Maria Mena

Biography

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×Just Hold Me8 May 2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Just Hold Me4:252Better Than Nothing3:38", and "All This Time×All This Time19 September 2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1All This Time (Pick-Me-Up Song)3:172All This Time (Pick-Me-Up Song) (acoustic version)3:123All This Time (Pick-Me-Up Song) (alternative version)3:06" which charted in multiple countries.

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. 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. After moving to Norway in 1986, he played in several bands in Oslo, 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 and various eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, 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.
Mena cared for her younger brother Tony for many years.
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×My Lullaby2001 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1My Lullaby (radio version)2:452My Lullaby (Listening version)3:153My Lullaby (Lullaby version)2:40", a song from Mena's diary, expresses her pain from her parents' divorce. 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.

2002–2007: Early beginnings

In 2002, she released her debut single "Fragile (Free)" in Norway; however, it did not chart there. "My Lullaby×My Lullaby2001 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1My Lullaby (radio version)2:452My Lullaby (Listening version)3:153My Lullaby (Lullaby version)2:40" 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×Another Phase22 April 2002 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Free4:012Blame It on Me3:283My Lullaby2:474Sleep to Dream3:395Monday Morning4:066Pale People4:397They Smoke a Lot1:488Crowded Train3:509Bye Bye3:5410Ugly3:3811Those Who Caved In3:5712Better Than Nothing / When It Rains9:55, 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×White Turns Blue19 July 2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1You’re the Only One2:442Fragile (Free)4:003Just a Little Bit3:574Blame It on Me3:415My Lullaby2:586Take You With Me3:007What’s Another Day2:578Lose Control2:419Shadow3:4110Your Glasses4:0311Sorry2:5312A Few Small Bruises3:55, 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×Just Hold Me8 May 2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Just Hold Me4:252Better Than Nothing3:38". 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.

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×Cause and Effect15 September 2008 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Power Trip Ballad3:592Belly Up4:043All This Time (Pick‐Me‐Up Song)3:164Cause and Effect3:135I’m on Your Side3:036Eyesore3:157Where Were You3:168I’m in Love2:589Self‐Fulfilling Prophecy3:2010Dear…3:20.
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×All This Time19 September 2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1All This Time (Pick-Me-Up Song)3:172All This Time (Pick-Me-Up Song) (acoustic version)3:123All This Time (Pick-Me-Up Song) (alternative version)3:06". 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×Mitt lille land10 July 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Mitt lille land2:02" (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.

Her fifth studio album, Viktoria×Viktoria23 September 2011 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Viktoria3:102Homeless3:153The Art of Forgiveness2:564Habits3:435My Heart Still Beats3:196This Too Shall Pass3:227Takes One to Know One3:558Money2:469It Took Me by Surprise3:0010Secrets2:5911Am I Supposed to Apologize?3:43, was released on 23 September 2011 and was produced by Martin Sjølie.
Her sixth album, Weapon in Mind×Weapon in Mind23 September 2012 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Interesting3:032Fuck You3:153All the Love3:424I Always Liked That3:415Madness3:096I Love You Too2:557You Make Me Feel Good3:078Caught Off Guard, Floored by Love3:479You're All Telling Stories3:5210Lover Let Me In3:3411I'm Only Human3:0612You Hurt the Ones You Love3:0413The End3:02, 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×Fuck You1 April 2013 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Fuck You3:17" and "I Always Liked That" became two of her best selling singles in Norway, both certified 2× Platinum.

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. Her seventh studio album, Growing Pains×Growing Pains4 December 2015 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Good God3:182The Baby4:153Leaving You4:184I Don’t Wanna See You With Her3:435Good and Bad4:006Not Sober3:397Confess3:158Where I Come From2:579Bend Till I Break2:5610You Deserve Better4:1111Growing Pains3:55, was released on 4 December 2015.
In March 2020, Mena announced a new album (sometimes recognized as an EP), They Never Leave Their Wives×They Never Leave Their Wives23 October 2020 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 7 tracks1Let Him Go2:442Lies (they never leave their wives)3:263You Broke Me3:294Miss Him Every Day3:485Not OK3:296The Conversation3:187You Live and You Learn3:28. The album was released on 23 October 2020. Mena released three singles from the album, "Not OK×Not OK24 April 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Not OK3:30", "Lies (They Never Leave Their Wives)", and "You Live and You Learn".
In October 2020, Mena announced that she will release a new album in March 2021. 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.
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.
In August 2022, Mena was cast in the second season of the Viaplay series Furia. 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. That song is "It Was Love", which was released on 23 September 2022.

Promotional singles

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.