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Marit Larsen and Marion Raven spoke of a red string of friendship that led to their unexpected reunion 23 years after they disbanded as the pop duo M2M.
In 2024, the pair ran to each other in Norwegian capital Oslo last year, a serendipitous encounter that eventually led to The Better Endings Tour.
For Filipino millennials, M2M was the soundtrack of their childhood or teenage years. Their debut single, “Don’t Say You Love Me,” was part of the soundtrack of the first Pokemon movie’s English-language adaptation in 1999. “Pretty Boy” and “Mirror, Mirror” were played on the radio everywhere.
Marit and Marion wrote their own songs and played instruments, like Taylor Swift before her time. It made them stand out from other teen pop stars, but their run together was all too brief. In 2002, they went their separate ways to pursue solo careers just three years after they debuted as M2M.
It’s as if their song “The Day You Went Away” was written to reflect their own story. And we were letting go of something special/ something we'll never have again/ I know, I guess I really really know…
But their music was magic and their success, however ephemeral, was real. Not many three-year-old groups could disband and get welcomed enthusiastically over two decades later like M2M is currently experiencing on their tour.
Filipino fans, in particular, have been showing M2M so much love. Marit and Marion have a red string of friendship tying them together, but M2M and the Philippines also seem to have that fateful connection.
The Philippines is one of the first countries to be announced as part of The Better Endings tour, and the Manila show sold out so quickly that a second night had to be added right away. M2M made sure to return that devotion just as fiercely: stops in Cebu and Davao was also added to the schedule due to the overwhelming demand.
Four shows in a week, and not just in Manila. How many international artists have done that for the Philippines?
But it was not until they were on the stage in the Smart Araneta Coliseum that Marit and Marion saw just how much hold their music had over Filipinos. During their shows in Manila, they were visibly touched and surprised to hear the audience sing their lines perfectly, down to the harmonies.
At one point in the second night of their concert, Marion told the audience to sing in her stead because she wanted to cry.
For Filipino fans, seeing M2M after all this time is like opening a treasured time capsule from childhood. Marit and Marion wanted to give their story a “better ending,” as the tour name says, but for those who loved their music, it’s not really an end but a return to the joy of their beginnings.
There’s something about singing “Everything You Do” with 15,000 other people and holding your phone with the flashlight turned on. If you’re someone who has not quite gotten into the music of today, it’s like finally finding your tribe. Your people.
The Better Endings tour was also a chance to reconnect with two girls who are like long-lost friends, now grown and changed. M2M may have disbanded in 2002, but Marit and Marion continued their journeys alone. Listening to their solo songs felt like a catch-up session: So this is what you’ve been up to.
With “Under the Surface,” her solo debut single released in 2006, Marit showed how her music has evolved from the pop sound of M2M. It’s a hugot song that gives off folk and Disney vibes, with Marit’s distinctive vocals accompanied by her piano playing.
Marion and Marit also showcased the former’s solo songs such as “Here I Am,” adding an M2M twist to the emotional rock ballad. Later in the concert, Marion sat down on the piano herself and performed Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now,” which she recorded as a duet with American rock star Meat Loaf in 2006.
There was a sense of pride to see their growth post-M2M, and it’s like getting to know them again for the first time. Marit is now 41 and Marion 40. They are both mothers now. The years have given their voices a mature timbre, yet they remain familiar to those who have known them before, loved them before.
On May 8, they will show more of how far they’ve come with an EP titled “Still in My Dreams,” which will contain re-recorded versions of their greatest hits.
It’s M2M, Marit and Marion, the way they are now. We can’t wait to hear it, even as we remain hopeful (if we can be a little greedy) for a new collaboration song. A gift from the girls who caught our hearts with their signature harmonies and the women who brought back those days, even just for a fleeting time.
All that we had was so unbelievable/ Now that it's gone, it's just inconceivable/ Still, in my dreams, you were so damn beautiful...
— LA, GMA Integrated News
