Marion Elise Ravn (born on May 25, 1984 in Lorenskog, Norway) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and former child actress. Her surname is of Viking origin, with Ravn meaning Raven, which she adopted as her stage name Marion Raven as well as for her trademark raven logo. She was one-half of the now defunct pop duo M2M, along with Marit Larsen. Raven was later marketed as a pop-rock artist with the release of her 2005 international debut album, Here I Am.
Biography
Marion Raven was born on May 25, 1984 in Lorenskog, Norway, to her father, Hallgeir Johan Ravn, and mother, Reidun Agathe Medhus. Her father is a teacher while her mother is a social worker. Raven loved singing even at a young age, sometimes making up lyrics for the songs she sung. Raven later joined the gospel choir in her town’s local church at the age of 5. At 7, she went on to be part of the St. Laurentsius choir, which has many historical links in Lorenskog. By the time she was 8, Raven began playing the piano and attended ballet lessons, as well as performing ballet on stage. In 1993, she acted in the musical, “Sound Of Music”, organised by the Norwegian Broadway. She recorded a children’s musical titled, “Vettene Vinner” (Vettene Wins), with the musical group, “Vettene”, meaning small trolls that protect nature and was part of the group’s following record, “Vettene gamlespor” (Vettene On Old Tracks).
At 10, Raven acted in Bugsy Malone and The Wizard of Oz at the age of 11, both plays were on the Norwegian Broadway. In 1995, Raven’s father arranged for her to make a demo in a studio in Oslo but not before Raven asked her childhood friend, Marit Larsen, to join her. The duo got a record deal with EMI Norway and formed M2M. A year later, they produced an album titled, “Marit og Marion synger kjente barnesanger” which means, M2M Sings Renowned Children Songs. M2M was nominated for the Norwegian Grammy, Spellemannprisen, the following year. Later, Raven had a part as one of the children in the Shakespearen play, Othello.
In 1998, M2M started recording pop demos in English and striked a record deal with Atlantic Records after auditioning with Raven on the keyboard and Larsen, the guitar. The two collaborated with many songwriters from around the world and produced their multi-platinum debut album that was released in 2000, Shades Of Purple, with the lead single, “Don’t Say You Love Me”, best known as the soundtrack of the first Pokemon movie. The song was co-produced by Jimmy Bralower and Peter Zizzo (Celine Dion), and mixed by Tom Lord-Alge. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 72, selling 39,000 units in a week, according to SoundScan. Their sophomore effort, The Big Room, which was recorded in a studio in Bearsville in Woodstock, New York, was released in 2002. After world tours to promote The Big Room ended, M2M joined Jewel on her world tour as an opening act but barely a month into the tour, concerts involving them were abruptly cancelled. Rumours circulated that there were plans for Raven’s solo career. M2M later disbanded in September 2002 due to the lack of sales in the U.S. of the The Big Room.
Raven was offered a million dollar recording contract with Atlantic Records and has lost contact with Larsen since she carried on with her solo career.
