Marit Larsen: Will She Take the U.S. by Quiet Storm?

Beautiful petite Norwegian singer/songwriter Marit Larsen spent her young teen years as one half of a hugely popular European pop duo called M2M (with childhood pal Marion Raven). When the girls broke up the act, Marit spent a few years experiencing love and loss and building up her song portfolio for her solo career. Very popular in Europe and with hits in Japan and the U.S., the pixie-voiced singer will release her first solo album in the states this Spring.

“If A Song Could Get Me You” will contain that hit single plus hand-picked songs from two of Marit’s solo albums.  About to start a German tour, Marit was in New York briefly so we tracked her down and are with her now getting tips for teen singers and some fun facts about this friendly, sweet songbird. Check it out….

Who were you rooting for to win a Grammy?

Marit: I’m a big Beyonce fan so I’m glad that she won big!

Has a song ever gotten you a guy or worked for anyone you know?  

Marit: (laughs) Actually what’s really funny is people are using the song to get their exes back.  All the time I get e-mails from people who are using it. That makes me feel very good.

Your song is like a love counselor then? Really good with Valentine’s Day coming up.

Marit: Yeah.

Your voice has been called “Pixie-ish”  Is that okay with you?

Marit: Sure. My voice is really light. I’ve been waiting for it to get raspy and dark and mysterious but maybe in a couple of years, I’ll start (smoking and drinking??). Humm, this is a teen site. Let’s not go there (we laugh). Yeah, my voice is light but I have quite a big range and it doesn’t look like it’s going to change.

It’s fine the way it is! What is your typical day like when not performing?

Marit: I write songs in my attic and I love reading. When I’m at home I feel like I do laundry all the time. The last few years I’ve had about 200 travel days a year. So, when I’m home I try to see the people who are important to me and kick back and relax.

You were a music star in your early teens so what advice would you give to teens who want to make it in the music world?

Marit: The best advice I can give them, now that I know what it is like having your puberty documented on the internet, is that it’s so important to think twice about what you are doing if you are a singer. Ask ‘am I singing songs that I want to sing?’ If you are trying to get into movies, ‘is this really a part I want to be remembered for?’  It’s one Google search away. Your future husband may see it! I’m terrified of Googling myself!

What has been the best and the worst thing about going from a very popular duo act in M2M to a solo performer?

Marit: The great thing about being a duo when I got introduced to the big music industry thing was that I always had somebody by my side to share responsibility and the workload and traveling and also someone to share all the joys with.

But the great thing about being a solo artist now is I get to write all the songs myself. I’m a hundred percent creatively responsible.  I’m confident now and it feels very rewarding. All the other stuff I have to do like interviews and being away from family and friends, it’s all worthwhile because these are my songs.

Do you feel you kind of lost your childhood or at least teen years by being a big music star so young?

Marit: Definitely I was missing out on some stuff but it was definitely worth it. I got a sample of what this life can be.  It’s a lot better for me now that I’m a bit more grown up, more serious and have actively chosen it for the second time; going into it with open eyes and really wanting it.

I had a couple of years between M2M and my solo career to get inspirations for songs continuously. I got my heart broken, drank wine and (started over). (note: Marit says there is a significant other in her life now. We wish her happy Valentine’s Day).

For your upcoming U.S. album, am I right that you chose the songs for it from your two European albums?

Marit: That’s right.

How did you make the decision on what would go on it and what wouldn’t?

Marit: I just thought, if you only have one chance to make a first impression, I’ll base this record on the live show I’m playing right now which is a combination of songs from both albums. That way people can be prepared when they come see me. They will have heard most of the songs before.

How has your solo music changed since your first album “Under The Surface.”

Marit: I used a lot of time to find the sound on my first album. I think the minute I realized ‘hey, I can make any kind of music I want’, now I write whatever comes into my head, whatever story I feel I haven’t heard told in that way before. My music is constantly developing.  I get inspired by so much music all the time.

What is your songwriting process?

Marit: Well, I don’t listen to music when I write. The first time I heard a Joni Mitchell album, I didn’t write for three months! I thought ‘what’s the point’?

So, safe to say that she is your biggest musical influence then?

Marit: Oh yes.  “Blue” (1971) to me is the perfect album; the songs, the instrumentation, her voice, her lyrics, down to the cover. Everything is perfect.

What in life, other than music, are you really good at, and what really bad at?

Marit: I’m really good at baking. I write a lot of my lyrics while baking. For me, the music is the easiest part. The lyric is always the thing I finish last and, if I get really frustrated, I just make a huge cake or something. It’s constructive. And, not so well? There are many things. I’m a terrible dancer but I love dancing.

When did you learn to play so many instruments… as a child? What is your favorite?

Marit: Growing up, my mom taught piano where I lived so I’ve played piano my whole life. I can’t remember when that started. I got my first guitar for Christmas when I was 13-years-old and I actually started playing mandolin because I was in a music store in New York City. Whenever I travel I end up going into music stores and trying out all the different guitars and pianos. They say ‘are you going to buy something?’

There was a mandolin sitting in the corner and I picked it up and started writing this song that ended up being on the first album. I ended up buying the mandolin. I also play different kinds of harps but that’s because I play the guitar. My favorite instrument in always the one I wrote my last song on. If I get writer’s block on the piano, I move to the guitar.

Your songs are mostly about relationships. Are they all from personal experiences? Which one is closest to your heart and why?

Marit: Some are personal. But the song closest to my heart is “Under the Surface”. It’s about a different kind of jealousy; about being in love with someone who has been in love before and now that I’m 26, I know that the likelihood of finding someone who has never been in love in unlikely. But, when I wrote that song, I had never experienced that before. I was kissing this boy and wondering if he was thinking of someone else because he’d been in desperate love before; real true love. We are all wondering if we’re being compared to someone.

That’s for sure! When on tour, what do you do to kick back when not on stage?

Marit: I love running so I run several times a week. I have to get my mind in the right place. I love watching DVDs. It makes time pass.

Are you doing this DVD watching in a tour bus or a hotel room or what?

Marit: It depends upon what country I’m touring in. Like in November of last year, I toured for one whole month in Germany and we drove in an 8-passenger van for five hours every day.

Yikes!  What is the strangest fan encounter you’ve had and the sweetest or most touching?

Marit: The strangest ones are always the ones in a public bathroom where people are giving me compliments and talking about their relationship to my music when I’m washing my hands or putting lipstick on. But, it’s still always nice seeing people.

And the most touching, I have a fantastic Italian fan club. They travel. They’ve been in Norway five or six times and they go to Germany when I’m there. They always have gifts that they make. They have different t-shirts for all of my tours. They are like 10 people but they’re really sweet.

Do you want to send any kind of message in your music overall or is each song its own message?

Marit: I want each song to be a solo universe. I think (trying to say something with all of my music) would be too ambitious. It has to be about each song.

How do you think teen listeners and fans in the U.S. or Canada might be different from Norwegian Teens?

Marit: I don’t know yet but I think I’ll tour here in the U.S. this year.

Who is your celebrity crush?

Marit: I just saw the John Mayer “Rolling Stone” cover and that was pretty dangerous! (we laugh).

Yeah, pretty hot! What must a guy never do if he wants to go out with you?

Marit: (laughing) I generally dislike it when people keep saying ‘let me break this down for you’. They keep explaining it to me. No matter what the subject is, that’s a really annoying thing.

Who would you love to collaborate with on a song?

Marit: One of my favorite writers is Feist. I would love to work with her.

What would you be doing for a career if your music hadn’t worked out?

Marit: My first plan was to study literature (in college) so I think I will try to make time for that soon. The music thing just doesn’t stop. I always think ‘I’m going to do this, this year’ and then some new territory releases my music or it’s time to make a new album.