charlie20 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 https://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/02/09/mika-releases-music-video-with-anti-bulling-message/ Mika releases music video with anti-bullying message (Screenshot courtesy of YouTube) Mika dropped a new music video for “Hurts (Remix)” this week featuring an anti-bullying message. In the video, the British singer helps three teenagers deal with verbal bulling. Together, they paint over a wall scribbled in insults written in Italian and English. “Nothing’s only words, that’s how hearts get hurt,” Mika sings on the track. “Hurts (Remix)” is included on the Italian deluxe version of Mika’s latest album “No Place in Heaven.” Mika, who is gay, has spoken out about homophobia he has faced by posting pictures of posters with homophobic slurs on them on his social media accounts. “I saw the photos and my instinct was not to do anything, because hatred, which I know very well, would be better off ignored,” Mika tweeted according to Pop Crush. “But let’s break the silence! I have no fear of those who discriminate against me—no one should. Love does what it wants.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathouzouf Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Isn't the article from a US paper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Isn't the article from a US paper? Well the most important thing, as far as I am concerned, is that it is IN ENGLISH, and from either US or Canada. I'm so thrilled about it as it might get picked up by other English-speaking sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mari62 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Isn't the article from a US paper? oops yes! thanks Cath! and this has magically turned into the US press thread 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathouzouf Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 oops yes! thanks Cath! and this has magically turned into the US press thread Love your kind of magic Marina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mari62 Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 Love your kind of magic Marina so do I, just wish I could do magic in RL as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie20 Posted February 13, 2016 Author Share Posted February 13, 2016 oops yes! thanks Cath! and this has magically turned into the US press thread Thank you Marina! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mari62 Posted February 13, 2016 Share Posted February 13, 2016 Thank you Marina! And thank YOU Charlie! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie20 Posted February 28, 2016 Author Share Posted February 28, 2016 http://www.avclub.com/article/mika-channels-movie-and-music-star-grace-kelly-232429 Mika channels a movie and a music star in “Grace Kelly” By Becca James In Hear This, The A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well. This week: In honor of the Oscars, songs named after celebrities. Mika, “Grace Kelly” (2007) As far as I can tell, there’s a long history of artists being told by their record company to be a certain way, which leads to them refusing, writing a song about it, and it charting. Pink accomplished this with the popular 2001 single “Don’t Let Me Get Me,” blatantly calling out record executive L.A. Reid—“L.A. told me, ‘You’ll be a pop star / All you have to change is everything you are.’” Sara Bareilles also comes to mind with her 2007 hit single “Love Song,” a tongue-in-cheek response to her record label demanding “radio friendly” songs. “I’m not gonna write you to stay / If your heart is nowhere in it / I don’t want it for a minute,” Bareilles sings in protest. In the same vein, Mika’s 2007 hit “Grace Kelly” rallied against the corporate machine and became one of the U.K.-based artist’s most popular songs. After his label executives tried to model his look and sound on Craig David, another popular U.K. artist, Mika felt frustrated at the thought of adopting different identities to please others: “I try to be like Grace Kelly / But all her looks were too sad / So I try a little Freddie / I’ve gone identity mad!” Grace Kelly, the movie star and Princess Of Monaco, is an interesting choice for Mika (who would go on to be compared to Freddie Mercury because of similar vocals) to sing about, and one that isn’t entirely explained. The bit of dialogue used in the song is from the film The Country Girl, which garnered two Oscars, including Best Actress for Kelly. But other than her name serving as a clever wink at pop culture, the song harkens more toward Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and Brian May, with its impressive vocals and stellar piano and guitar work. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 I'm always excited when this thread is bumped-up, as it's important for Mika to do well in the USA. I wish the article was about his more recent work, but anything that makes people look him up and have a listen, is good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAK1 Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 I saw this tweeted on Twitter last week, and replied to them that he has come a long way since then and to check out his new album. No response though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreacher Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) i posted a couple dvd reviews in the Sinfonia Pop thread, i think both are from US press: http://www.mikafanclub.com/topic/32530-sinfonia-pop-dvd-coming-27-may-available-for-pre-order-now/page-4#entry4063753 Edited June 19, 2016 by kreacher 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcdeb Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 The Sinfonia Pop DVD is mentioned favorably in the 2016 Pride Playlist for the Bay Area Reporter online: http://www.ebar.com/arts/art_article.php?sec=music&article=1483 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcdeb Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Another mention of the Sinfonia Pop DVD, this time in a paper from South Mississippi, the Sun-Herald: This is the excerpt from the larger article:‘Sinfonia Pop,’ Mika (Eagle Rock Entertainment, ☆☆☆☆)This May 27 DVD/Blu-Ray/digital release presents worldwide pop phenomenon Mika, who has sold more than 10,000,000 recordings. The full orchestra concert was filmed at Italy’s elegant Teatro Sociale, and the audience seems quite familiar with Mika’s material. The British performer also speaks fluent Italian at times.I admire his facile voice, which slides easily from tenor/baritone to strong falsetto; and the musical/lyrical hooks of some songs. I’m not familiar with the recorded versions, so my favorites are the percussive “Boum Boum Boum,” the ultra-catchy “Grace Kelly,” the BIG choruses of “Happy Ending” and “Origin of Love” and major audience favorite “Elle Me Dit.” This isn’t my bag, but American music fans should investigate Mika.Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/entertainment/article92544322.html#storylink=cpy 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 I have always wanted American people to investigate Mika. I hope they do that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 (edited) Mr Greg Wells interview Headliner magazine http://headlinermagazine.net/headliners/greg-wells.html It is an extract of a part of Mika. FINDING MIKA Wells cut his first record for record executive, Tommy Mottola’s record label, and although it wasn’t a commercial success, Mottola saw something in Wells’ work, and encouraged him to work with a brand new artist from England called Mika. This was in 2007. “Tommy called me and said, ‘you should meet this kid, Mika; he’s 20, and I just signed him’. A couple of weeks later, he called again saying he was recommending me to everybody as a writer,” Wells recalls. “All these guys were asking Tommy, ‘who is Greg Wells? Have you even met him?’ And he said, ‘no, I haven’t’, and they said, ‘maybe you should, because you’re cutting everyone else out of the running!’ It was really strange. So he then asked me to New York; I had a one-hour meeting, we got Mika on the phone, and Tommy told him to come to LA to cut a song with me. He then said, ‘what you doing this weekend?’, and that was that [smiles].” So Wells found himself back in LA, and Mika flew in a few days later. At this stage, all he had was a video of a showcase Mika had played in New York, and no copy of any of his music. “I showed up, I’d rented a drum kit, had a bass and a guitar, and they had a piano and an engineer,” smiles Wells. “He had this one song called Grace Kelly that really jumped out at me. I suggested working on that, but he wasn’t sure, as he’d demoed it six times, and it was problematic. I said it spoke to me, so we tried it. We then cut it in one day, and everything on it is first take except the vocals. I played everything else as there was no budget to hire anyone else! We were under the gun, didn’t have much time, and it was Mika that said, ‘Greg, you play the piano’, even though I love how he plays. And that is exactly what got released, and it’s his biggest song ever. He really liked how it turned out, and he asked if I could do a second song - a really fun song called Lollipop - and musically it was very different to anything I’d worked on. Mika’s music is hyper-happy, and exaggerated, but he’s had quite a hard life as a child, so his lyrics are kinda messed up. All I know is, I just saw he was a special talent.” Wells’ management were unconvinced. With two Mika songs in the bag, they wanted him to leave the project and move on. But Wells had other ideas. “I wanted to make the whole record with Mika, so we spent about six months on it, and then when Grace Kelly came out as the first single, it went to number one within a week, and sat there for seven weeks! We were freaking out!” Wells recalls, with a beaming smile. “His MySpace went from 300 to 25,000 or so overnight, and record sales amounted to almost six million. That’s like 20 million sales, 15 years ago, and that changed everything for him and for me. Labels were suddenly offering me so many projects, whereas before I always felt like I had my hat out, asking what I could do for them, you know? My perception within the industry changed so much.” Scans from https://issuu.com/headlinerhub/docs/headliner-mpg_awards_special/24?e=11400578/33816145 Page-24 https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8056/29040467795_47c147ec0f_h.jpg Page-25 https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8360/28964646661_ee5d637ff3_h.jpg Page-26 https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8526/29040472925_d744eff058_h.jpg Page-27 https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8443/28964650881_0c79c563e0_h.jpg https://issuu.com/headlinerhub/docs/headliner_13/16 Edited April 12, 2019 by Kumazzz 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 Billboard http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7400284/strange-fruit-birth-nation-music-synchs-publishing-revenue 6/13/2016 BULLYING 'HURTS Dance artist Mika, who has credits as a songwriter for Madonna, among others, collaborated with Reservoir Music writer-producer team The Nexus (David Sneddon and James Bauer-Mein) for the track "Hurts" on his 2015 album, No Place in Heaven. The song then took on a second life after Mika saw the film Un Bacio (A Kiss) from Italian director Ivan Cotroneo with a depiction of teenage bullying, a theme of the song. He and Cotroneo teamed up on a video of a remix of "Hurts" that has been viewed 1.8 million times on YouTube. The song then was added to the trailer and credits of the movie before its release in Italy in February. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted November 8, 2016 Share Posted November 8, 2016 (edited) Billboard 50 Top Gay Anthems to Celebrate LGBT Pride Month http://www.billboard.com/photos/7408710/gay-anthems-lgbt-pride-top-songs/24 The 50 Best Gay Anthems Of All Time What makes a song a gay anthem? Like the LGBTQ community, our soundtrack is vast and diverse. There are the obvious dance classics with big-voiced divas. There are also the soul-searching slow jams that mirror our struggles with self-acceptance and social rejection. There are viral sensations that caught our attention, but also underground tracks that some of us haven't discovered yet. While it's impossible to pinpoint exactly what makes a song "gay," this list definitely isn’t straight. For the sake of diversity, artists were only allowed one song on this list. 28. "Grace Kelly," Mika, 2007 Several of Mika’s songs could have made this list (“We Are Golden,” “Lollipop,” or “Last Party,” a song about Freddie Mercury’s infamous party before he died), but “Grace Kelly” is why we fell in love with him in the first place: He’s authentically queer and has no interest in conforming. 50. "We R Who We R," Kesha, 2010 49. "Heavy Cross," Gossip, 2009 48. "Go West," Pet Shop Boys, 1993 47. "It’s Raining Men," The Weather Girls, 1982 46. "Follow Your Arrow," Kacey Musgraves, 2013 45. "Dancing On My Own," Robyn, 2010 44. "Boys Keep Swinging," David Bowie, 1979 43. "Same Love," Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat. Mary Lambert), 2012 42. "Bowlegged & Starving," Jay Brannan, 2008 41. "Dancing Queen," ABBA, 1976 40. "People Like Us," Kelly Clarkson, 2012 39. "I Want to Break Free," Queen, 1984 38. "Firework," Katy Perry, 2010 37. "Come To My Window," Melissa Etheridge, 1993 36. "Finally," CeCe Peniston, 1992 35. "We Are Family," Sister Sledge, 1979 34. "All The Lovers," Kylie Minogue, 2010 33. "The Origin of Love," 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch,' 1998 32. "Rebel Girl," Bikini Kill, 1993 31. "Wild," Troye Sivan, 2015 30. "Raise You Up/Just Be," 'Kinky Boots,' 2012 29. "Ima Read," Zebra Katz (feat. Njena Reddd Foxxx), 2012 28. "Grace Kelly," Mika, 2007 27. "Take Me I’m Yours," Jobriath, 1973 26. "Smalltown Boy," Bronski Beat, 1984 25. "#### You," Lily Allen, 2009 24. "Got To Be Real," Cheryl Lynn, 1978 23. "A Little Respect," Erasure, 1988 22. "Brave," Sara Bareilles, 2013 21. "Freedom! ‘90," George Michael, 1990 20. "Y.M.C.A.," Village People, 1978 19. "Supermodel (You Better Work)," RuPaul, 1993 18. "Raise Your Glass," P!nk, 2010 17. "If I Could Turn Back Time," Cher, 1989 16. "Keep On Livin," Le Tigre, 2001 15. "Take Me Or Leave Me," 'Rent,' 1996 14. "Over The Rainbow," Judy Garland, 1939 13. "Relax," Frankie Goes To Hollywood, 1983 12. "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)," Sylvester, 1978 11. "Closer to Fine," Indigo Girls, 1989 10. "Vogue," Madonna, 1990 9. "True Trans Soul Rebel," Against Me!, 2014 8. "Don’t Leave Me This Way," Thelma Houston, 1976 7. "Let’s Have a Kiki," The Scissor Sisters, 2012 6. "Constant Craving," k.d. lang, 1992 5. "Beautiful," Christina Aguilera, 2002 4. "True Colors," Cyndi Lauper, 1986 3. "I Will Survive," Gloria Gaynor, 1978 2. "Born This Way," Lady Gaga, 2011 1. "I’m Coming Out," Diana Ross, 1980 Edited November 8, 2016 by Kumazzz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mocha Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 I don't know if this is the right thread to post this in, but I am so happy hearing the violin solo from "Any Other World" being used in the Armani Si Perfume commercial. They must be really pushing to sell it in the US this Christmas because it seems to be on during every commercial break Not that I mind, any hint of Mika is very much appreciated https://youtu.be/0eJQLFQMohA 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 (edited) I don't know if this is the right thread to post this in, but I am so happy hearing the violin solo from "Any Other World" being used in the Armani Si Perfume commercial. They must be really pushing to sell it in the US this Christmas because it seems to be on during every commercial break Not that I mind, any hint of Mika is very much appreciated added to the thread Mikas music on TV/film. Edited December 13, 2016 by Kumazzz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 to be cotinued .... Mika in US Press - 2017 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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