Long before the advent of music streaming apps, at a time when listening to music meant putting on a CD or a cassette tape, there was M2M, the dynamic duo who dominated the air waves in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
For many Filipino millennials, M2M’s tunes have become the anthems of their lives way back in their elementary or high school days. So when the Norwegian pop duo mounted the Manila show of their “The Better Endings Tour 2025,” which was presented by Wilbros Live, it was a trip down memory lane for the titos and titas who have come of age, many of whom even tagged their kids along with them.
The STAR was able to witness the magic of M2M on the first night of their two-night gig at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The pop duo also held gigs in Davao and Cebu.
A sea of purple illuminated the Big Dome as Marit Larsen and Marion Raven opened their act with The Day You Went Away, accompanied by a live band. They then followed it up with another track, Everything You Do, from their debut album “Shades of Purple.” For some, purple has become their favorite color as an ode to the Norwegian hitmakers.
A wave of nostalgia engulfed the venue as Filipinos turned the concert into a massive karaoke session the moment Marion requested half of the audience to sing the “everything you do” lyrics while instructing the other half to chime in on the “everything you say” part.
The two also had their moment to share their solo singles, The Minute by Marion and I Don’t Wanna Talk About It by Marit.
“Mahal kita, Manila!” Marion told the mammoth crowd, most of them, avid fans who call themselves, Lillas.
The magical night would not have happened if not for an unlikely circumstance as the childhood friends from Norway confessed that they hadn’t talked for over 20 years.
“We’re so happy that one year ago we met each other in the coffee shop,” Marion recalled.
“It felt like destiny was playing us a trick,” Marit added.
“I was running late like I always have, unfortunately. And Marion had a flat tire on her car. And there we were in line at a coffee shop. Just the two of us, nobody else in the room,” Marit further disclosed.
“We decided to meet a few days later and had coffee. And we talked for five hours about everything. And then we decided, ‘Let’s go on tour,’” Marion shared.
Marit added, “And you guys were the first show we released and it was sold out in 20 minutes. Thank you for making us feel so welcome. This is crazy.”
After singing Love Left for Me, Marit said that “writing songs is our whole life” while Marion expressed, “We just wanna thank you for keeping our music alive.”
As if teasing their fans, they then played an acoustic version of M2M’s karaoke staple, Pretty Boy. Recalling how motherhood has put a different meaning to what used to be just a ditty for a boy they had a crush on when they were 14, Marion said that the song now reminds him of his toddler.
“Now I have a son, he’s one and a half years old. And now I feel like the song is about him. So I wanna dedicate this song to my son and all the mothers out there,” she said.
The duo was amused by how the crowd belted out the second voice of the fan favorite and Marit couldn’t help but comment, “You are the most incredible player in town.”
Marion echoed, “And you’re singing so pitch perfect. That karaoke is really helpful. So the past 20 years we’ve both been releasing our own solo albums and writing a lot of songs. It’s really nice now to really get together again and discover little songs again.”
“We (re)discovered our friendship and each other’s songs and it’s pure magic. And now I’m gonna get to play one of Marion’s songs and it’s one of my favorites,” Marit said and crooned to M2M’s version of Here I Am, Don’t, Under the Surface and If a Song Could Get Me You. The latter, Marit’s solo track, was the song she penned “desperately trying to get someone back and it worked.”
While Marit was strumming her guitar, Marion changed her attire and roamed around the VIP area, which caught the audience by surprise. She went back on stage, casually sipped from her mug and started playing Celine Dion’s It’s All Coming Back to Me Now on her keyboard.
“So when you guys were singing M2M in your bedroom, I was singing Celine Dion in my bedroom. So when Meatloaf asked me if I wanted to do a duet with him, I already knew the song. And I think you know it as well. This is actually a good karaoke song,” she told the crowd and mouthed the words, “mahal kita,” at the end.
Marion and Marit, as well, didn’t forget to introduce their bandmates who shared the stage with them that night.
“Do you remember this one?” Marion shortly asked the audience. Who could forget the second single from “Shades of Purple” and the pensive track Mirror Mirror?
When Marit announced to their fans that their “last song” would be Everything, the crowd chanted, “We want more.”
More than happy to oblige, they returned to the stage to deliver their encores.
Marion revealed that Don’t Mess with My Love wasn’t originally part of the setlist but due to Lillas who asked for it in comments, they performed it.
“We wanna talk about one thing though,” she said. “Because there’s one thing that we really, really remember from Manila. And that is the Megamall. Were any of you there? We had an autograph signing and 10,000 people showed up. It was crazy. We’re really happy that all of you came today. Are you ready for our song?”
Marion tried to join in the first few verses of Don’t Mess with My Love, before quipping, “I don’t remember the lyrics though. Can you help me out?” The crowd easily complied.
But there’s one song missing from the setlist and the fans were quick to point it out. It was of course their chart-topping debut single, Don’t Say You Love Me.
Marion and Marit hugged and bowed down together with their bandmates for a night that seemed like a blast from the past. The chorus of Bee Gees’ Too Much Heaven was played in the background, which popped up on the duo’s Our Song.