she’s back, but not quite

I’m just excited today because I’m going to ship my first online order via Sulit.com. (Though I’m still waiting for the courier carrying the payment to arrive. lol) Anyways, I was supposed to go to the PRC again to claim my (little forgotten) new Board Rating but someone contacted me that he will send payment thru LBC via door-to-door. So here I am, waiting for the effing courier guy to come. I guess he’ll deliver it much, much later due to the risk of incurring heat stroke.  It’s so darn hot in the Philippines!

Good thing I have Marit Larsen, yes, yes, the blonde girl from the Pop duo from the 90’s M2M, to keep me company. Though they’re not a group anymore (oh yeah! I didn’t like Marion much anyway.) she has matured to a very nice soulful singer. (I still love her!) Here’s what pretty much happened to her a few years after the break-up from Wikipedia.com:

After the breakup of M2M, Raven set off on her own solo career, while Larsen took time off to reflect on her career. Fan interest was reignited in 2004 and early 2005, as Larsen made several appearances in Norway, showing off a darker-haired image and new music with increased instrumental and lyrical scope. In October 2004, Larsen performed three original songs, entitled “This Time Tomorrow”, “Recent Illusion”, and “Walls”, on NRK radio, showcasing her skills at both guitar and piano. Larsen also performed live at the highly anticipated by:Larm concert in February 2005.

In fall 2005, Larsen recorded her debut album, “Under the Surface”, with her new record label, EMI. The first single, “Don’t Save Me”, made radio impact on January 3, 2006, and quickly climbed into the top ten on many Norwegian charts and playlists. After the physical single release on February 6, 2006, “Don’t Save Me” jumped to #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”. The video was released May 10, 2006, and within a month the single became the most widely played track on Norwegian radio. “Only A Fool” and “Solid Ground” were the third and fourth singles released, respectively.

“Under the Surface”, which was released in Norway on March 6, 2006, contains 11 songs, most of which were written individually 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 at #3 on the sales chart in her native Norway. On March 31, 2006, it became official that, after just three weeks of sales, “Under the Surface” became a certified gold record in Norway, selling over 20,000 copies.^[2] 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”). 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. In addition, Larsen 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.

Larsen’s second solo album, “The Chase”, was released in Norway on October 13, 2008, and in Sweden on November 19, 2008. Like “Under the Surface”, it was well-received by critics; in December, it was named as the top album of the year by Dagbladet reviewers.

The first single from “The Chase”, entitled “If A Song Could Get Me You”, shot to #1 on the Norwegian singles chart in its first week of sales in August 2008, and was later nominated for the Spellemannprisen award as Hit of the Year. The second single was “I’ve Heard Your Love Songs” (released October 27, 2008), and another song from the album, “Steal My Heart”, was used in the soundtrack of the Norwegian movie “I et speil, i en gåte”.

It’s really nice to know that she did very well on her own and had much more success than her other half. (Cough…Cough…Marion…Cough..) She received several awards for her music as well, even playing at the recently concluded Nobel Peace Prize Awards.She writes all of her music, a sort of country-pop genre which is very nice to the ears. She sings of frustration, love, confusion which expresses her too human emotions  on a very beautifully written masterpieces such as: “Under The Surface”, “Only a Fool”, and my new favorite “If A Song Could Get Me You”. You can hear her new songs from her new album, The Chase on this YouTube Channel, MaritLarsenTV. (I’ve already dowloaded some of her songs and music videos on my iPod. teehee!)

Though she hasn’t released any of her albums here in the Philippines, I still remain one who admires her honest song-writing and subtle-but-very-beautiful singing voice. I haven’t listened to the whole thing though, so I can’t comment much about it but you can listen and watch her old music video “Under the Surface” from the album of the same name, and judge for yourself… Marion who?? Haha!

Yes, it may sound so sissy and all too girly to listen to but that’s what makes it great! She doesn’t pretend to be some hot rocker chick or be a too pampered diva, she sings about how she really feels and she does it well. Listen to what she says and don’t judge her prematurely. According to John Chesson, an intellectual is someone who can listen to the “William Tell Overture” without thinking of the Lone Ranger.   See what I mean?

I just hope that she considers to play in the Philippines just like before. I heard that she plays at small intimate venues across Norway playing for audiences, big or small. (2,500 attendees was a “big crowd”  according to her Facebook account.)

Here are some of her official links:

• Marit Larsen – Official Website
• Marit Larsen – Official Myspace
• Marit Larsen – Official Youtube

So there you have it, time for me to do something uhmmm… productive… Cheers!

Did you love her as well? Vote!

March 19, 2009 | Categories: Around the Net, Concerts, Random Stuff, YouTube | Tags: artist, beautiful, EMI, Larsen, M2M, Marion, Marit, music, Nobel, Norway, nude, Peace, pictures, porn, Prize, Raven, Ravn, xxx | 2 Comments