The friends from Lørenskog were the country’s great pop hope, until it suddenly came to an end.

THEN: Marion Ravn and Marit Larsen were two of the country’s biggest pop stars. Photo: Terje Bendiksby / NTB Show more

On Saturday, the stage is set for the premiere of the fourth season of the viewer favorite “Maskorama”. Although the first program has not yet aired, it does not at all prevent sofa detectives from speculating about who is behind the inventive masks this time.

This year’s season will probably be as exciting as the previous ones – despite radical changes to the detective panel.

Previously, this consisted of Jan Thomas (56), Nicolay Ramm (34) and Marion Ravn (39), but in the new season only Ravn is still involved. The new detectives are Tete Lidbom (37) and Robert Stoltenberg (58).

Although she is now highly topical in the popular TV programme, Ravn has an adventurous artist career with her in her luggage – unlike her fellow detectives.

She and her friend Marit Larsen (40) were two of Norway’s biggest pop stars in the mid-90s and early 2000s, and together they formed the duo M2M.

To the USA as 14-year-olds

The debut single “Don’t say that you love me” they went to the USA to promote.

The girls were then only 14 years old.

There it sold for gold, reached second place on the Norwegian charts and was in fourth place in Australia. The song became a global hit, and it didn’t take long before the girls were contacted by the international record company Atlantic Records.

In 2002, they were also invited by the American artist Jewel to warm up on her “This Way” tour.

They were supposed to be in the US to work on their international pop careers, and the world was at the Lørenskog duo’s feet. But then it suddenly stopped.

Turned down solo contract

Poor sales figures and weak enthusiasm from the record company Atlantic Records meant that the pop duo eventually packed their bags and returned home to Norway.

Many also noticed that the good atmosphere between the best friends had quietly faded away, and was now not as good as it had been when the adventure with acoustic guitar and catchy pop songs started.

After they headed home, the M2M adventure was over, and the duo disbanded.

Several then speculated whether Ravn had dropped her friend in favor of a solo contract with the record company Atlantic Records – because despite the fact that the renowned record company had dropped the duo halfway through the Jewel tour, they had still offered Ravn – not Larsen, a solo contract.

Ravn turned down this offer, but that didn’t stop the media from assuming that this was the root of the pop duo going their separate ways.

However, Larsen was able to deny this in Stylus Magazine.

In the magazine, Larsen was able to say that the breakup between them had taken place peacefully, which was in stark contrast to what the media assumed at the time.

When they (the record company, journ.anm.) decided that it had to end, it really had to end. We started going in our separate directions, because I wanted to make good pop music and Marion wanted to do more rock, she stated at the time.

The adventure is over

Both Ravn and Larsen have been relatively tight-lipped about why the adventure ended so abruptly, but in the TV program “Every time we meet”, Ravn lifted the veil, however, and told a little more in-depth about the much-discussed “shock break” between the friends.

Marit and I had promised each other that we would keep going as long as it (M2M, journ.anm.) was fun, and it wasn’t fun anymore. Then we talked and said that it wasn’t fun anymore and didn’t want to continue. We were twins when we were 8 years old, but as 18-year-olds we were quite different and wanted different things, said Ravn in “Hver gang vi møstes”.

Furthermore, she added that she was offered a record deal after her friends had decided to give up, but that this news was leaked to the media before she had time to talk to Larsen. ” I had hardly told anyone – and then it was on the front page of VG. Marit and I hadn’t even had the chance to tell that M2M was over once. And that’s where I feel the really bad things started. I was blamed for everything. Then I was the bad bitch who had ditched my best friend for a multi-million record deal”, Ravn told the programme.

Very successful

Nor did it become M2M forever, as many might have hoped for. But both Ravn and Larsen are still two of Norway’s biggest pop queens – on opposite sides.

And despite all the speculation, the childhood friends are supposed to be friends to this day.