Marit Larsen

Marit Elisabeth Larsen (born 1 July 1983) is a Norwegian singer and songwriter.

She began playing violin aged five and played it until the age of eight.

She gained international fame during her teenage years as a member of the pop duo M2M with childhood friend Marion Raven.

Atlantic records signed them to a worldwide contract in 1998.

Their debut single, Don't Say You Love Me, was both a critical and commercial success.

The song was part of their debut album, Shades of Purple.

Despite critical acclaim, their second album, The Big Room, did not perform as well commercially, and the duo broke up the year of its release.

After the breakup of M2M, Raven began her solo career, while Larsen took time off to go to school.

Fan interest was reignited in 2004 and early 2005 when Larsen made several appearances in Norway, showing off a darker-haired image and new music with increased instrumental and lyrical scope.

Larsen performed three original songs, titled "This Time Tomorrow", "Recent Illusion", and "Walls", on NRK radio in October 2004, showcasing her skills at both guitar and piano.

She also performed live at the highly anticipated by:Larm concert in February 2005.

Larsen recorded her debut album in fall 2005, Under the Surface, with her new record label, EMI.

She then pursued her own music career, releasing her debut solo album Under the Surface in 2006.

The first single, "Don't Save Me", made radio impact on 3 January 2006, and quickly climbed into the top ten on many Norwegian charts and playlists.

After the physical single release on 6 February 2006, "Don't Save Me" jumped to No. 1 on the official Norwegian singles chart in its second week of availability, and then spent five consecutive weeks in the top spot.

The second single released from the album was the title track "Under the Surface".

Both the single and its accompanying video were released in Norway in May 2006 and within a month the single became the most widely played track on Norwegian radio.

After debuting at No. 19 the single peaked at No. 6 and spent 16 weeks inside the Norwegian Top 20.

"Only A Fool" and "Solid Ground" were the third and fourth singles released, respectively.

Her father Geir Tore Larsen played cello on the album, and her then-boyfriend, the musician Thom Hell, was one of the musicians on it.

Under the Surface, which was released in Norway on 6 March 2006, contains 11 songs, most of which were written solely by Larsen.

Touted as "what many people consider to be the most eagerly awaited album of 2006" (according to Norwegian magazine, Plan B), the record debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the sales chart in Norway.

On 31 March 2006, after just three weeks of sales, Under the Surface became a certified gold record in Norway, selling over 20,000 copies.

In late 2006 and early 2007, "Under the Surface" won Larsen other accolades, including the award for Best Norwegian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards, and the Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy) awards for Best Female Artist and Best Video ("Don't Save Me").

In addition, she was the most played artist on NRK P3 radio in 2006, with her three singles ("Don't Save Me", "Under the Surface", and "Only A Fool") being played collectively more than 880 times.

Concurrently with the release of "Under the Surface", Larsen participated in the "Lyd i mørket" charity concert series in early March 2006.

She began a Norwegian club tour in late April, headlining concerts for the first time in her career.

She then played in music festivals across Norway during the summer, and held a second Norwegian club tour starting in October 2006.

"Under the Surface" was released in India and Thailand in late 2006, and in November, "Don't Save Me" began to be played on MTV Asia.

After Larsen's Spellemannprisen victories in January 2007, the album crossed the 40,000 copy mark, qualifying it for platinum certification.

It was later announced in May 2007 that the album had reached double platinum status.

Her second album, The Chase, was released in Norway in October 2008.

Her third album, titled Spark was released in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland on 18 November 2011, and in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on 16 December 2011.

Her fourth studio album When the Morning Comes was released on 20 October 2014.

Larsen toured in its support within Norway with her own concerts, played songs from the album in Germany and Switzerland at public festivals and was the opening act at two of Johannes Oerding's concerts in November 2015.

Marit Larsen was born in Lørenskog, Norway.

She became friends with Marion Raven at age five, and they formed their own band when they were eight, naming it "Hubba Bubba" after their favourite bubblegum.

They released a children's album, Synger Kjente Barnesanger, under the band name "Marit & Marion".

The album was nominated for a Spellemannprisen award when they were both 12 years old.

They later decided to shorten the band name to M2M.