Maria_Mena

Maria Mena

Maria Mena

Norwegian singer

For the author, see Maria Cristina Mena.

Maria Viktoria Mena (born 19 February 1986) is a Norwegian pop singer, best known for her singles such as "You're the Only One", "Just Hold Me", "All This Time" which charted in multiple countries.

Quick Facts Background information, Birth name ...

Early life

Maria Viktoria Mena was born to a Norwegian mother and Charles Mena, a Nicaraguan-American drummer of Afro-Nicaraguan descent. There was a common misconception that her mother is a playwright, but Mena debunked this in an interview.[1] Both Maria and her brother, Tony, are named after characters from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story.

Her father was born in Bluefields, Nicaragua where he lived until he was 10, at which point he and his mother, Mena's paternal grandmother, moved to New York.[2] After moving to Norway in 1986, he played in several bands in Oslo,[3] which influenced Mena to write and record her own music. When Mena was nine years old, her parents divorced. As a teenager, she began to battle depression[4] and various eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa,[5] as spoken of in her lyrics, interviews, concerts, and social media. Mena has spoken of battling depression and PTSD as an adult, and seeking help.[6]

Mena cared for her younger brother Tony for many years.[4] When Mena was 13 years old, she moved to live with her father. She sang and wrote lyrics as a form of self-soothing. "My Lullaby", a song from Mena's diary, expresses her pain from her parents' divorce[citation needed]. Mena's father contacted acquaintances in the music industry to record a demo. Presenting his daughter's demo to several record companies, Sony Music signed Mena to their label aged 16.[7]

Career

2002–2007: Early beginnings

In 2002, she released her debut single "Fragile (Free)" in Norway; however, it did not chart there. "My Lullaby" was released as the second single and the song reached number 5 on the Norwegian Singles Chart. It received heavy rotation on NRK P1, P3, P4, Radio 1, and Radio Oslo. The young singer quickly gained fans and soon earned her first platinum record. After the success of "My Lullaby", she released her debut album Another Phase in Norway which reached number 6 on the Norwegian Albums Chart. Mena made an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman to promote her first international album, White Turns Blue, which debuted at the top position on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart a week later and at number 102 on the Billboard 200. She made a breakthrough into the worldwide singles charts that year with "You're the Only One", a single successful in multiple countries. The song was her only single to appear on a Billboard chart, making No. 25 on the U.S. Top 40 Mainstream. "You're the Only One" peaked at No. 30 on the Dutch Top 40 and No. 19 on the Dutch Mega Single Top 100. Two months earlier, in March 2004, Mena had released her second album in Norway. Mellow. Less successful than her 2002 debut, it still managed to peak at No. 7 in Norway. The second single from both albums was "Just a Little Bit", which did not chart anywhere.

2005 saw the release of Apparently Unaffected in Norway and several other European countries, fronted by singles "Miss You Love" and "Just Hold Me". A significant success in Norway, the album has earned her three Spellemann nominations: Best Female Artist, Best Hit, and Best Music Video. In the Netherlands, the album was released in June 2006 and charted at No. 82. It slowly climbed the chart to reach its peak position in its 27th week at No. 11, as "Just Hold Me" was getting airplay again. "Just Hold Me" was released in May 2006, but then did not chart in the official Dutch Top 40, but did chart in the country's physical singles chart, the Mega Single Top 100, at No. 27. In October 2006, the song started getting heavy airplay again and this time it reached the official Dutch Top 40 and peaked at No. 26. In the Mega Single Top 100, it peaked at No. 7 in the beginning of November 2006. Mena performed at sold-out concerts in Utrecht and Amsterdam, following the success of "Just Hold Me". The album was at No. 48 at the Dutch year-end chart, outselling major artists such as Pink's I'm Not Dead, Nelly Furtado's Loose, and Beyoncé Knowles' B'Day. "Miss You Love" was released as the album's second single in the Netherlands and reached No. 61 on the Mega Singles Top 100.

Maria Mena 2008

On 7 July 2007, she performed at the German leg of Live Earth in Hamburg.

2008–2014: Cause and Effect, Viktoria, and Weapon in Mind

Having worked on her three first studio albums with Norwegian producer Arvid Solvang, Mena started collaborating with Martin Sjølie in early 2008 on what would become her fourth studio album, Cause and Effect. The album's first single, "Belly Up" had its radio premiere mid-June 2008 on Norwegian radio. Cause and Effect was released on 17 September in Norway. The first international single was "All This Time". The album was internationally released on 26 September 2008. This album garnered her a Spellemann for Best Female Artist.

Mena's song "Sorry" was featured on the third season of US So You Think You Can Dance and "What's Another Day" was featured during the fourth season. She released "All This Time" in the UK on 11 April 2010.

In 2011 Mena recorded her version of "Mitt lille land" (My Little Country) by Ole Paus as part of a project by the Norwegian TV channel TV2. On 23 July, the day after the Norway terrorist attacks and after requests from her Norwegian audience, Mena uploaded her version of the song to the streaming site SoundCloud. It quickly became an anthem in memory of the victims of the attacks. She contributed to the album Mitt lille land, performing one of two versions of the title track (the other was performed by Ole Paus). As of 2011 Mena had sold a total of 700,000 copies of her albums, and half of those copies had been sold in Norway.[8]

Maria Mena performing in 013 Tilburg, 10 February 2014 in The Netherlands during her Weapon in Mind Tour

Her fifth studio album Viktoria was released on 23 September 2011 and was produced by Martin Sjølie.[9]

Her sixth album Weapon in Mind was released in 2013, becoming her first album to reach number one in Norway. Even though all three singles of the album failed to chart inside top 20 Norway Singles Chart, "Fuck You" and "I Always Liked That" became two of her best selling singles in Norway, both certified 2× Platinum.[10]

2015–present: Growing Pains and They Never Leave Their Wives

Mena released the single "I Don't Wanna See You with Her" on 6 November 2015.[11] Her seventh studio album Growing Pains was released on 4 December 2015.[12]

In March 2020, Mena announced a new album (sometimes recognized as an EP), They Never Leave Their Wives.[13] The album was released on 23 October 2020.[14] Mena released three singles from the album, "Not OK", "Lies (They Never Leave Their Wives)", and "You Live and You Learn".[15][16][17]

In October 2020, Mena announced that she will release a new album in March 2021.[18] In April 2021 Mena made a new announcement, saying she will postpone the release of her new material until she can play concerts again. The concert venues in Norway have been closed for longer periods during the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] She described the upcoming album as a sequel to They Never Leave Their Wives, containing songs about a woman who is on her own and then finds love.[20]

In August 2022, Mena was cast in the second season of the Viaplay series Furia.[21][22] Mena also auditioned for a role in the Norwegian TV series Etterglød (Afterglow), where she was not cast but offered to make a song for the soundtrack.[22] That song is "It Was Love", which was released on 23 September 2022.[23]

Discography

Studio albums

More information Title, Album details ...

Compilation albums

More information Title, Album details ...

EPs

More information Title, EP details ...

Singles

As lead artist

More information Year, Title ...
More information Year, Title ...

Promotional singles

More information Year, Title ...

Notes

  • 1: The single was officially released in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Austria in 2007.
  • 2: The single was officially released in the Netherlands in 2009.
  • 3: "Belly Up" was only released in Norway.
  • 4: "Habits" was only released in the Netherlands.

Awards and nominations

As of 2013, Maria Mena had had 11 Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy) nominations, and won one for Best Female Artist in 2008.

More information Year, Award ...

Notes

  • 1: Nomination goes to director of the music video Alex Herron.
  • 2: Special award given by TONO, copyright organisation for musicians and composers in Norway.

Footnotes

  1. "Fuck You" did not enter the VG-lista Singles Chart, but peaked at number 6 on the Norway Digital Song Sales chart.[45]
  2. "I Always Liked That" did not enter the VG-lista Singles Chart, but peaked at number 9 on the Norway Digital Song Sales chart.[45]
  3. "Til Alle Tider" did not enter the VG-lista Singles Chart, but peaked at number 9 on the Norway Digital Song Sales chart.[46]

References

  1. [1]
    FaceCulture (31 May 2009). Maria Mena interview (part 2).
  2. [2]
    Mena, Maria. "Facebook Post". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  3. [3]
    "Charles Mena Discogs Profile". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  4. [4]
    "Maria Mena on Instagram: "I dag er det 20 år siden jeg signerte min første platekontrakt med sony... en kontrakt som endret livet mitt på absolutt alle måter. Om jeg begynner å tenke på hvor livet mitt var på vei på den tiden så kjenner jeg klumpen i halsen bli tykk.. og det har tatt meg veldig mange år å ikke lenger være redd for at denne muligheten skal bli tatt fra meg.. ja, ville du trodd meg om jeg sa jeg var redd for det allerede i fjor sommer? Sannheten er at den jenta du ser på bildet over er en skikkelig "lost soul" hun har vært storesøster og ekstra-manma hele sitt liv, for sin bror.. for sine foreldre. Hun er skolelei, ikke IKKE smart men lei og ingen av lærerne hennes plukker opp eller skjønner hvor smart hun egentlig er.. og hun orker ikke kjempe lenger. Depresjonen har gjort sitt første inntog.. dette forstår hun 10 år senere at det at hun vil sove hele tiden er et tegn. Så kommer Det en mulighet til å bryte ut.. NOEN der ute synes hun er flink! Er det kødd???? Flere voksne tror på henne!!! Og hun som ikke prøvde engang!! Hun hadde selv aldri turt å stikke nesen frem!!! Takk pappa, for at du gikk rundt md demoen min, takk rune og fam for at dere tok meg inn. Takk sony- familien min! Takk til alle som ikke trodde på det anmelderne sa... at jeg var en døgnflue. Takk! @sonymusicnorway @livenationnorge @timeoutagency foto: beste @agnete_brun"". Instagram.
  5. [5]
    "Maria Mena on Instagram: "Første gang jeg fikk proffesjonell hjelp var jeg 16 år. Jeg bor hjemme på et syrinlilla pikerom på Bogerud i oslo. Et rom som det siste året, har gått fra å være enhver ungpikeS drømmerom, med egen tv, og stor seng, til å bli et fengsel. Jeg har låst meg inne i flere måneder. Jeg har gjemt en baderomsvekt under den store sengen og søppelbøtten under leksepulten bruker jeg aktivt til å tømme magesekken i etter fellesmiddagene som min far tvinger meg til å delta i. Det er når jeg ikke har energi til å gå de 200 meterne til søppelkassen utenfor blokka.. men heller gjemmer posene med oppkast på en vinterkledd veranda, at jeg blir oppdaget.. og tvunget til å få hjelp av privat karakter. Jeg tjener egne penger på den tiden, bulimien er min fulltidsjobb men jeg jobber deltid som popstjerne og kan ta meg råd til å få hjelp. Det er det ikke alle som kan og det skremmer meg å tenke på hva som hadde skjedd med meg om jeg ikke hadde kunnet gå privat. .., (teksten fortsetter i neste innlegg)"". Instagram.
  6. [6]
    "Maria Mena on Instagram: ".. Neste gang det brenner på dass er i 2016. Jeg er redusert til bare skinn og bein. Jeg har skilt meg og jeg har kjærlighetssorg noe som trigger og retraumatiserer min PTSD (posttraumatisk stress) ord som er komisk lette å skrive nå i ettertid men som holdt på å ta livet av meg da det stormet som verst. Etter et par år med selvmedisinering i form av alkohol og diverse. Og små desperate forsøk hos forskjellige kognitive psykologer så innser jeg at det ikke er nok! Jeg trenger mer drastisk hjelp. Jeg ringer en venn som er lege.. og sier rolig at jeg ikke vil leve mer og at det ikke er likt meg. Han kjenner en psykiater som jobber på psykiatrisk legevakt i oslo annenhver lørdag, og sender meg dit.. men han gjør det veldig klart at det er nærmest UMULIG å komme igjennom det nåløyet og få hjelp. Han sier han selv har prøvd å sende meget syke pasienter videre til psykiatrien men at de har fått blankt avslag. De har ikke kapasitet. Jeg blir, den lørdags ettermiddagen, henvist og får plass hos psykiater etter 8 timer i kø, og jeg vet at det var fordi jeg heter Maria Mena. Dette redder livet mitt men jeg sitter her med verdens bitreste smak i kjeften. Jeg har selv sett venner og bekjente tape kampen mens de står på venteliste. Jeg har selv ringt til institusjoner på vegne av venner for å desperat fortelle legene at det er krise!!! Jeg har selv sunget i begravelser jeg er helt sikker på at jeg ikke hadde trengt å synge i, hadde personen fått hjelp tidsnok. I dag er verdensdagen for psykisk helse.. jeg lever fordi jeg fikk god hjelp i god tid.. men vi har en lang vei å gå. For det hjelper ikke å be folk søke hjelp om hjelpen ikke finnes!! Så Kjære norge.. kjære Jonas.. FIKS DET! #worldmentalhealthday #verdensdagenforpsykiskhelse"". Instagram.
  7. [7]
    NRK. "NRK.no – Artistar". nrk.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  8. [8]
    "Mega-Mena". Dagbladet. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  9. [9]
    Genzel, Christian. "Viktoria – Maria Mena | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  10. [10]
    "IFPI". IFPI Norway. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  11. [11]
    "Single Review: Maria Mena – I Don't Wanna See You With Her". A Bit Of Pop Music. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  12. [12]
    "Growing Pains by Maria Mena on Apple Music". iTunes. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  13. [13]
    "Maria Mena til Hamar". Østlendingen (in Norwegian). 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  14. [14]
    "They never leave their wives by Maria Mena on Apple Music". Apple.com. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  15. [15]
    "Not OK – Single av Maria Mena på Apple Music". Apple Music (in Norwegian). Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  16. [16]
    "Nieuwe single Maria Mena – "Lies (They Never Leave Their Wives)"". Dansende Beren (in Dutch). 28 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  17. [17]
    "You Live and You Learn – Single by Maria Mena on Apple Music". Apple Music. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  18. [18]
    "Maria Mena zing over affaire met getrouwde man". nu.nl (in Dutch). 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  19. [19]
    "Maria Mena utsetter album: – Sitter på noen skikkelig bra låter". vg.no (in Norwegian). 3 April 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  20. [20]
    "Maria Mena: Må avlyse turné – men lykkelig privat". vg.no (in Norwegian). 20 August 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  21. [21]
    "Maria Mena debuterer som skuespiller: – Gjør meg ekstremt sårbar". www.vg.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 30 August 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  22. [22]
    "Maria Mena prøvespilte for "Etterglød": – Ikke riktig for rollen". www.vg.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 22 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  23. [23]
    "Maria Mena synger om livsglede, kjærlighet og død for "Etterglød"". NTB (in Norwegian). Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  24. [24]
    "Norway Charts". Lista.vg.no. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  25. [25]
    "Discographie Maria Mena". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  26. [26]
    "Discographie Maria Mena". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  27. [27]
    "NL Album Chart & Mega Singles Top 100". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  28. [28]
    "Maria Mena – Cause and Effect – Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  29. [29]
    "Discographie Maria Mena". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  30. [30]
    "Norwegian certifications – Maria Mena" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  31. [31]
    "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  32. [32]
    "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Maria Mena)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  33. [33]
    "Dutch certifications – Maria Mena" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 2 October 2021. Enter Maria Mena in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  34. [34]
    "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Maria Mena)". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  35. [35]
    "Album 2023 uke 38". VG-lista. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  36. [36]
    "Maria Mena Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  37. [37]
    "Topp 40 Album 2020–44 – VG-lista 2020". vglista.no. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  38. [38]
    "They never leave their wives by Maria Mena on Apple Music". apple.com. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  39. [39]
    "Maria Mena – VG-lista". vglista.no. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  40. [40]
    "Maria Mena | Top 40-artiesten". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  41. [41]
    "dutchcharts.nl – Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  42. [42]
    "Discography Maria Mena". charts.nz. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  43. [43]
    "Chart Log UK 1994–2010: M – My Vitriol". zobbel.de. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  44. [44]
    "Maria Mena Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  45. [45]
    "Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022.
  46. [46]
    "Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022.
  47. [47]
    "Leaving You – Single par Maria Mena". iTunes. 11 March 2016.
  48. [48]
    ""Not OK – Single" von Maria Mena". 24 April 2020.
  49. [49]
    "Lies (They never leave their wives) – Single by Maria Mena". 26 June 2020.
  50. [50]
    "You Live and You Learn – Single by Maria Mena". 4 September 2020.
  51. [51]
    "Singel 2022 uke 50". VG-lista. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  52. [52]
    "It Was Love". Spotify.
  53. [53]
    "Alt du vil ha". Spotify.
  54. [54]
    "Singel 2023 uke 01". VG-lista. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  55. [55]
    "Maria Mena – Blame It on Me". Discogs. 2002.
  56. [56]
    "Maria Mena – Sleep to Dream (2002, CDR)". Discogs. 2002.
  57. [57]
    "Maria Mena – Patience (2004, Card sleeve, CD)". Discogs. 2004.
  58. [58]
    "Maria Mena Ft. Mads Langer – Habits (2011, CDR)". Discogs. 2011.
  59. [59]
    "A Stranger to Me – Single by Maria Mena". 16 September 2011.
  60. [60]
    "Til Alle Tider by Maria Mena". 21 March 2014.
  61. [61]
    "Mitt Lille Land – Single by Maria Mena". 10 July 2020.
  62. [62]
    Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Maria Mena – You Broke Me (Lyric Video)". YouTube.
  63. [63]
    "Ghettoparasitt (Feat. Hkeem & Sisi) – Single by Maria Mena". 5 March 2021.
  64. [64]
    "Norsk Artistforbunds ærespris for 2015 til Maria Mena" (in Norwegian). Ballade. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maria Mena.
More information Awards ...
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Maria_Mena, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.