- M2M (band)
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M2M Origin Lørenskog, Norway Genres Pop, Folk, Teen pop, Pop rock, Alternative rock Instruments Acoustic guitar, piano and vocals Years active 1999–2002 Labels Atlantic Records, Warner Music Past members Marit Larsen
Marion RavenM2M was a pop music duo formed by two Norwegians, Marion Elise Raven and Marit Elisabeth Larsen. They released three albums under Atlantic Records and Warner Music: Shades of Purple, The Big Room, and The Day You Went Away: The Best of M2M, a greatest hits album released by their record label after they disbanded.
Contents
History
Raven and Larsen came from Lørenskog in the district east of Oslo. They had known each other since they were five. After starting to make their own songs, they were signed in 1998 to Atlantic Records. Their name "M2M" was chosen from a contest they held for fans to give a name for their band, as they had previously always been known as Marion & Marit. The group's first single, "Don't Say You Love Me", appeared in 1999, and was featured on the soundtrack of Pokémon: The First Movie[1] (albeit with a small edit to the lyrics). The film helped the song to reach success worldwide, including peaking at No. 16 in the UK Singles Chart, their only hit in the UK.[2] The duo released their first album, Shades of Purple, in 2000, which debuted at number one in Norway and several Asian countries and in the Top 40 in most other countries. In September that year, they toured with Hanson,[3] performing as the boys' opening act. Earlier in the year, they performed a concert special at Epcot in Walt Disney World, broadcast on April 29, 2000, under the name "M2M and BBMak in Concert", performing six songs with breaks in between of them walking around the park and seeing the sites.
Four more singles were released from the album: "Mirror Mirror", "The Day You Went Away", "Pretty Boy" and "Everything You Do". They were made popular in Asia; as well as they released a song sung in Mandarin, "Pretty Boy". However, they did not record a Mandarin version of their hit "The Day You Went Away", and Taiwanese singer Cyndi Wang recorded her own version.
In 2002, the duo returned with a more mature, less pop-oriented sound with their second album, The Big Room. In two years, their voices had changed, especially Raven's. The first single from the album was "Everything" followed by "What You Do About Me". They did not release a third single, even though "Don't" was released to U.S. and Latin America's radio stations and "Wanna Be Where You Are" was released in the Philippines. The promotion for their second record included TV appearances that year, such as a spot on the WB's Dawson's Creek, appearing in the 100th episode of the show towards the end of its fifth year. That year, they also took part in the Pantene Pro-Voice concert series that aired on the now defunct MuchMusic USA.[4] While on tour with Jewel,[5] M2M was dropped by Atlantic Records, who cited a lack of record sales, although the album did do well in Norway, Asia and Australia.
Break up
Despite The Big Room being a more critically acclaimed record than its predecessor,[citation needed] it was less commercially successful. M2M saw its record company support wane. As the result of disappointing record sales, M2M was pulled in the middle of Jewel's This Way tour. Shortly after the Jewel tour, M2M disbanded. Marion Raven was immediately signed to a solo record contract. Marit Larsen went to finish high school.
In October 2004, Larsen performed live on NRK radio. Her debut solo album, Under the Surface went platinum in Norway.
In 2005, Raven debuted three songs on NRK. In support of her new solo record, she later toured Japan, South America, and Europe. The album was only released in Asia, Scandinavia and Mexico.
The two singers are currently performing as solo artists, going by their own names.
Discography
Albums
Year Album details Chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)NOR
[6]AUS
[7]US
[8]2000 Shades of Purple - First studio album
- Released: March 27, 2000
- Label: Atlantic
7 63 89 - EU: Platinum
2002 The Big Room - Second studio album
- Released: March 5, 2002
- Label: Atlantic
16 61 — - PH: 5x Platinum
Year Album details Chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)NOR AUS US 2003 The Day You Went Away: The Best of M2M - Greatest hits album
- Released: July 8, 2003
- Label: Atlantic
— — — Singles
Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)Album NOR
[9]AUS
[10]FRA
[11]IRE
[12]NL
[13]NZ
[14]SWE
[15]SWI
[16]UK
[17]US
[18]1999 "Don't Say You Love Me" 2 4 21 12 16 4 17 76 16 21 Shades of Purple 2000 "Mirror Mirror" — 30 — — — — — — — 62 - US: Gold[20]
"Pretty Boy" — — — — — — — — — — "Everything You Do" — — — — — — — — — — "The Day You Went Away" — — — — — — — — — — "Girl in Your Dreams" — — — — — — — — — — 2002 "Everything" 6 27 — — — 44 — — — — The Big Room "What You Do About Me" — 46 — — — — — — — — "Don't" — — — — — — — — — — "Wanna Be Where You Are" — — — — — — — — — — Awards
- M2M was nominated for the "Best Song" category and won the "Best German Group" honors at Comet 2003.
- In June 2000, M2M was named "Discovery of the Year" by the Singapore Radio Association.[21]
- M2M was nominated for the "Best Group" award at the 2001 Spelleman Awards.
- M2M was nominated for the "Favorite Pop Act" at the 2002 MTV Asia music awards.
- M2M was nominated for "best international artist" at M+net awards korea
References
- ^ billboard.com (1999). "Pokemon Soundtrack Stacked With Exclusive Songs". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=949955. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 336. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ "M2M Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/m2m-p384494. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ Jonathan Cohen (2001). "Atlantic Launches 'Teensation' TV Concerts". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=781306. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ Barry A. Jeckell (2002). "Jewel Takes Labelmate M2M On The Road". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1357301. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
- ^ "M2M Albums". norwegiancharts.com. http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?cat=a&search=M2M. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ (PDF) The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 20 May 2002. Pandora Archive. May 20, 2002. http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20020627-0000/www.aria.com.au/Issue638.pdf. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
- ^ "M2M Billboard Albums". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/m2m-p384494/charts-awards. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ "M2M". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. http://norwegiancharts.com/search.asp?search=M2M&cat=s. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ "M2M". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/search.asp?search=M2M&cat=s. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ "M2M". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. http://lescharts.com/search.asp?search=M2M&cat=s. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ "irishcharts.com - Discography Sade". Hung Medien. http://irish-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Sade. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ "M2M". dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. http://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?search=M2M&cat=s. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ "M2M". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. http://charts.org.nz/search.asp?search=M2M&cat=s. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ "M2M". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=M2M&titel=Don%27t+Say+You+Love+Me&cat=s. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ "M2M". hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=M2M&titel=Don%27t+Say+You+Love+Me&cat=s. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ "Chart Stats - M2M". Chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=9141. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ "M2M Billboard Singles". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/m2m-p384494/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2000 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-singles-2000.htm. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ a b "RIAA - Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
- ^ Hip Online (2003). "M2M Awards". Hiponline.com. http://www.hiponline.com/artist/music/m/m2m/. Retrieved 2007-04-07.
External links
- Marit Larsen official website
- Marit Larsen official MySpace
- Marion Raven official website
- Marion Raven official MySpace
- US chart history
Studio albums Compilations The Day You Went Away: The Best of M2MSingles "Don't Say You Love Me" · "Mirror Mirror" · "The Day You Went Away" · "Pretty Boy" · "Everything You Do" · "Girl in Your Dreams" · "Everything" · "What You Do About Me"Categories:- Musical duos
- Girl groups
- Musical groups established in 1999
- Norwegian pop music groups
- Atlantic Records artists
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