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2015 - Good Morning America - July 3 - REPORTS/PICTURES/VIDEOS


Blue Sky

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THANK YOU for posting!! I always miss these—this one is great!!

 

Loved watching the GMA show. It's not every day you get to watch a gig live, on the TV and see all the MFC experiencing it in the audience. Bravo!!!

You're most welcome, happy to do it now that I've discovered how easy it is to record them!

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So exciting to see Mika doing some serious promo in the US and MFCers being treated like the VIPs that they are :fisch:

 

It seems like this summer concert series is much bigger than when he did it in 2007 (and his outdoor show was rained out anyway) and just generally GMA is at the top of the morning shows now, unlike 8 years ago. He is lucky to be included in a group with Ed Sheeran and Jessie J and they did a great job of making the place look packed with Mika fans with the stars and shots of the crowd. When I saw they had put the gap in the centre of the audience for Ed Sheeran (unlike Adam Lambert who had a normal stage setup) I thought this was a bad idea for Mika and would interfere with his connection to the crowd. But of course he used it to great effect as a runway to get right down there with the audience.

 

It was great to see Natasha's periscope of the M&G and I could tell that Mika was sincerely grateful for the support. I know his team and Deb went to a lot of effort to make it a good experience for the fans and for Mika.

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So exciting to see Mika doing some serious promo in the US and MFCers being treated like the VIPs that they are :fisch:

 

It seems like this summer concert series is much bigger than when he did it in 2007 (and his outdoor show was rained out anyway) and just generally GMA is at the top of the morning shows now, unlike 8 years ago. He is lucky to be included in a group with Ed Sheeran and Jessie J and they did a great job of making the place look packed with Mika fans with the stars and shots of the crowd. When I saw they had put the gap in the centre of the audience for Ed Sheeran (unlike Adam Lambert who had a normal stage setup) I thought this was a bad idea for Mika and would interfere with his connection to the crowd. But of course he used it to great effect as a runway to get right down there with the audience.

 

It was great to see Natasha's periscope of the M&G and I could tell that Mika was sincerely grateful for the support. I know his team and Deb went to a lot of effort to make it a good experience for the fans and for Mika.

Yes, and I loved all the positive tweets they showed. It just goes to show that it doesn't take much of something, to get lots of exposure. It's just a matter of choosing the event, interview, radio exposure, etc, that would work best for Mika's promotion. I think that the GMA set, even though it was short, will have helped Mika in America.

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GMA backstage Periscope

 

https://youtu.be/vaxQw603vDo

 

Thanks for this! One of these days someone will teach me how to capture a Periscope <hint hint> -- I've seen instructions for how to do it from a Mac, but surely there must be a way to do it from a PC...

 

 

 

I kind of hope someone filmed him falling over! Bless him :') 

 

I was recording at the time -- in fact, you can see me recording Mika as he was Periscoping -- but I can't find the video now. It seems that it somehow was deleted. :(

 

In any case, it was a little scary when he stumbled -- could have been a nasty fall as he backed into a mic stand and lost his footing. :( Glad the stage manager was there to steady him.

 

 

So exciting to see Mika doing some serious promo in the US and MFCers being treated like the VIPs that they are :fisch:

 

It seems like this summer concert series is much bigger than when he did it in 2007 (and his outdoor show was rained out anyway) and just generally GMA is at the top of the morning shows now, unlike 8 years ago. He is lucky to be included in a group with Ed Sheeran and Jessie J and they did a great job of making the place look packed with Mika fans with the stars and shots of the crowd. When I saw they had put the gap in the centre of the audience for Ed Sheeran (unlike Adam Lambert who had a normal stage setup) I thought this was a bad idea for Mika and would interfere with his connection to the crowd. But of course he used it to great effect as a runway to get right down there with the audience.

 

It was great to see Natasha's periscope of the M&G and I could tell that Mika was sincerely grateful for the support. I know his team and Deb went to a lot of effort to make it a good experience for the fans and for Mika.

 

 

The set-up actually did work out in our favor in the end. If we had stood right in the front right of the stage as we initially thought we would, we would have never seen him, since he spent most of his time either center stage or in the runway. Lining the barrier as we did was a much better choice :)  And I think breaking the audience up the way they did actually made the crowd look bigger... but I understand that Mika drew a bigger crowd than Jessie J anyway!

 

And yes, it was nice to get the VIP treatment, for sure!

 

So... in case anyone hasn't seen it on Mika's Facebook, here's my report of the day:

 

"I am not a morning person. So when ABC-TV announced that Mika would be performing on Good Morning, America on July 3 several weeks ago, I didn’t even consider making the trip to New York City to see the show. I knew it would mean a VERY early morning, with lots of standing and waiting around. Besides, it was the Friday of the 4th of July weekend and our family usually heads to the beach to celebrate.

But eventually my desire to show Mika support as he made an all-too-rare U.S. television appearance took over, and I decided to make the trip.

To say that I’m glad that I did is an understatement. 

The morning started with a 3:30 a.m. wake-up call. Ugh. The sun wasn’t due to come up for another two hours! After stumbling and fumbling around my room, somehow I found myself dressed and, if not exactly awake, at least upright and heading out the door to meet up with a few other fans from Mika Fan Club. We quickly realized there was no place open for a quick bite to eat or – horrors! -- morning coffee, so shortly after 5 a.m. we hailed a cab and drove up to the scene of the day’s action, Central Park’s Summer Stage. We walked toward the main entrance, and knew we were getting close when we encountered several event staff members who were handing out yellow cardboard stars printed with the No Place in Heaven album cover on one side. As we continued walking, we passed two policewomen. One noticed the stars and asked to see them – did she think they were some sort of weapon? No. Turns out she was a Mika fan! We took some photos with our new friends and then made our way to the entrance, collecting other MFC members along the way. When we explained to security at the entrance ¬¬¬that we were with the fan club, we were directed to wait in a special area to receive wristbands.

As we waited, we talked with other fans, some of whom had been waiting for hours – even overnight! We Mika fans are a devoted lot! Some girls – wish I had gotten their names – had made a couple of fantastic posters, one a replica of the new No Place in Heaven album cover’s cityscape, the other of Mika wearing his by-now familiar dark blue suit decorated with his name and stars in felt. As luck would have it, he wore that very suit for the performance.

We were eventually let in to the stage area shortly after 6 a.m. and shown to the front of the stage, where I chose to stand next to the barrier along the runway that divided the audience. All that was left to do was wait.

And wait we did, but the time flew by thanks to our warm-up comedian, Tom Kelly, who encouraged us to keep our energy level high. He passed the time by having us practice our cheering and applause, and pulling people from the audience who had special signs – a girl whose sign said she came from Cuba (but it turned out she really hadn’t!), the couple who were announcing to the woman’s mom via TV that they were expecting a baby, another girl who was angling for a job at Good Morning, America. Although I felt myself slumping a bit in my undercaffeinated state, I perked up when they launched a dozen or so giant-sized balloons into the crowd – then it really began to feel like a Mika gig!

The decent-sized crowd was not short on enthusiasm, with ear-piercing cheers on demand. But the decibel level increased markedly when we spotted Mika in the wings. After a few more minutes, Mika’s band filed on stage – Tim, Curtis, Joy, Max, and a new drummer and back-up singer I didn’t recognize. After they warmed up a bit, finally, finally Mika himself came to the stage and greeted us with a sweet smile and a question: “Who didn’t go to bed last night?” Although I’d had a couple hours of sleep, I felt justified in raising my hand.

Mika rehearsed the songs that were eventually going to be played live – Talk About You, Lollipop, and a medley of Popular, Grace Kelly and Love Today. He was in fine voice, despite professing to be tired and a bit jet-lagged. After giving us some direction on what we should do and when we should do it, Mika left the stage and waited for 8 a.m. when things would really go “Live.”

Again to pass the time, the staff attempted to keep the energy level high with some silliness. After asking the audience who felt they were a good singer, they pulled a boy who volunteered to sing on stage. Appropriately, he began with Mika’s Popular Song, but what he didn’t realize was that behind him Mika had come on stage, recording the boy with his phone. Imagine the surprise on that boy’s face when Mika tapped him on the shoulder! Many selfies ensued, and I think that young man may be a fan for life.

By the time Mika came out to sing Talk About You for real, the sun had come out in full and, similarly so had the crowd. Jumping and clapping and shouting out the lyrics, everyone seemed to completely enjoy the infectious tune and the performance went perfectly -- three minutes of pure party with balloons bouncing and stars waving wildly.

There was a bit more waiting, and then it was time for Popular Song, followed by the medley. Mika frequently came down from the stage into the crowd, flashing his infectious smile and eliciting squeals of delight from everyone he approached. 

All too soon, it was over – the Good Morning, America team was on stage with Mika asking him about the album and then saying their good-byes. As Mika left the stage, the chant that seems to be almost a tradition at Mika gigs started, in an attempt to bring him back and keep him there with us for just a little bit longer: MEE-KA, MEE-KA, MEE-KA...

But as they say, all good things come to an end, and it was time to leave. As we made our way out, I overheard so many excited exclamations of, “He was amazing!” “That was fantastic!” “I never knew he was so good!” as if they had taken the lyrics of Mika’s single to heart, and all the people wanted to do was talk about HIM! I smiled to myself, happy at the thought that throughout the US there were potentially millions of new Mika fans who had been watching and were now saying the same sorts of things... finally in on the secret that too few of us in the US have known for a long time. Mika IS amazing!

So... was it worth the trip? Absolutely. Many thanks to Good Morning America for bringing Mika to the US television audience again, and of course to Mika, his band and his team, for once again giving a performance that was as brilliant as if it had been a full-blown show."

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It was great to see Natasha's periscope of the M&G and I could tell that Mika was sincerely grateful for the support.

Can we watch this somewhere? I saw the group pic deb posted of the m&g on fb, but would love to see/hear more about it! :)

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Love Deb's report!  :clap:

 

Can we watch this somewhere? I saw the group pic deb posted of the m&g on fb, but would love to see/hear more about it! :)

 

I think it has expired because they only stay on line for 24 hours. Don't know if Natasha does or could save it and repost somewhere. :dunno:

 

Mika thanked everyone for coming and said he had been nervous but their support and their energy really helped. He was in great spirits and sounded really sincere. It reminded me of LA in 2009 when Mika and his team really made an effort for MFC to get fans there and look after them. It was really nice.

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GMA backstage Periscope

 

Thank you so much, I missed this one cause I was stuck at work. So cute :yes:

 

So exciting to see Mika (...) MFCers being treated like the VIPs that they are :fisch:

 

 

When we explained to security at the entrance that we were with the fan club, we were directed to wait in a special area to receive wristbands.

We were eventually let in to the stage area shortly after 6 a.m. and shown to the front of the stage

 

 

Mika thanked everyone for coming and said he had been nervous but their support and their energy really helped. He was in great spirits and sounded really sincere. It reminded me of LA in 2009 when Mika and his team really made an effort for MFC to get fans there and look after them. It was really nice.

 

You could have started this report saying "Once upon a time" as it looks like a fairytale to me. I'm really happy things went fabulous for you guys who attended this gig. In Italy it's common to say "America" to reply to someone referring to an impossibly good situation, when everything is totally perfect and so not likely to happen. Like, if I went "I wish I had wristbands for all MFCers, so that no one would have to queue, a super sunny day in a wonderful location, a spontaneous and happy Mika being pleased to see his fans and a good show" everybody would surely reply "Yeah, America" before I'm even done with the statement. It goes back to that time when many Italians went to USA looking for a better life, but it still does apply. :biggrin2:

Well done, chicks  :thumb_yello: 

 

 

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Thank you so much, I missed this one cause I was stuck at work. So cute :yes:

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

You could have started this report saying "Once upon a time" as it looks like a fairytale to me. I'm really happy things went fabulous for you guys who attended this gig. In Italy it's common to say "America" to reply to someone referring to an impossibly good situation, when everything is totally perfect and so not likely to happen. Like, if I went "I wish I had wristbands for all MFCers, so that no one would have to queue, a super sunny day in a wonderful location, a spontaneous and happy Mika being pleased to see his fans and a good show" everybody would surely reply "Yeah, America" before I'm even done with the statement. It goes back to that time when many Italians went to USA looking for a better life, but it still does apply. :biggrin2:

Well done, chicks  :thumb_yello:

 

Thanks for this! One of these days someone will teach me how to capture a Periscope <hint hint> -- I've seen instructions for how to do it from a Mac, but surely there must be a way to do it from a PC...

 

 

 

 

I was recording at the time -- in fact, you can see me recording Mika as he was Periscoping -- but I can't find the video now. It seems that it somehow was deleted. :(

 

In any case, it was a little scary when he stumbled -- could have been a nasty fall as he backed into a mic stand and lost his footing. :( Glad the stage manager was there to steady him.

 

 

 

 

The set-up actually did work out in our favor in the end. If we had stood right in the front right of the stage as we initially thought we would, we would have never seen him, since he spent most of his time either center stage or in the runway. Lining the barrier as we did was a much better choice :)  And I think breaking the audience up the way they did actually made the crowd look bigger... but I understand that Mika drew a bigger crowd than Jessie J anyway!

 

And yes, it was nice to get the VIP treatment, for sure!

 

So... in case anyone hasn't seen it on Mika's Facebook, here's my report of the day:

 

"I am not a morning person. So when ABC-TV announced that Mika would be performing on Good Morning, America on July 3 several weeks ago, I didn’t even consider making the trip to New York City to see the show. I knew it would mean a VERY early morning, with lots of standing and waiting around. Besides, it was the Friday of the 4th of July weekend and our family usually heads to the beach to celebrate.

But eventually my desire to show Mika support as he made an all-too-rare U.S. television appearance took over, and I decided to make the trip.

To say that I’m glad that I did is an understatement. 

The morning started with a 3:30 a.m. wake-up call. Ugh. The sun wasn’t due to come up for another two hours! After stumbling and fumbling around my room, somehow I found myself dressed and, if not exactly awake, at least upright and heading out the door to meet up with a few other fans from Mika Fan Club. We quickly realized there was no place open for a quick bite to eat or – horrors! -- morning coffee, so shortly after 5 a.m. we hailed a cab and drove up to the scene of the day’s action, Central Park’s Summer Stage. We walked toward the main entrance, and knew we were getting close when we encountered several event staff members who were handing out yellow cardboard stars printed with the No Place in Heaven album cover on one side. As we continued walking, we passed two policewomen. One noticed the stars and asked to see them – did she think they were some sort of weapon? No. Turns out she was a Mika fan! We took some photos with our new friends and then made our way to the entrance, collecting other MFC members along the way. When we explained to security at the entrance ¬¬¬that we were with the fan club, we were directed to wait in a special area to receive wristbands.

As we waited, we talked with other fans, some of whom had been waiting for hours – even overnight! We Mika fans are a devoted lot! Some girls – wish I had gotten their names – had made a couple of fantastic posters, one a replica of the new No Place in Heaven album cover’s cityscape, the other of Mika wearing his by-now familiar dark blue suit decorated with his name and stars in felt. As luck would have it, he wore that very suit for the performance.

We were eventually let in to the stage area shortly after 6 a.m. and shown to the front of the stage, where I chose to stand next to the barrier along the runway that divided the audience. All that was left to do was wait.

And wait we did, but the time flew by thanks to our warm-up comedian, Tom Kelly, who encouraged us to keep our energy level high. He passed the time by having us practice our cheering and applause, and pulling people from the audience who had special signs – a girl whose sign said she came from Cuba (but it turned out she really hadn’t!), the couple who were announcing to the woman’s mom via TV that they were expecting a baby, another girl who was angling for a job at Good Morning, America. Although I felt myself slumping a bit in my undercaffeinated state, I perked up when they launched a dozen or so giant-sized balloons into the crowd – then it really began to feel like a Mika gig!

The decent-sized crowd was not short on enthusiasm, with ear-piercing cheers on demand. But the decibel level increased markedly when we spotted Mika in the wings. After a few more minutes, Mika’s band filed on stage – Tim, Curtis, Joy, Max, and a new drummer and back-up singer I didn’t recognize. After they warmed up a bit, finally, finally Mika himself came to the stage and greeted us with a sweet smile and a question: “Who didn’t go to bed last night?” Although I’d had a couple hours of sleep, I felt justified in raising my hand.

Mika rehearsed the songs that were eventually going to be played live – Talk About You, Lollipop, and a medley of Popular, Grace Kelly and Love Today. He was in fine voice, despite professing to be tired and a bit jet-lagged. After giving us some direction on what we should do and when we should do it, Mika left the stage and waited for 8 a.m. when things would really go “Live.”

Again to pass the time, the staff attempted to keep the energy level high with some silliness. After asking the audience who felt they were a good singer, they pulled a boy who volunteered to sing on stage. Appropriately, he began with Mika’s Popular Song, but what he didn’t realize was that behind him Mika had come on stage, recording the boy with his phone. Imagine the surprise on that boy’s face when Mika tapped him on the shoulder! Many selfies ensued, and I think that young man may be a fan for life.

By the time Mika came out to sing Talk About You for real, the sun had come out in full and, similarly so had the crowd. Jumping and clapping and shouting out the lyrics, everyone seemed to completely enjoy the infectious tune and the performance went perfectly -- three minutes of pure party with balloons bouncing and stars waving wildly.

There was a bit more waiting, and then it was time for Popular Song, followed by the medley. Mika frequently came down from the stage into the crowd, flashing his infectious smile and eliciting squeals of delight from everyone he approached. 

All too soon, it was over – the Good Morning, America team was on stage with Mika asking him about the album and then saying their good-byes. As Mika left the stage, the chant that seems to be almost a tradition at Mika gigs started, in an attempt to bring him back and keep him there with us for just a little bit longer: MEE-KA, MEE-KA, MEE-KA...

But as they say, all good things come to an end, and it was time to leave. As we made our way out, I overheard so many excited exclamations of, “He was amazing!” “That was fantastic!” “I never knew he was so good!” as if they had taken the lyrics of Mika’s single to heart, and all the people wanted to do was talk about HIM! I smiled to myself, happy at the thought that throughout the US there were potentially millions of new Mika fans who had been watching and were now saying the same sorts of things... finally in on the secret that too few of us in the US have known for a long time. Mika IS amazing!

So... was it worth the trip? Absolutely. Many thanks to Good Morning America for bringing Mika to the US television audience again, and of course to Mika, his band and his team, for once again giving a performance that was as brilliant as if it had been a full-blown show."

 

 

You're both welcome, it is super easy from a Mac if you have an iPod or iPhone. Not sure about a PC, can't help you there unfortunately Deb, i'm a total Mac convert now  :wink2: but i'm sure there must be a way, i use Quicktime "record new movie" and then plug in a device and switch the settings to record from my iPod. Loved your post about the show experience as well! I loved seeing on Twitter after it was over how many people discovered and re-discovered him because of this performance. That was extremely satisfying and well-deserved  :wub:

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Thank you all - for nice GMA stuff!! :) So happy to hear that everything went fine, and was so successful :) I enjoy to think about millions of people watching our brilliant MIKA!!! :)

 

Love,love

me

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Thank you Deb for your very thorough report. I don't think I have much more to add but will share some of my thoughts on this very special experience.

 

When I found out Mika was going to be playing at Good Morning Americas Summer concert series in NY, I immediately thought to go and check it out. I had just seen him live for the first time in LA and was (and am) so hopelessly into him and his music, especially his live performances. And since I had never been to NY, why not? I jokingly brought it up w my husband thinking he would never let me be so crazy but to my surprise, he told me to make the trip! I guess bc he did see firsthand the fanatic I became at the LA gig haha. Needless to say he is very supportive. The only "rule" he had for me was that I couldn't go alone haha. Which at the time I was perfectly fine doing to see Mika again.

 

But I asked a few friends if they wanted to do a girls only trip and enthusiastically they were on board! I am a stay at home mom to an almost 4 year old daughter and I haven't done much for myself since she was born. So, seeing Mika and going on a vacation (without kids) was so exciting. And then my sister decided to go so I had my entourage set! Haha

 

Like Deb mentioned in her post, I thought there was going be lots of waiting around in the heat but it turned out to be quite a nice day. We woke up at 430am, which for us Californians was a 1:30am wake up call. But when we arrived we were excited and pumped to see Mika. What I thought was going to be a "wait" wasnt so bad. Part of it included Mika and the band rehearsing. Mika was interacting with the crowd and giving us directions what to do when we went live. His charm and genuine personality just made everyone want to listen to everything he said! I was ready and pumped to do my part.

 

And then...the party started when we went live! Talk About You was so fantastic with everyone singing and jumping along!! Mika gave us a thumbs up at the end and he looked so happy! I was so happy. Later he played Lollipop, then the medley of Popular, Grace Kelly, and Love today. My friends, who had never heard of Mika before the trip, commented on how infectious his performance was and was asking when he would be performing his next gig! Yay new fan friends!!

 

Afterwards Deb announced there would be a M&g for MFC members. I was beside myself, since I had never met him. When Mika came out to chat, I was a total blubbering fool!!! Actually I couldn't even speak I was so incredibly starstruck ????! All I could do was meagerly hand him my NPIH cd for an autograph. But we did get a group picture and I was speechless for a few hours afterwards. My friends and sister kept asking how I felt and I couldn't respond, I was just shock and could couldn't process my feelings haha. I just loved the concert, loved how the tv footage turned out and was so happy that we were a part of this special US promotion.

 

I really have to thank Deb, who is just so nice and with it! She made me and my friends feel so welcome and it was a wonderful first MFC experience.

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Figured I might as well add my thoughts and experiences on here as well, though those before me have covered the day pretty well.

 

 

When I first heard there would be a free concert in central park I jokingly mentioned it to my friend. We had spent an entire week talking about nothing but NPIH so I figured she might enjoy it. She was game but we weren't sure how to convince our parents. All our other friends were busy or didn't have the money to spare so we abandoned the idea. But when I found out that I happened to get out of work at 8:30 the night before and have the day off I was convinced we had to make the journey from Boston to New York. I had always wanted to go to NYC and going to a Mika show was on my bucket list. So two birds with one stone. My parents were easy to convince, but hers took a week and arduous planning. The only way we were allowed to go was to take a bus at 1am and arrive in NYC at 5:20. So that's what we did.

By some miracle our bus arrived in the city at 5am and we made it to the park by 5:30 to seek out the other MFC members. After some searching we found where we needed to be and met Deb who introduced us to the rest of the group. Everyone was so nice and full of smiles as VIP wristbands were handed out and we approached the entrance. When we finally got in we were up right at the barrier of the catwalk area. The sounds of birds chirping was almost deafening having only slept a grand total of 2 hours on the bus.

 

I wondered how on earth we would stand there until 8:30 when Mika was performing live, as it was only 6. But to my surprise and delight, there was much more than just standing happening. The band sound checked and we had the lovely "comedian" to help time pass. Then Mika himself came out and rehearsed and talked a bit and I was on cloud nine. We had the perfect view and that man's charm and joy is as infectious as can be. I found myself smiling every time he did, which was often, and wanting to pinch myself every second to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

 

Before we went live Deb turned around to us and said in a hushed tone that we'd have a meet & greet with him after and to just stick with her. I was convinced I was dreaming. How was any of this possible?? We went live and the energy in the crowd was incredible all around, despite it being so early. Even though we had seen the same set around 3 times by then, it was as if we had started anew.

 

It was an absolutely fantastic show and as the area cleared out we made our way to the trailers. They called Deb herself up and then we all got to go up and Mika himself joined us, thanking us for being there and saying how he had to be in Montreal later that day. We took a quick picture and he signed something for everyone. I could barely manage a thank you after he signed my star, I was so shocked that Mika himself was standing no more than 3 feet in front of me. My friend and I floated away and sat in disbelief as to our luck. It took the entire day of turning to each other and whispering "we. Met. Mika." To even convince me it was real. It was the greatest day of my entire life, and I can't wait to be able to see him perform again.

Edited by creativesoul96
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