying they love you before they've even gotten the chance to get to know you. It's also about how you shouldn't say something, before you really mean it and can really stand for it.
Q: What was the first album you bought?
A: Marit - I really don't remember... Marion - The first album I got was "Simpsons Sing the Blues"... hehe. I got it from my brother. Later I stole his TLC record "Crazy, Sexy, Cool" and I loved it. (I still haven't returned it.)
Q: When and where was your first show together as M2M? And when did you first perform together ever (prior to M2M)?
A: We've always been singing for people, both in front of small and large audiences. It's hard to give a definite answer to the second part of the question. Since we've been performing together since we were 5 years old it must have been at school. The first show as M2M was at our North-East Mall Tour. The first show was in Danbury, Connecticut.
Q: What advice do you have for someone who wants to break into the music industry?
A: First of all you have to believe in yourself and what you do. Really focus on your dream. Sing for everybody! Show people your talent. Join school plays and go to auditions. You always have to start somewhere... right?
Q: How did you get your break?
A: We were lucky enough to meet the right people and they liked what they heard. But, you always have to work hard to get what you want.
Q: How did you get the first single of the Pokémon: The First Movie soundtrack?
A: The film company liked our song and wanted it for the soundtrack. We were thrilled that "Don't Say You Love Me" was chosen as the first single.
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