The two of us met when we were both 5 years old in a small town just outside Oslo, Norway. It wasn't long before we started singing and dancing together. A few years later we both acted in musicals like Annie, The Sound of Music, Bugsy Malone and the Wizard of Oz. After a while we figured out that we wanted to do something by ourselves.

To make a long story short, we got a record deal and released a children's record (Norwegian songs for kids) in 1994. The record did pretty well, (actually it got nominated for the best children's record of the year at the Norwegian Grammy awards) and we got the opportunity to perform on several TV shows, festivals, and radio programs. We had a lot of fun and were convinced that this was what we wanted to do with our lives!

When we went into the studio a year later to record another children's album, we realized that we wanted to do something different. We wanted to take to next step, and we started practicing guitar and piano, and began writing pop songs together. We wrote lyrics in English so more people could understand our message.

One of our demos ended up at Atlantic Records in the summer of '98 and we got a worldwide deal! Since then, we've been traveling worldwide in order to complete our first recording. We've been fortune that some of the best songwriters and producers in the world have heard our music and voices, and to great delight, have wanted to work with us. Shades of Purple is the result of a lot of hard work (and tons of fun!!)

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 & Marion), but that's used by both 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 unfamiliar with your music? Any similarities to other artists that we might be familiar 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 influence?
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!

Q: 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 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 off the Pokemon: 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.