Maria Mena

Last updated

Maria Mena
Maria Mena (193413).jpg
Maria Mena at stage during Stavernfestivalen in 2016
Background information
Birth nameMaria Viktoria Mena
Born (1986-02-19) 19 February 1986 (age 38)
Oslo, Norway
Genres Pop, folk, rock
Occupation(s)Singer
Years active2002–present
Labels Sony Music Norway, Columbia
Website mariamena.no

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.

Contents

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 Maria Mena1.jpg
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 Maria Mena Tilburg 013 feb '14.JPG
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

TitleAlbum detailsChart positionsCertifications
NOR
[24]
AUT
[25]
GER
[26]
NL
[27]
POL
[28]
SWI
[29]
Another Phase
  • 1st studio album
  • Released: 22 April 2002
6
Mellow
  • 2nd studio album
  • Released: 1 March 2004
7
  • IFPI NOR: Gold [31]
Apparently Unaffected
  • 3rd studio album
  • Released: 14 November 2005
640221156
Cause and Effect
  • 4th studio album
  • Released: 15 September 2008
4232084313
Viktoria
  • 5th studio album
  • Released: 23 September 2011
229181713
  • IFPI NOR: Gold [30]
Weapon in Mind
  • 6th studio album
  • Released: 23 September 2013
1591430
Growing Pains
  • 7th studio album
  • Released: 4 December 2015
63175
And Then Came You
  • 8th studio album
  • Released: 15 September 2023
5
[35]

Compilation albums

TitleAlbum detailsChart positions
US
[36]
White Turns Blue
  • International debut album
  • Released: 20 July 2004
102

EPs

TitleEP detailsChart positions
NOR
[37]
They Never Leave Their Wives
  • Released: 23 October 2020 [38]
12

Singles

As lead artist

YearTitleChart positionsCertificationAlbum
NOR
[39]
AUT
[25]
EU GER
[26]
NL 40
[40]
NL 100
[41]
NZ
[42]
SWI
[29]
UK
[43]
US
[44]
2002"Fragile (Free)"Another Phase & White Turns Blue
"My Lullaby"5
  • IFPI NOR: Gold [31]
2004"You're the Only One"84330193586Mellow & White Turns Blue
"Just a Little Bit"
2006"Miss You Love"Apparently Unaffected
"Just Hold Me"2452142675158
"Miss You Love" (re-release)11477361
"Our Battles"81
2008"Nevermind Me" 28476
"Belly Up" 3475Cause and Effect
"All This Time"7713156714
2009"I'm in Love"54
"I Was Made for Lovin' You"449120
2010"Home for Christmas"15698
  • IFPI NOR: 5× Platinum [30]
Hjem Til Jul soundtrack
2011"This Too Shall Pass"Viktoria
"Homeless"6965
2012"Viktoria"
2013"Fuck You" [upper-alpha 1]
  • IFPI NOR: 2× Platinum [30]
Weapon in Mind
"I Always Liked That" [upper-alpha 2] 188100
  • IFPI NOR: 2× Platinum [30]
2014"Til Alle Tider" [upper-alpha 3] Bauta – En hyllest til Bjørn Eidsvåg
2015"I Don't Wanna See You with Her"20
  • IFPI NOR: 2× Platinum [30]
Growing Pains
2016"Leaving You" [47]
2020"Not OK" [48] 37
  • IFPI NOR: Gold [30]
They Never Leave Their Wives
"Lies (They Never Leave Their Wives)" [49]
"You Live and You Learn" [50]
"Jula Hjemme" (featuring Trygve Skaug)16
[51]
Non-album single
2021"I Need a Man" (Hver gang vi møtes)2
  • IFPI NOR: Platinum [30]
Stian Staysmans dag (Sesong 11)
"Ghettoparasitt" (Hver gang vi møtes)5Hkeems dag (Sesong 11)
"Stein på stein" (Hver gang vi møtes)Arne Hurlens dag (Sesong 11)
"Goin' Insane" (Hver gang vi møtes)Agnete Sabas dag (Sesong 11)
"Når en skumring blir blå" (Hver gang vi møtes)Hanne Kroghs dag (Sesong 11)
"Det går over" (Hver gang vi møtes)Trygve Skaugs dag (Sesong 11)
"Speil"Non-album single
2022"It Was Love" [52] TBA
"Alt du vil ha" (with Isah) [53] 2
[54]
Non-album single
2023"Not Worth It"And Then Came You
"Try Again Tomorrow" (featuring Darling West)
"Easy Love"
"Till The Water Runs Clear"
YearTitleChart positionsAlbum
NOR
[39]
GER
[26]
2005"Everytime"
(Whimsical featuring Maria Mena)
The Glow
2009"Wide Awake"
(Sasha featuring Maria Mena)
68 Lila, Lila soundtrack
"Konfliktsky"
(Jaa9 & OnklP featuring Maria Mena)
Sellout!
2012"Fåkke fly bort"
(Madcon featuring Maria Mena)
Contakt
2013"Colder"
(LidoLido featuring Maria Mena and Bun B)
Battle Poetry
2020"Narnia"
(Aiba featuring Maria Mena)
TBA
2021"Den fineste Chevy'n"
(Halva Priset featuring Maria Mena)
1TBA

Promotional singles

YearTitleAlbum
2002"Blame It on Me" [55] Another Phase
"Sleep to Dream" [56]
2004"Patience" [57] Mellow
2011"Habits" (featuring Mads Langer)4 [58] Viktoria
"A Stranger to Me" [59]
2014"Til alle tider" [60] Bauta – En hyllest til Bjørn Eidsvåg
2020"Mitt Lille Land" [61] Non-album single
2021"You Broke Me" [62] They Never Leave Their Wives
"Ghettoparasitt"
(featuring Hkeem and Sisi) [63]
Non-album single

Notes

Awards and nominations

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

YearAwardNominated workCategoryResult
2002 Spellemannprisen Another Phase Best Pop SoloNominated
Best NewcomerNominated
"My Lullaby"Best SongNominated
2004 MTV Europe Music Awards HerselfBest Nordic ActNominated
2005 Spellemannprisen "Miss You Love"Best Music VideoNominated
Best HitNominated
Apparently Unaffected Best Female ArtistNominated
2007 SWR3 AwardsHerselfBest New Pop ActWon
2008Radio Regenbogen AwardsBest International NewcomerWon
Echo Awards Apparently Unaffected Nominated
Spellemannprisen Cause and Effect Best Female ArtistWon
"All This Time"Best Music VideoNominated
Best Music Video Direction 1Nominated
2009 MTV Europe Music Awards HerselfBest Norwegian ActNominated
Norwegian Music Critics Award Best Female ArtistWon
Echo Awards Cause and Effect Best International Rock/Pop Female ArtistNominated
2010 Spellemannprisen "Home For Christmas"Best HitNominated
2011 Viktoria Best LyricistNominated
2012 Edvard Prize 2HerselfPop CategoryWon
2013 MTV Europe Music Awards Best Norwegian ActNominated
Spellemannprisen Weapon in Mind Best Pop SoloNominated
2014Costume AwardsHerselfInstagrammer of the YearNominated
Best Dressed WomanNominated
2015Norsk Artistforbund's Honorary Award [64] HerselfPop CategoryWon

Notes

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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Håkon Wium Lie</span> Norwegian software engineer

Håkon Wium Lie is a Norwegian web pioneer, a standards activist, and the chairman of YesLogic, developers of Prince CSS-based PDF rendering software. He is best known for developing Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) while working with Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau at CERN in 1994. He was the Chief Technology Officer of Opera Software from 1998 until the browser was sold to new owners in 2016.

Caroline "Dina" Lillian Kongerud, is a Norwegian pop/trance artist. She released one album and seven singles in the early 2000s, several of which were hits. Her first single topped the Norwegian record chart and was later re-released in Swedish and English.

deLillos Norwegian pop rock band

deLillos is a Norwegian poprock band formed in Oslo in 1984. They are generally regarded as one of the "Four Greats" in modern Norwegian pop music, i.e. one of the four 1980s groups that founded a new tradition for rock music with lyrics in Norwegian. The remaining three "Greats" are DumDum Boys, Raga Rockers and Jokke & Valentinerne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Linnet</span> Danish singer, composer, and writer

Anne Kristine Linnet is a Danish singer, musician and songwriter. She has released a number of solo albums and has also been a member of the bands Tears, Shit & Chanel, Anne Linnet Band, Marquis de Sade and Bitch Boys. Anne Linnet is one of a small group of Danish songstresses who have been popular for multiple decades. She is, and has been for five decades, a distinctive figure on the Danish music scene and is known for her honest musical phrasings, memorable and sometimes feministic lyrics, and renewal through explorations into a number of music styles.

The Norwegian Critics Prize for Literature is awarded by the Norwegian Literature Critics' Association and has been awarded every year since 1950. The prize is presented to a Norwegian author for a literary work as agreed to among the members of the Norwegian Literature Critics' Association. Since 1978 the Norwegian Literature Critics' Association has also awarded a prize for the best work of children's literature. In 2003 the Critics Prize for the year's best work of translation was established, and in 2012 the Critics Prize for the year's best work of nonfiction for adults was established. For other Norwegian Critics Awards, see Norwegian Theatre Critics Award, which has been awarded every year since 1939, the Norwegian Music Critics Award, which has been awarded every year since 1947, and the Norwegian Dance Critics Award, which has been awarded every year since 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unni Lindell</span> Norwegian writer

Unni Maria Lindell is a Norwegian writer. She is best known for her crime novels (whodunits), but has also written a collection of poems and several children's and young adult books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gunvor Hofmo</span> Norwegian writer

Gunvor Hofmo was a Norwegian writer, often considered one of Norway's most influential modernist poets.

<i>MGP Junior</i> (Danish TV series) Danish TV series or program

MGP Junior is a Danish song contest for children aged 8 to 15. It originated in 2000 as a spin-off of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, before coming the national selection for the now-extinct MGP Nordic in 2002 and from 2006 to 2009. From 2003 to 2005, MGP Junior was Denmark's national selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, a pan-European version of the format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua French</span> Norwegian-born security contractor and former soldier

Joshua Olav Daniel Hodne French is a Norwegian-British man who was convicted of murder in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He worked as a security contractor with his friend Tjostolv Moland when they were arrested in May 2009, and he was later convicted of attempted murder, armed robbery, the formation of a criminal association and espionage for Norway, of which he and Moland were found guilty and sentenced to death. In 2014 he was also convicted of the murder of Moland. He was released in 2017 after serving 8 years of his sentence, and returned to Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herodes Falsk</span> Norwegian actor, comedian and songwriter

Kim Bård Hansen, better known by his stage name Herodes Falsk, is a Norwegian comedian, actor, author, and songwriter. Falsk is probably best known for his work with the musical comedy trio Prima Vera alongside Jahn Teigen and Tom Mathisen, and for his longtime collaboration with Mathisen after Prima Vera's breakup in 1984. He is also often credited as Norway's first stand-up comedian.

Liv Løberg is a Norwegian practical nurse, a former politician for the Progress Party and a convicted felon. Her name came to mass media attention in Norway in June 2010 when it was revealed that she had forged her CV, this being accentuated by the fact that she was an office manager working at the Norwegian Registration Authority for Health Personnel (SAFH). On 24 April 2012, she was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 14 months in prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China–Norway relations</span> Bilateral relations

People's Republic of China – Norway relations officially started on 7 October 1950 and shortly after established diplomatic missions on 5 October 1954

Hver gang vi møtes is a Norwegian reality television show broadcast on the Norwegian TV 2 television station in 2012. It is structured in similar format to the Swedish series Så mycket bättre that had been launched in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Alternative (Denmark)</span> Political party in Denmark

The Alternative is a green political party in Denmark. The party was publicly launched on 27 November 2013 by former Minister of Culture Uffe Elbæk and Josephine Fock; Elbæk had been a parliamentarian for the Social Liberal Party. Elbæk was the leader of the party until February 2020, where he stepped down and was succeeded by Fock. Currently the party is led by Franciska Rosenkilde. It collaborates with DiEM25 at the European level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sondre Justad</span> Norwegian musician and songwriter (born 1990)

Sondre Justad is a Norwegian musician and songwriter.

Resett, also known as Resett.no, was a Norwegian online newspaper, which publisheed news and op-ed content. The website was launched in 2017 with Helge Lurås as editor-in-chief. Resett aimed to "present cases from a different angle than established mass media, and to cover news that other media do not want to cover". The newspaper closed operations in December 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kari Jaquesson</span> Norwegian conspiracy theorist

Kari Angelique Jaquesson is a Norwegian conspiracy theorist, author, fitness consultant and former television personality. She writes for the conspiracy theorist website Steigan.no and has been widely criticized for promoting climate change denial, COVID-19 misinformation, Russian propaganda, Antisemitism and transphobia. A 2021 survey by YouGov found that the public figures viewed most negatively by Norwegians were Donald Trump, Kari Jaquesson and Vladimir Putin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Oslo shooting</span> Mass shooting in Norway

On 25 June 2022, two people were killed and twenty-one people were wounded in a mass shooting in Oslo, Norway. Police are treating the incident as an "act of Islamist terrorism". The target may have been the Oslo LGBTQ pride event, which was hosted by the local branch of the Norwegian Organisation for Sexual and Gender Diversity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramón (Norwegian singer)</span> Norwegian musical artist

Ramón Torres Andresen is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. He is known for the song "ok jeg lover" and the follow-up song "17. mai".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Norheim</span> Association football player

Andrea Norheim is a Norwegian footballer who plays as a defender for HB Køge.

References

  1. FaceCulture (31 May 2009). Maria Mena interview (part 2).
  2. Mena, Maria. "Facebook Post". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  3. "Charles Mena Discogs Profile". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  4. 1 2 "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. "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. "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. NRK. "NRK.no – Artistar". nrk.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 28 October 2017.
  8. "Mega-Mena". Dagbladet. 28 November 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  9. Genzel, Christian. "Viktoria – Maria Mena | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  10. "IFPI". IFPI Norway. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  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. "Growing Pains by Maria Mena on Apple Music". iTunes. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  13. "Maria Mena til Hamar". Østlendingen (in Norwegian). 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  14. "They never leave their wives by Maria Mena on Apple Music". Apple.com. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  15. "Not OK – Single av Maria Mena på Apple Music". Apple Music (in Norwegian). Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  16. "Nieuwe single Maria Mena – "Lies (They Never Leave Their Wives)"". Dansende Beren (in Dutch). 28 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  17. "You Live and You Learn – Single by Maria Mena on Apple Music". Apple Music. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  18. "Maria Mena zing over affaire met getrouwde man". nu.nl (in Dutch). 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  19. "Maria Mena utsetter album: – Sitter på noen skikkelig bra låter". vg.no (in Norwegian). 3 April 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  20. "Maria Mena: Må avlyse turné – men lykkelig privat". vg.no (in Norwegian). 20 August 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  21. "Maria Mena debuterer som skuespiller: – Gjør meg ekstremt sårbar". www.vg.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 30 August 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  22. 1 2 "Maria Mena prøvespilte for «Etterglød»: – Ikke riktig for rollen". www.vg.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 22 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  23. "Maria Mena synger om livsglede, kjærlighet og død for «Etterglød»". NTB (in Norwegian). Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  24. "Norway Charts". Lista.vg.no. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  25. 1 2 "Discographie Maria Mena". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  26. 1 2 3 "Discographie Maria Mena". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  27. "NL Album Chart & Mega Singles Top 100". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  28. "Maria Mena – Cause and Effect – Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
  29. 1 2 "Discographie Maria Mena". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Norwegian certifications – Maria Mena" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  31. 1 2 "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  32. 1 2 3 4 "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Maria Mena)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  33. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Maria Mena)". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  35. "Album 2023 uke 38". VG-lista . Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  36. "Maria Mena Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard . Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  37. "Topp 40 Album 2020–44 – VG-lista 2020". vglista.no. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  38. "They never leave their wives by Maria Mena on Apple Music". apple.com. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  39. 1 2 "Maria Mena – VG-lista". vglista.no. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  40. "Maria Mena | Top 40-artiesten". Dutch Top 40 . Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  41. "dutchcharts.nl – Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  42. "Discography Maria Mena". charts.nz. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  43. "Chart Log UK 1994–2010: M – My Vitriol". zobbel.de. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  44. "Maria Mena Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard . Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  45. 1 2 "Billboard". Billboard . Archived from the original on 27 May 2022.
  46. "Billboard". Billboard . Archived from the original on 27 May 2022.
  47. "Leaving You – Single par Maria Mena". iTunes . 11 March 2016.
  48. ""Not OK – Single" von Maria Mena". 24 April 2020.
  49. "Lies (They never leave their wives) – Single by Maria Mena". 26 June 2020.
  50. "You Live and You Learn – Single by Maria Mena". 4 September 2020.
  51. "Singel 2022 uke 50". VG-lista . Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  52. "It Was Love". Spotify .
  53. "Alt du vil ha". Spotify .
  54. "Singel 2023 uke 01". VG-lista . Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  55. "Maria Mena – Blame It on Me". Discogs . 2002.
  56. "Maria Mena – Sleep to Dream (2002, CDR)". Discogs . 2002.
  57. "Maria Mena – Patience (2004, Card sleeve, CD)". Discogs . 2004.
  58. "Maria Mena Ft. Mads Langer – Habits (2011, CDR)". Discogs . 2011.
  59. "A Stranger to Me – Single by Maria Mena". 16 September 2011.
  60. "Til Alle Tider by Maria Mena". 21 March 2014.
  61. "Mitt Lille Land – Single by Maria Mena". 10 July 2020.
  62. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Maria Mena – You Broke Me (Lyric Video)". YouTube .
  63. "Ghettoparasitt (Feat. Hkeem & Sisi) – Single by Maria Mena". 5 March 2021.
  64. "Norsk Artistforbunds ærespris for 2015 til Maria Mena" (in Norwegian). Ballade. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
Awards
Preceded by Recipient of the best Female Pop Solo Artist Spellemannprisen
2008
Succeeded by