Mika in US & Canadian Press - 2013/2014

I guess I will never agree that organized religion serves any other purpose than to control and manipulate people and resources. The values of loving each other and caring for your neighbours exist outside of the Catholic church and outside of all religious institutions. It's human nature and empathy for other human beings develops naturally in all children at an early age without threats of hell if you don't comply.

But telling tens of millions of people to not use birth control (ie condoms) and exacerbating the AIDS epidemic in Africa is an atrocity and would not happen without organized, widespread and powerful religious institutions.

Anyway we will have to agree to disagree with this one. I just hope Mika finds peace with it. Especially since he himself has been a victim of harmful religious doctrine and I don't think it's going to change any time soon unless people abandon the church in droves and church leaders are forced to change.

But we're talking about crimes against humanity here. We're talking about political policies that destroy lives and generate hatred. How can any amount of personal comfort override that reality in your mind? Of course it does for many because it doesn't affect them so they turn a blind eye to it. But Mika is not blind to it.

 

I lived in South Africa just a couple of years after apartheid ended and all I ever heard about was what an idyllic life it was (if you were white of course). And I don't doubt that it was. Who wouldn't want to have servants do everything for you? Who wouldn't want a low rate of violent crime? Who wouldn't want all the resources in the country for themselves? But if you have any conscience you will admit that cheap labour is not a good thing if you are effectively enslaving people by disenfranchising them and ensuring they have no access to education. You will admit that controlling crime is not a valid reason to strip people of basic human rights like liberty to move around the country and live and work wherever they want. You will admit that taking all those resources by force is effectively theft.

 

This is not exclusive to Roman Catholicism of course. There are also protestant missionaries promoting violent homophobia in Africa.

 

Some values in these political systems (which is what churches are) are just so abhorrent that no warm and fuzzy childhood memories or comfort can justify supporting it.

I agree with all of Christine's point in the other posts and especially this bolder part.

Lots of Catholics and Christians disagree with some/ most of their religion's teachings but still call themselves 'catholic' or whatever else with ambivalence or just go to church on major religious occasions. But calling yourself this thing that your not really committed to, in my mind is basically saying u don't agree with the nazi party but u guess ur a member because u grew up in it, ur family's in it etc. either lobby to actively change these policies u don't believe in or leave the organization. These ambivalent 'members' get counted in surveys etc and the church gets power from numbers whether directly or indirectly...

I agree with all of Christine's point in the other posts and especially this bolder part.

Lots of Catholics and Christians disagree with some/ most of their religion's teachings but still call themselves 'catholic' or whatever else with ambivalence or just go to church on major religious occasions. But calling yourself this thing that your not really committed to, in my mind is basically saying u don't agree with the nazi party but u guess ur a member because u grew up in it, ur family's in it etc. either lobby to actively change these policies u don't believe in or leave the organization. These ambivalent 'members' get counted in surveys etc and the church gets power from numbers whether directly or indirectly...

The thing I find most troubling about Mika's ambivalence is he is not just someone who doesn't agree with it. He is one of its victims. What would we think of a jew or gypsy who identifies with the Nazi party or a black African who respects apartheid because of its few merits? It seems unthinkably absurd. And yet there are gay people and gay supporters who continue to count themselves members of a group who seeks to oppress them and encourage others to hate them. I will never understand it.

I don't know about Quebec but in Ontario Catholic schools get money from taxpayers who voluntarily allocate their tax dollars away from public schools and into Catholic schools. Catholic schools that are indocrinating children and are alive and well here so plenty of people are supporting them in a very tangible way.

Mika moves into movies

By: Tom Lanham | 03/24/13 6:11 PM

Special to The SF Examiner

Pop star Mika, whose new album is ““The Origin of Love,” appears in new film directed by Fanny Ardant.

Beirut-born artist Mika didn’t go looking for a major movie role. It found him.

After his multiplatinum 2007 debut, “Life in Cartoon Motion,” made him an international pop sensation, the photogenic, Freddie Mercury-voiced singer began traveling in increasingly lofty social circles.

One night, he was dining with his good friend Christian Louboutin, who had been designing stage shoes for him, and seated at their table was famed French actress Fanny Ardant.

“I was introduced, and I became obsessed with her persona,” he says. “You have to refer to her in the formal term of ‘vous,’ and she’s so pure, so hardcore and so dangerous, you never know what she’s going to say. She’s a true diva.”

Coincidentally, at the time, Mika — who plays The City today, backing his new romance-themed offering, “The Origin of Love” — was storyboarding a video for his first French-language single, “Elle Me Dit.”

“It’s a song about a mom who doesn’t want to grow old, a mom who wants to stay sexy, but she’s looking at her son growing older and she hates him — she wants to destroy him,” he says.

Casting was a no-brainer: Ardant.

“She was the perfect person for the part because I wanted somebody with that dangerous edge,” he adds. The actress agreed, then made a reciprocal offer.

Soon, Mika received a tome-sized script for “Cadences Obstinees,” a movie Ardant was directing. There was a part in it for him: Lucio, a hotel piano player, who pines for the film’s star, Asia Argento.

Busy recording “Origin,” he said yes, sight unseen. In short order, he was on the Lisbon, Portugal, set, working alongside heavy hitters such as Franco Nero, Gerard Depardieu and Argento, the daughter of horror director Dario Argento.

“Now I am secretly obsessed with Asia Argento,” he says. “I wrote a whole article about her for La Republica in Italy, where I have a column.”

Mika has licensed his likeness to everything from Coca-Cola to Japanese toy robots. But he downplays his upcoming big-screen bow.

“I mean, give me a song and I can pretend to be anything,” he says. “But put me in front of a camera and I don’t know … I’m extremely goofy.”

But the pop confectioner knows how to spin ear candy, like the breakthrough hit “Grace Kelly” or “Origin’s” script-flipping twist on the play “Wicked,” “Popular Song,” sung from the loser’s viewpoint.

Mika is not sure if he will be Ardant’s go-to guest in future flicks.

He adds: “But if she does call me again, I’ll actually read the script this time. I just read the outline of the last one, it was so many words.”

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/entertainment/music/2013/03/mika-moves-movies#ixzz2OWbnWyLo

Mika moves into movies

By: Tom Lanham | 03/24/13 6:11 PM

Special to The SF Examiner

 

Pop star Mika, whose new album is ““The Origin of Love,” appears in new film directed by Fanny Ardant.

 

Beirut-born artist Mika didn’t go looking for a major movie role. It found him.

 

After his multiplatinum 2007 debut, “Life in Cartoon Motion,” made him an international pop sensation, the photogenic, Freddie Mercury-voiced singer began traveling in increasingly lofty social circles.

 

One night, he was dining with his good friend Christian Louboutin, who had been designing stage shoes for him, and seated at their table was famed French actress Fanny Ardant.

 

“I was introduced, and I became obsessed with her persona,” he says. “You have to refer to her in the formal term of ‘vous,’ and she’s so pure, so hardcore and so dangerous, you never know what she’s going to say. She’s a true diva.”

 

Coincidentally, at the time, Mika — who plays The City today, backing his new romance-themed offering, “The Origin of Love” — was storyboarding a video for his first French-language single, “Elle Me Dit.”

 

“It’s a song about a mom who doesn’t want to grow old, a mom who wants to stay sexy, but she’s looking at her son growing older and she hates him — she wants to destroy him,” he says.

 

Casting was a no-brainer: Ardant.

 

“She was the perfect person for the part because I wanted somebody with that dangerous edge,” he adds. The actress agreed, then made a reciprocal offer.

 

Soon, Mika received a tome-sized script for “Cadences Obstinees,” a movie Ardant was directing. There was a part in it for him: Lucio, a hotel piano player, who pines for the film’s star, Asia Argento.

 

Busy recording “Origin,” he said yes, sight unseen. In short order, he was on the Lisbon, Portugal, set, working alongside heavy hitters such as Franco Nero, Gerard Depardieu and Argento, the daughter of horror director Dario Argento.

 

“Now I am secretly obsessed with Asia Argento,” he says. “I wrote a whole article about her for La Republica in Italy, where I have a column.”

 

Mika has licensed his likeness to everything from Coca-Cola to Japanese toy robots. But he downplays his upcoming big-screen bow.

 

“I mean, give me a song and I can pretend to be anything,” he says. “But put me in front of a camera and I don’t know … I’m extremely goofy.”

 

But the pop confectioner knows how to spin ear candy, like the breakthrough hit “Grace Kelly” or “Origin’s” script-flipping twist on the play “Wicked,” “Popular Song,” sung from the loser’s viewpoint.

 

Mika is not sure if he will be Ardant’s go-to guest in future flicks.

 

He adds: “But if she does call me again, I’ll actually read the script this time. I just read the outline of the last one, it was so many words.”

 

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/entertainment/music/2013/03/mika-moves-movies#ixzz2OWbnWyLo

Thanks a lot Deb !! Very interesting article - and I expect, or at least hope for, more film roles finding MIKA I can't wait to see him as Lucio

Love,love

me

This is a really good interview. Definitely one of the best we've read lately and so interesting.

Totally get what he's saying about the Catholic church. It reminded me of the article he's done for XL about religion, that is certainly one of my favorites of his column as I absolutely agree with everything he had written.

Walt Disney has always been one of my heroes so I'm really happy he mentioned him. His films were excellent and with so much heart.

Also love his choice of favorite videos. Happy Ending has been one of my faves ever since I first watched it. Underwater is incredibly beautiful and in my opinion the best one he's done so far:wub2:

I guess I will never agree that organized religion serves any other purpose than to control and manipulate people and resources. The values of loving each other and caring for your neighbours exist outside of the Catholic church and outside of all religious institutions. It's human nature and empathy for other human beings develops naturally in all children at an early age without threats of hell if you don't comply.

 

But telling tens of millions of people to not use birth control (ie condoms) and exacerbating the AIDS epidemic in Africa is an atrocity and would not happen without organized, widespread and powerful religious institutions.

 

Anyway we will have to agree to disagree with this one. I just hope Mika finds peace with it. Especially since he himself has been a victim of harmful religious doctrine and I don't think it's going to change any time soon unless people abandon the church in droves and church leaders are forced to change.

I think all this talking about religion is so difficult to understand by people who weren´t raised in a catholic family. I think it´s the same we all once argued about: Russia and their thoughts about homosexuality. Same way the rest of Europe or even the rest of the World can´t understand how is it possible that in that country they are so close-minded yet, maybe we can´t understand how a catholic education works in someone.

In my case I´m totally out of church now. But still, my son had baptism when he was born.. it was like... "I know it´s stupid, and I know it´s not for his good, but... let´s baptise him". I can´t explain this. Of course he is not going to take his first communion EVER if it depends on me. But somehow, I was raised in a roman catholic city, I studied religion as a subject in my secular school (can you explain this?) untill I was 10. Right after my first communion (I kinda was forced to take it) I decided not to study religion anymore. Only me and another girl weren´t studying that. There weren´t alternative classes for us or anything by those years (now kids are studying religion or ethics depending on their parents choice and they are separated to study those subjects) so we were sent to the playground whilst the rest of our mates were studying.

Growing up in such an environment makes you "feel" you are a part of that. Why if I decided at the age of 10 that church sucked made my son be baptised? I have no way to explain this. I simply don´t understand why I had the urgency of making him be a part of a church that I loathe. It´s irrational, and I know it, but what can I do? I guess Mika feels a bit like that too.

In fact if we forget about the church, all what that first politician called Jesus said was very good: be good to each other, don´t kill, share what you have etc. I think we all who were raised in a catholic country mess up "ethics" with "religion". Shame.

In fact if we forget about the church, all what that first politician called Jesus said was very good: be good to each other, don´t kill, share what you have etc. I think we all who were raised in a catholic country mess up "ethics" with "religion". Shame.

I think all Christians are taught that God is necessary for ethical behaviour. And yes you're right it's very difficult for me to understand. I heard an interesting interview the other day with a couple of sisters who were members of a Baptist church in the US who teach a very hateful type of Christianity where everyone is going to hell if they are not like them. The girls would attend anti gay protests and go on Twitter and say hateful things to people. They started questioning a Jewish guy on Twitter, telling him he was going to hell, etc. The Twitter guy started answering their questions and chatting to them and eventually they struck up a friendship. The girls started questioning all the things they had been taught about other groups and some of these extreme religious ideas. They have now left the church and left their family. It's hard for them because they love their family but now that they no longer believe what the church has been telling them they can't be part of it. It's a very hopeful and amazing story because this whole new world has opened up for them as they are travelling around and mixing with new people but it's also quite sad because they miss their family and had to leave behind everything they ever knew.

I think all Christians are taught that God is necessary for ethical behaviour. And yes you're right it's very difficult for me to understand. I heard an interesting interview the other day with a couple of sisters who were members of a Baptist church in the US who teach a very hateful type of Christianity where everyone is going to hell if they are not like them. The girls would attend anti gay protests and go on Twitter and say hateful things to people. They started questioning a Jewish guy on Twitter, telling him he was going to hell, etc. The Twitter guy started answering their questions and chatting to them and eventually they struck up a friendship. The girls started questioning all the things they had been taught about other groups and some of these extreme religious ideas. They have now left the church and left their family. It's hard for them because they love their family but now that they no longer believe what the church has been telling them they can't be part of it. It's a very hopeful and amazing story because this whole new world has opened up for them as they are travelling around and mixing with new people but it's also quite sad because they miss their family and had to leave behind everything they ever knew.

Yes, it´s totally like that! It´s like a tough struggle inside you, realising that since you are all rational and clever, no f*cking way are you going to follow that doctrine, but then, you have all your environment, all your family and friends, and all your past live linked to something that has finally grown up inside of you and you cannot get rid of it that easily.

I think Mika totally disagrees on what church says about gays and stuff but then he was all excited about the new Pope... LOL weird I think it could be for him something like it means for me. It´s just a part of my past, and even if I don´t go to churchs, some things that religion teaches are good, and we all try to be good to others and stuff. I mean, the good things that religion teaches, are good. The hate and intolerance are not. But then again, even if you try to not have anything to do with church,but your family is catholic, sooner or later you end up in a church, going to a baptism, a first communion, a wedding... For us catholics (you see? I´m now considering a catholic myself...pffff #hopeless) it´s a part of our lives.

On the other hand, churchs are really pretty. The structure and stuff, I mean.

Mika moves into movies

By: Tom Lanham | 03/24/13 6:11 PM

Special to The SF Examiner

 

Pop star Mika, whose new album is ““The Origin of Love,” appears in new film directed by Fanny Ardant.

 

Beirut-born artist Mika didn’t go looking for a major movie role. It found him.

 

After his multiplatinum 2007 debut, “Life in Cartoon Motion,” made him an international pop sensation, the photogenic, Freddie Mercury-voiced singer began traveling in increasingly lofty social circles.

 

One night, he was dining with his good friend Christian Louboutin, who had been designing stage shoes for him, and seated at their table was famed French actress Fanny Ardant.

 

“I was introduced, and I became obsessed with her persona,” he says. “You have to refer to her in the formal term of ‘vous,’ and she’s so pure, so hardcore and so dangerous, you never know what she’s going to say. She’s a true diva.”

 

Coincidentally, at the time, Mika — who plays The City today, backing his new romance-themed offering, “The Origin of Love” — was storyboarding a video for his first French-language single, “Elle Me Dit.”

 

“It’s a song about a mom who doesn’t want to grow old, a mom who wants to stay sexy, but she’s looking at her son growing older and she hates him — she wants to destroy him,” he says.

 

Casting was a no-brainer: Ardant.

 

“She was the perfect person for the part because I wanted somebody with that dangerous edge,” he adds. The actress agreed, then made a reciprocal offer.

 

Soon, Mika received a tome-sized script for “Cadences Obstinees,” a movie Ardant was directing. There was a part in it for him: Lucio, a hotel piano player, who pines for the film’s star, Asia Argento.

 

Busy recording “Origin,” he said yes, sight unseen. In short order, he was on the Lisbon, Portugal, set, working alongside heavy hitters such as Franco Nero, Gerard Depardieu and Argento, the daughter of horror director Dario Argento.

 

“Now I am secretly obsessed with Asia Argento,” he says. “I wrote a whole article about her for La Republica in Italy, where I have a column.”

 

Mika has licensed his likeness to everything from Coca-Cola to Japanese toy robots. But he downplays his upcoming big-screen bow.

 

“I mean, give me a song and I can pretend to be anything,” he says. “But put me in front of a camera and I don’t know … I’m extremely goofy.”

 

But the pop confectioner knows how to spin ear candy, like the breakthrough hit “Grace Kelly” or “Origin’s” script-flipping twist on the play “Wicked,” “Popular Song,” sung from the loser’s viewpoint.

 

Mika is not sure if he will be Ardant’s go-to guest in future flicks.

 

He adds: “But if she does call me again, I’ll actually read the script this time. I just read the outline of the last one, it was so many words.”

 

Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/entertainment/music/2013/03/mika-moves-movies#ixzz2OWbnWyLo

The film “Cadences Obstinees” will premiere in Portugal.

Boy, would I love to be there for that!

Mika's back from latest midlife crisis

Casablanca Records

Pop singer-songwriter Mika is back after a three-year absence with a new album, "The Origin of Love."

By Aidin Vaziri

March 25, 2013 01:26 PM

You guys really missed Mika. After a three-year break - a veritable lifetime in the fickle world of pop music - tickets for his Monday show at the Great American Music Hall sold out in less than a minute. The Beirut-born, London-raised songwriter's third and latest album, "The Origin of Love," is a more low-key affair than his 5 million-selling debut, "Life in Cartoon Motion," but it features big-name collaborators such as Greg Wells (Katy Perry, Pink), DJ Benny Benassi (Madonna) and Pharrell Williams. We spoke with Mika - real name Michael Penniman - from his home in London.

Q: Your San Francisco show sold out in less than a minute. Were you surprised?

A: Of course I was surprised. It's really heartwarming when something like that happens. A lot of the shows on this tour sold out very fast. But let me tell you, Las Vegas did not sell out in one minute. I think there are still plenty of tickets available for that one. Clearly, I'm not quite as popular with the Cirque du Soleil crowd.

Q: Did you intend to take so much time off?

A: In between all my records there have been long gaps. I only write music because it's a reflection of the two or three years of living in between. My songs are not born out of anything. I come from nowhere. I come from nothing. A song has to grow.

Q: A lot of the songs on the new record are about relationships. Is it difficult maintaining them with your lifestyle?

A: Well, I don't think it's very difficult. I'm reclusive unless I'm working. I don't talk about my life to anybody. My friends know nothing. But when I'm writing a song, I'll say everything right down to the details of somebody's body. Then it has a context and reason. The only downside is if those close to you hear it.

Q: You turn 30 next year. Are you anticipating any major meltdowns?

A: I don't worry about having a midlife crisis because every time I make a record I have a midlife crisis. I've already had three mental breakdowns. I'll probably have a fourth. I'm guaranteed multiple breakdowns. I've completely admitted to myself I find it hard to derive value in what I do unless I create something. I really am a victim of that. I'll be 82 years old, and I'll still be trying to write something. I'll be a very embarrassing old man.

Mika: 8 p.m. Monday. Great American Music Hall. 859 O'Farrell St., S.F. $30. (415) 885-0750. http://www.slimspresents.com.

To hear Mika's music, go to http://www.mikasounds.com.

Aidin Vaziri is The San Francisco Chronicle's pop music critic. E-mail: avaziri@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MusicSF

Read more: http://www.sfchronicle.com/music/popquiz/article/Mika-s-back-from-latest-midlife-crisis-4382536.php#ixzz2ObxayVm9

I'm glad that crisis ends in masterpieces

Thank you Deb

"I'll be a very embarrassing old man"

That might be one of the most adorable things he's said. It's also an incredibly cute image.

"I'll be a very embarrassing old man"

 

That might be one of the most adorable things he's said. It's also an incredibly cute image.

MIKA will be cute at all ages, because he has a cute and beautiful soul

I hope he also will have a clear mind - and produse loads of good stuff for a looong time

Thanks for another interesting interview Deb!

Love,love

me

That's great! T4P!

http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Magic-Mika-Singer-talks-Twitter-bullying-and-drinks/42139.html

Magic Mika: Singer talks Twitter, bullying and drinks

British singer Mika is bringing it back stateside in a return tour that is more acoustic and intimate than past sold-out shows.

The artist who released his third album The Origin of Love last year has continually stepped up his game with his impressive vocal range while selling 8.5 million records in the process. This has developed into a large catalogue of work over the years, with songs such as "We Are Golden" and "Grace Kelly."

His lead-off single and collaboration with Pharrell Williams, "Celebrate," was a highlight from his latest album. He then went Broadway using music inspired by the musical Wicked for "Popular Song," featuring Nickelodeon star Ariana Grande. The composer, Stephen Schwartz, was so moved by his rendition that it's the only time he's authorized its usage.

Mika takes on bullying, Twitter and The Brady Bunch in this interview.

Windy City Times: Hey, Mika. You are coming back to Chicago again.

Mika: Yes, It's quite cool. I love Chicago. People dance and lose themselves there. It's fun.

WCT: I noticed at a past concert of yours that people dressed in bright colors and jumped around. It's a big party.

Mika: Yeah, which I find is funny because often the local crew at some of these places don't know who I am or don't know the live show so they are not prepared for what happens. Over the course of two hours the security staff is going, "What the heck?"

WCT: The inflatable balls are flying in the air!

Mika: Exactly. This show is different though. It is shrunk down to me and two other musicians. We are all swapping instruments so you have us all singing, there is a clarinet, trombone, sax, marimba, and tons of different sounds. But it is just three of us and I wanted something that was a lot more focused and dynamic that could go from acoustic to very big sounding. I thought that was really important.

For the first time really across the United States I will show people how I make my music, and by seeing it in this setting you can kind of get it. What is amazing is that I have done shows with the piano and people still kind of jump up and down, while singing as loud as they possible can. I love the energy but this is a totally different vibe than the show we just did in Chicago.

WCT: I knew the show would sell out, with such a small intimate space.

Mika: It did quite fast, actually. I know my friends in Chicago were waiting to buy them in the morning. They waited like an hour too late because they didn't wake up and buy them in time. They were pissed. I said, "You see? Who are my real friends? My fans are my real friends!" I wasn't going to give them any tickets then a half hour later I asked, "How many do you want?"

WCT: You have always been good to your fans. I know many people who wait until late to meet you but always come out and say hello.

Mika: I always go out and talk to people. I come from nowhere and I try to make my music like I come from somewhere. If someone says they like what I do or relate to it in some way then it is inevitable that I meet them and hear what they say. I want my fans to become a part of my world too. I find that it's a really nice thing to come across.

WCT: Your lyrics are very relatable to people. Tell me about the song "You Only Love Me When I'm Drunk."

Mika: No, it's "I Only Love You When I'm Drunk" that's the song. [both laugh.]

WCT: Oh, I got it mixed up. What was it inspired from?

Mika: It was written completely as a message to someone I was hanging out with at the time. I was turning into the worst good-time lover. I wanted to look at somebody and have them look at me like they are drunk without having to drink anything. That is what I want out of the person that I am looking at. Some people have to actually be drunk to feel like they are going anywhere with someone. I would never have the courage to say it in real life, but I can in a song.

WCT: I heard it playing at a gay bar recently.

Mika: Really? That's ****ing cool!

WCT: Do you have a favorite drink?

Mika: An old-fashioned. I was with a friend in Miami at a club with all of these rich people and it was ****ing horrible. They were all party people who wanted to take drugs for the weekend to forget their lives. It was so incredibly loud. I decided to have a drink and leave. This was one of those most expensive places. When I asked the waitress for an old-fashioned she said, "What the ****? Do you think this is the 1920s?" I was like, "Listen up, bitch—this is why people don't come to your **** hole!"

WCT: Well, we will have one after the show!

Mika: Definitely.

WCT: Is Wicked your favorite musical? Did that make you want to have your own take on "Popular?"

Mika: I think it's a brilliant musical mainly for the writing. It has been masterfully written. The engineering of how it is written is absolutely amazing. I love the use of the Greek chorus. They have the maddening crowds in the classical theater way. I thought it was really cleaver. I just really loved the song and there was a sweetness about that hook.

I always look for things that have that sweet coinable quality to them. I think you put everything in them that is bitter, dark, twisted and you put it next to a hook like that it suddenly becomes palatable. Just like "Lollipop" when you put all of that dark, strange, surreal stuff around it then it's okay because it's a lollipop. When I read that it was one of Stephen King's favorite songs I felt very validated.

It was the same for "Popular." I loved the song and the sweetness of that hook so I wanted to turn it around. Instead of the cool chick I wanted the loser to sing it to her own advantage. That is why I switched the roles around.

WCT: It works well as an anti-bullying song.

Mika: Definitely. That is what it's about but it is more than that. Part of it is about bullying but it also about the music industry. We strive to hard to create something but we are still that same thing that we started off as. It definitely has some of my favorite lyrics on the whole album. "Standing on the field with your pretty pom poms now you are working at the movies selling popular corn."

WCT: I heard you were bullied when you were younger so it must be rewarding to make a statement about it.

Mika: I was absolutely bullied every day, every hour on the hour. It was horrific. I hated school and most of my school life as a child. I was always being dumped on. What the **** was their problem? How stupid, ignorant and foolish do you have to be to pick on someone? Especially when it is something they haven't chosen or can't change. How much of an idiot do you have to be? Whenever teachers would try to help they would never try to alienate the bully or really them what they thought of them.

It is a bull**** attitude. Why didn't they stand up and say, "You are a ****ing idiot and here is why…" It always has to be so soft and the bullying is never soft. All of that **** made me want to create my own world. I wanted to transform myself into something else. I wanted to get my own vengeance. I wanted to be something else, somewhere else,and someone else so I wrote songs that felt like I could be anything.

WCT: So it made you into the musician that you are.

Mika: Definitely. On one hand I don't like that part of my life but it has made me who I am. I like who I am right now so would I be the same if I didn't have that experience? That doesn't matter because I came out of it well. I had a good family and a support mechanism. Take that support mechanism away and you are just ****ed.

WCT: You had a big family, didn't you?

Mika: Yes, I had five brothers and sisters.

WCT: So kind of like The Brady Bunch.

Mika: A little bit but as dysfunctional as you could possible get. Well, now that I think about it The Brady Bunch is pretty dysfunctional, [laughs] minus the braces. We didn't have a budget for braces!

WCT: How many languages do you speak?

Mika: I speak French, Spanish, English and I am about to learn Italian. I am trying to get fluent and conversational in the next few months.

WCT: That's awesome.

Mika: Oh, that is nothing. My sister speaks Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Spanish, French and English. The advantage we had was we actually moved around a lot. Language wasn't the kind of thing that you gleaned off textbooks. You were surrounded by it. It was so much easier.

WCT: What has been the reaction of your fans after coming out of the closet publicly? Do they tweet you with their stories?

Mika: No, I have found on Twitter that no one says anything meaningful or very rarely. Usually, it is an inconsequential sound bite on Twitter, which is one of the reasons I have a real problem with it. It just trivializes everything. We get messages on Facebook and I read those. That gets really intense sometimes. When I meet people after shows and on the street people tell me their stories and how I play into their lives.

Beyond on that it has been quite amazing. There has been no increase or decrease since I labeled myself. It wasn't really much of a coming out but more of an affirmation in a way. There has never been an increase to it because people have been telling their stories and relating to me with stories of their lives and stories of their sexuality from the very beginning because they saw that in my music and it was clear. It has always been a part of who I am and my music. It is not all of it but definitely a fabric of who I am as a person and a writer. It is undeniable.

Magic Mika will be at Lincoln Hall, 2424 N. Lincoln Ave., on Wed., April 3. Visit http://www.lincolnhallchicago.com or http://www.mikasounds.com for more information on this artist and show.

You can download this issue here:

http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/images/publications/wct/2013-03-27/current.pdf

Thank you Purplecat for posting this interview. It´s great!

t4p! Purplecat I love what he says about his fans and he's about learning Italian? so maybe the news about being a judge at next X-Factor in Italy are true

Thank you so much for posting, I loved it!

 

Mika: I said, "You see? Who are my real friends? My fans are my real friends!" I wasn't going to give them any tickets then a half hour later I asked, "How many do you want?"

Thank you so much for posting, I loved it!

 

 

 

Yes MIKA - your fans are your real friends - we will never, ever let you down !! Thanks for another great interview But I think he uses too many bad words, too often - it doesn't fit him -he's much too lovely for bad language, imo...

Love,love

me

What kind of friend makes their friends buy tickets to start with? I would have told him I wasn't coming

That's an interesting interview, thank you

I'm surprised that he speaks so easily and quite long about the time when he was bullied. I saw the video interview on French "Taratata" and when he was asked about that he more or less tried to escape the question. He was maybe kind of shy at that time because of the video and public there?

And I have no idea what is an old fashioned does it taste good?

You're welcome, girls!

t4p! Purplecat I love what he says about his fans and he's about learning Italian? so maybe the news about being a judge at next X-Factor in Italy are true

Yes, I guess that's why he wants to learn Italian

 

And I have no idea what is an old fashioned does it taste good?

Here you are

http://www.amctv.com/shows/mad-men/cocktail-guide/old-fashioned

http://everydaydrinkers.com/2009/05/27/rocks-glass-old-fashioned-and-lowball/

Don Draper on Mad Men is always drinking old fashioneds so I would think they've made a bit of a comeback. Banana Republic has a Mad Men line of clothes because the whole style of the show has struck a chord with people. I wouldn't be surprised if that's why he ordered it.