For all M2M fans, the September announcement of their reunion meant our collective dream of seeing them perform live was finally within our grasp. The tour, marking the 25th anniversary of Shades of Purple, would encompass SEA (Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore), Norway, and, later on, China.

For me, the announcement meant I had to make a choice: fly to the Philippines and see them perform at a sold-out stadium where their most devoted fan base would sing every song, or fly to Oslo where they would perform their songs at home for the first time during the beautiful Norwegian summer?

In the end, Oslo won by a hair. Given equal flight times, the opportunity to see them live in their hometown proved too tempting. So, 9 months before the event, on the day tickets were released, I rushed to buy them. News from the official account, as well as Marit and Marion's personal accounts, helped build excitement as they shared new photos, old songs, and a friendship that had blossomed again after a 20-year winter.

Finally, June had come, and with it, travel to Oslo. I'll spare you most details except this one: flying 28 hours to get to the other side of the world is not for the faint of heart. I left Tampico on a Saturday afternoon and arrived in Oslo two days later at 1 a.m. I arrived a few days before the concert, hoping to overcome jet lag within 48 hours. It worked out well! However, in order to adjust, I spent most of Monday and Tuesday at Palace Park, where the weather was so perfect it would make a blue jay blush. Spending my days walking around lush green scenery, a perfectly clean city, and crisp, cold air ended up being the perfect cure for my jet lag.

Arriving two days early fixed my jet lag, but it could not stop my nerves from waking me up several times on Wednesday morning. On the day of the concert, I woke up at 3:30 a.m., then again at 5:30 a.m., and then again at 7 a.m. At 7 a.m., I didn't go back to sleep. Instead, I stared at the ceiling for half an hour. 

After my solo therapy session, I got up, showered, and put on one of my favorite shirts. The beautiful, traditional Mexican embroidery holds me tight, easing my nerves. Then I waited, and at 10 a.m., I walked to a coffee shop nearby to meet a friend. We only met for a few minutes, but meeting her on a perfect Norwegian summer morning would foreshadow an ideal day. How lucky am I that I can travel half the world to meet friends old and new?

After my friend left, I ordered an espresso and a scone to go and went back to the Airbnb to make a heartier breakfast. I'd need energy for the day.

I left the Airbnb and began my journey to Grefsenkollveien, where OverOslo takes place. I arrived at my first stop, Storo, at 1 p.m. From there, I could either wait 45 minutes for the OverOslo buses to begin their journey up the mountain or hike up to Grefsenkollveien, which also takes around 45 minutes. Enjoy the Norwegian summer and beat the crowds to the festival? I obviously ended up walking. 

So up the hill I went. Up and up and up. Passing beautiful neighborhoods until I found the OverOslo trail. I took the trail up and up and up with one or two people ahead of me and the unrelenting sun above. After 45 minutes, I was sweating profusely, but I had reached a plateau where the empty festival entrance was waiting for me. When I finally arrived, it felt like I’d earned it. It felt like I’d earned my pass to the concert. 

I arrived at OverOslo a little shy of 2 p.m. The doors didn’t open until 3 p.m., so now I had an hour to kill. Before I could even get distracted, guess who zipped by, all dressed up and ready to give us the reunion of a lifetime?

They both said hi to me and to other fans, sweet and kind as always. I managed to wave and say “hello!” with a smile instead of screaming like 13-year-old me would’ve. Being an adult means behaving, but what a rush!

After that, I was second in line. With my phone battery at 30% (I had totally forgotten my battery pack), waiting meant I got to take in the beautiful scenery and observe all the busy worker bees of the festival. Several buses started arriving, and with them, many, many more people. The queue had gotten long! An hour went by, and they let us through. I power walked my way to the main stage. I chose the right side of the stage because I noticed the piano. I knew Marit would play the piano at some point, so I decided to stay there.

Once I arrived at the main stage, I met Mailén and the other fans. Mailén is a Marit fan who rediscovered M2M recently and thought it would be fun to hang out with other fans, so she reached out to me and we talked about enjoying the concert together. After a few days, though, she also created @m2m.oslo and asked for fans to meet up at the concert. I believe around 20 of us ended up getting together. At the time, none of us knew that Mailén’s initiative would snowball into an amazing experience right after the concert. More on that in a minute!

Right on time, at 4:30 p.m., Marit and Marion's voices could be heard through the speaker system. I believe they played an interview with them from the early 2000s. After a minute or two of hyping us up, they walked on stage, and the hour of magic began.

The songs went by one after the other. Hit after hit after hit. Their chemistry was visible and their enjoyment irradiated all of us. Every dream of seeing them sing the songs of our youth were being fulfilled 💜

Now, with the crowd very much warmed up, they sat down to perform more of their amazing singles, but first, they shared stories about how they felt like destiny had brought them back together again. I wish I could tell you more, but since this was OverOslo, the stories were in Norwegian, which I don't speak 😆

The fans were singing as loudly as they could – myself included. I don't need to state the obvious, but each of us cried when different songs came up. Me? I couldn't hold it together during Love Left For Me. It's a beautiful, yet heartbreaking song that brings back a lot of memories, both good and bad. Such is life, isn't it?

The set list included some of their songs from their solo careers. I'd never heard Marion's The Minute, and I loved it. However, Marion's rendition of It's All Coming Back To Me Now was unbelievable. Her voice is spectacular, and the high notes gave me chills. As for Marit's songs, I was lucky enough to see Marit live last year, but listening to Under the Surface at an M2M concert felt completely different, in a good way. It's such a powerful song, and in this context, it felt like it took a life of its own.

Right as the concert ended, I felt like everything in the world was right. I turned around and looked at some of my newfound friends, and each of us had the biggest smile ever. We didn’t need to say anything to each other, we all knew exactly what the other was feeling. Music is such a beautiful thing, and listening to Marion and Marit's songs really brought us together.

Mailén asked several of us to stick around after the concert ended, so we walked uphill to a nearby smaller stage – Kjøkkenhagen – and there we all talked for a bit. After exchanging stories, a few selfies, and generally just processing what had happened, Mailén came back with important news. M2M's tour manager had been messaging her, and the M's had decided to meet with us briefly. None of us could believe it, but Mailén convinced us it was true and we'd just have to wait until the band had finished a few press interviews.
 
After about an hour, M2M's manager pinged Mailén and tracked us down. She guided us to a sort of backstage area. Remember, this festival is outdoors, so technically there isn't a "backstage", but we went outside festival bounds and down a trail where we found Marion and Marit sitting on a couch in the middle of the wilderness. We all slowly walked up to them, and both Marion and Marit stood up, said hello to everyone, and started hugging each one of us.

We met them for maybe 10 or 15 minutes. During that time, two small circles formed around each M, and each one of us started pouring our hearts out. We all had stories about our youth, about how and where we fell in love with their music. Karina, from Brazil, brought a poster she had drawn when she was 14 (!). Juan Pablo met M2M again after 25 years – he'd seen them in Chile back in the day! María, from México, was so nervous that she was afraid she'd cry. We all assured her it would be okay, even if she did cry.

One highlight from the meeting was the fact that Jorge asked Marion if they'd ever come to Latin America, they should absolutely sing Todo Lo Que Haces (Everything You Do in Spanish). Marion giggled a bit and immediately started singing it in perfect Spanish! I was right in front of her and I screamed (internally, ofc). Juan Pablo and I joined her for a second, and we sang a few verses. I'm crying a bit just thinking about it. Singing with M2M? Checked! ✅😆

After a few minutes, we all formed a line and started taking photos with them, exchanging a few words, and sinking into the moment. Once everyone had taken their picture, we were very kindly asked to go back to the festival, as they obviously needed rest. They waved at us goodbye, and that was the end of a beautiful experience.

As for me, I didn't get anything signed. In my own little world, the only things I want them to sign are my Pokemon CD and the Shades of Purple booklet, which I've kept safe for 25 years... and I forgot them back in México 🤦🏻‍♂️. Regardless, one of my dreams was fulfilled that day: telling both of them that their music means everything to me and thanking them for everything they did and continue to do.

Once back at the festival, we all said our goodbyes and exchanged phone numbers and Instagram handles. 

I'm sure most people at the festival were there to enjoy M2M and other artists. I was there for M2M – only M2M – so I took an early bus back. The bus ride back to Storo was quiet and fulfilling. It was helpful to sit with myself after experiencing so many emotions, going through so many new things, and forming so many new friendships.

The next few days were a firehose of memories from fans that attended the concert. Everyone posted their photos and videos on Instagram and YouTube. I'm sure Marit and Marion were tagged in about a billion photos and videos ranging from potato to professional quality. But you know what? All of them were filled with joy, love, and a need to share these positive feelings with the world.

When I spoke with my friend earlier that day, M2M came up during our conversation, and it became obvious to me that their resurgence came about at exactly the right time for Millenials. Marit and Marion's rekindled friendship represents so much more than two Norwegian singer-songwriters getting back together for one last hurrah. I believe for some of us, this reunion serves as a reminder that good things still happen in the world. That not everything is bleak and lost. That  genuine, cheerful, bright pop music can be an oasis of happiness; a respite from the constant stream of negative news.

And for that, I say, thank you M2M. Thank you for coming back.