Cautionary Wife

Mika saang at a party in Moscow last Saturday. THE SUN April 24, 2007 BIZARRE GIRLS hoping to pick up a rich Russian businessman are in for a fight. Bizarre went to the Moscow Motion party on Saturday evening and found a bevy of beauties, many of them hoping to bag their own ROMAN ABRAMOVICH. The event was attended by some of Russia’s richest people, as well as many of our Page 3 girls, PEACHES GELDOF, MELINDA MESSENGER and EMMA NOBLE. Even serial kiss-and-tell girl ALICIA DOUVALL was at the party, held in London’s Old Billingsgate Market. Music was provided by chart-topper MIKA and SOPHIE ELLIS BEXTOR, who managed a few words of Russian before breaking into a greatest hits set. For pictures from the party click the link below. CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW --- Mika photo is number 4 of 6. CW.

An album review from SOUTH AFRICA!! Great write-up. Refreshing - makes me want to put the record on again and dance about the room. CW. IAFRICA.COM MIKA Life In Cartoon Motion Lance Witten Wed, 18 Apr 2007 Infectious. That’s what it is. Infectious. MIKA  born in 1983 as Michael Holbrook Penniman in Beirut to a Lebanese mom and American dad  and his debut album 'Life in Cartoon Motion' are simply infectious. Whether it gets up your nose, gets your head bobbing, gets on your nerves, or gets you to sing falsetto  straining your voice, drawing glances of suspicion in the traffic from fellow motorists  it’s going to get to you somehow. You see, it touches you in a way musicians have simply not been able to since Queen and The Beatles. Of course, 'Cartoon Motion' doesn’t come anywhere near the legendary status of those aforementioned icons, it's just that a large part of the album is somewhat a tribute to the “real†music of days gone bye. MIKA (known for the better part of his life as Mica) fled Lebanon with his folks to Paris and there attend the Lycée Francais Charles de Gaulle and the Royal College of Music where he studied, among other things, Russian opera, performing at the Royal Opera House in London. His performance jobs have been eclectic, ranging from operatic performances to writing in-flight music for British Airways and creating a jingle for Orbit Chewing Gum. But now he's reached the solo album phase of his career. It kicks off with his big radio debut, 'Grace Kelly' which has nothing to do with the late Matriarch of Monaco, but is just as memorable, sticking in your head long after the notes have faded into the ether. 'Lollipop' follows, leaning heavily towards bubblegum pop, but has a delightful playground feel; you could almost picture a group of kids with a skipping rope repeating the song’s contagious refrain: "Sucking too hard on your lollipop, oh love’s gonna get you down." One or two of the tracks may have you checking to see whether they were perhaps written by David Bowie, the heavy Ziggy Stardust influence blatant, and refreshingly different from the standard mass-produced pop we're bombarded with these days. The soulful ballad 'Any Other World', with its melodic rolling string ensemble accompaniment, is wonderfully uplifting. As is the honky-tonk piano of 'Stuck in the Middle', harking back to the Fab Foursome’s glory years before the sitar-playing, pot-smoking days of their obscure-lyric-smacked post-“Jesus remark†albums. You’ll notice the Queen flavour too, not only in a line from one of the songs ("I tried to be like Grace Kelly, but all her looks were too sad; So I tried a little Freddie"), but also in the 'Fat-bottomed girls'-esque 'Big Girl (You are Beautiful)'. Once you’ve listened to the tracks over and over again (you’ll want to, trust me) you’ll understand why people have compared him to the likes of Robbie Williams, Scissor Sisters, Elton John, as well as those aforementioned legends of pop music. Look out for the achingly beautiful bonus track 'Over My Shoulder' which maybe should’ve been sung by women (it’s that high). But it works nonetheless and is in keeping with this artist’s wacky style of interpretation. Love it or hate it, MIKA has arrived… and has the Platinum certification, and chart-topping tracks to prove it. ---

INDIE LONDON Music - Singles of the Week - Monday, April 23 MIKA – LOVE TODAY: Debonair, with a touch of degenerate dandy, Mika ruled the charts earlier this year with his platinum selling debut album Life In Cartoon Motion and its lead single Grace Kelly, which has become one of the biggest singles of 2007 so far. Next up is Love Today, a heady euphoric rush in Mika’s inimitable style. That is to say, it rushes over you with its whirlwind of cheesy, hysterically OTT vocals, Scissor Sister-style beats and guitars and a genuine sense of its own fun. Try as hard as we might, it’s difficult to find too much fault and, instead, just take it for what it is – unbridled fun that’s a firm guilty pleasure. Mika fans will no doubt ensure that the chart success of Grace Kelly was no fluke. The CD features a new track The Only Lonely One (demo) as well as an acoustic version of album track Billy Brown that was especially recorded on Freddie Mercury’s old grand piano. There’s just no stopping Mika at the moment. Rating: 3.5 out of 5 --- CW.

Check out the video posted by news site: DAILYMOTION.COM Mika Live Montréall 19 mars 2007 Video duration: 05:11 Concert de Mika àMontréal, France 19 mars 2007. Il chante "Love Today". Enjoy!!! CW

WORCESTER NEWS 20 Apr 2007 MUSIC legends Issac Hayes and Richie Havens have been confirmed for the Big Chill Festival. Joining them at the three-day event, held at Eastnor Castle in August, will be breakthrough singer-songwriter Mika. American folk singer Havens was the opening act at Woodstock Festival and he's noted for his guitar skills and foot tapping. Hayes is regarded as a soul legend. He penned the award-winning Shaft theme-tune and, in 2005, made it into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame. By the late 1990s, he was best known as the voice of Chef on South Park. Also performing is flavour of the moment Mika, whose debut album Life In Cartoon Motion reached number one as well as the catchy single Grace Kelly. The Big Chill takes place in Eastnor Deer Park from Friday, August 3 to Sunday, August 5. Full line up and tickets are available from http://www.bigchill.net. Alternatively call the ticketline on 08700 667733. --- CW.

THE AGE Diva Lavigne puts pop on top April 16, 2007 - 9:34AM Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend sits atop the Australian singles chart. While rock has dominated the Motorola ARIA singles chart for the past two weeks, pop has fought back to take the top spots this week. Avril Lavigne's Girlfriend charts at No.1 above Mika's Grace Kelly, with Australian rockers Silverchair's Straight Lines at No.3. Two pop divas debut on the singles chart this week, with Christina Aguilera's Candyman at No.6 and Fergie's Glamorous at No.10. Rock has held onto the top spots on the albums chart, with Silverchair's Young Modern at No.1, the Cold Chisel compilation album at No.2 and The John Butler Trio's Grand National at No.3. Nelly Furtado's Loose has leapt back into the top 10 this week, charting at No.9, up from No.15 last week. Australian singles chart 1 (3) GIRLFRIEND Avril Lavigne (RCA/SBME) 2 (2) GRACE KELLY Mika (UMA) 3 (1) STRAIGHT LINES Silverchair (EMI) 4 (4) THE SWEET ESCAPE Gwen Stefani Feat. Akon (INR/UMA) 5 (5) THIS AIN'T A SCENE, IT'S AN ARMS RACE Fall Out Boy (IUS/UMA) 6 (-) CANDYMAN Christina Aguilera (RCA/SBME) 7 (8) 20 GOOD REASONS Thirsty Merc (WEA/WAR) 8 (6) SUDDENLY I SEE KT Tunstall (VIR/EMI) 9 (7) WHAT GOES AROUND...COMES AROUND Justin Timberlake (JVE/SBME) 10(-) GLAMOROUS Fergie feat. Ludacris (INR/UMA) --- CW.

DAILY PRESS 15 April 2007 MIKA "Life In Cartoon Motion" (Casablanca) "Grace Kelly," the first single on the debut album from Mika - born Mica Penniman to Lebanese and American parents in Beirut - starts off with a sample of the former Princess of Monaco opining that "getting angry doesn't solve anything." Au contraire. "Grace Kelly" is a ticked-off flipping-of-the-bird to a record company foolish enough to not sign the poperatic, piano-playing big-star-to-be when they had the chance. Their bad. The song, which is a thoroughly fabulous account of one 23-year-old Londoner's efforts to make it to the top, no matter what it takes, has already topped the UK charts, and the 23-year-old Londoner seems poised to do the same Stateside. He's certain to win the hearts and minds of devotees of gleeful high camp, from Queen to Elton John to the Pet Shop Boys. At this early stage, Mika is at times guilty of brandishing his influences too openly - though "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" is a fairly hilarious update of "Fat Bottomed Girls." You can forgive that copycatism because his talents are so abundant. - Dan DeLuca --- CW.

LAVENDAR MAGAZINE Arts & Enertainment On The Record by Ed Huyck Life in Cartoon Motion Mika Ah. While America’s pop culture seems to be stuck in a permanent case of gay panic, our British brethren are far more willing to embrace their inner queer. Witness the success of New York exports the Scissor Sisters, or their very own Mika. While plying a similar ’70s-infused modern dance-pop style, Mika sticks a bit closer to the Queen side of the equation. That’s in part because of his voice, which is frighteningly close to Freddie Mercury’s. The arrangements and songs themselves have the heightened sense of drama mixed with sheer joy of play that made the best music of Queen’s career so memorable. Sure, that doesn’t always hold true. Hit “Lollipop†is just a pure pop confection, as infectious as anything I’ve heard in months. But opener “Grace Kelly†could come from one of Queen’s late-’70s collections, while “My Interpretation†sounds like a ballad from the late ’80s period of that band. In the end, however, it really shouldn’t just be about the influences or similarities. Male pop singers in recent years have been terribly dull, or just trying too hard (paging Mr. Timberlakeâ€â€your sexiness is DOA). Mika is effortless in his performance, making Life in Cartoon Motion all the more fun. What’s next is hard to sayâ€â€the road to pop stardom is paved with one-hit wondersâ€â€but for now, he can wear the pop-idol tiara. --- CW.

THE DAILY CAMPUS Forest Brooks, Staff Writer Issue date: 4/10/07 Section: Entertainment For those of you who have been paying attention, I've been enamored lately with the recent wave of British talent coming though the States (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, etc). Well, the newest artist I have to add to the list is London-based singer Mika. Armed with a voice and grandiose style reminiscent of British pioneers such as Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and Elton John, the singer is out to give pop a swift kick in the ass. His album "Life in Cartoon Motion" is packed full of catchy hooks with regal melodies. The result is an adventure in musicality, drawing from influences that range from disco to glam rock with a bit of new wave thrown in for good measure. I began hearing a buzz on Mika a few months ago when his first single, "Grace Kelly," leaked. The piano-driven tune, which sounds like Ziggy Stardust and Queen's love child, was enough to capture my attention. He peppers the epic track with colorful lyrics that personify British wit. His voice sounds flawless on this song; he gives enough power to let you know he has strong pipes and enough attitude to charismatically draw you in. Another tune, "Lollipop," has to be one of the catchiest songs I've ever heard in my life. Starting sparsely with drums and piano the track builds into a musical frenzy with horns, crazy percussion, and singing children. Warning: This song will inevitably get stuck in your head. You'll find yourself singing, "Sucking too hard on your lollipop/hey, love's gonna get you down." It's all fun and trust me, there are worse songs to have stuck in your head. Try walking around with Grace Jones on mental repeat?not a good look, but I digress. You may have heard his other single, "Love Today," in a recent Verizon commercial. From the thumping bassline to his searing falsetto, this track screams disco, which is great. Somewhere along the way, disco unfairly got a bad name. Granted, it's not all good, but some really great songs came out of that genre. Mika takes it and filters out the cheese to give us about four minutes of booty-shaking bliss. His song, "Relax, Take It Easy," borrows heavily from a new wave motif, utilizing a sample of Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died in Your Arms." It's very '80s, but it doesn't sound so old school that it sounds out of place in today's market. This is helped by yet another great hook. His vocals sound great in this mode as well. You can tell he has a real understanding of his voice and knows what music best complements it. Throughout this album, Mika finds a way to take on music pioneered in the '70s and give it a new twist. Plus, he has fantastic pop sensibility; it's virtually impossible to listen to this album without getting at least three of the songs stuck in your head. With his highly nuanced motifs and colorfully witty lyrics, "Life in Cartoon Motion" is the perfect way to describe this m?lange of musicality. --- CW.

VARIETY New CD releases dominate chart But sales still feeling the pinch By PHIL GALLO The music industry used the tail end of the spring-break period to unleash a slew of releases, but it did little to reduce the 17% drop in album sales in the first quarter vs. a year earlier. The top 10 for the week ended Sunday featured seven album debuts and 16 new titles in the top 50. And while the week-to-week result was an impressive 46% spike, the sales of new albums by veteran performers paled when compared with their previous efforts: Tim McGraw did half the business of his last studio effort; the latest "Now" compilation performed less well than the previous 11 editions of the series; and rock act Good Charlotte pulled in only about 30% of the audience it had the last time out. Album sales for the first three months of 2007 were 117.1 million units, down from 140.4 million a year earlier. Like so many of the numbers in the music business, for every negative there's a positive spin. The top 50 this week, for example, was up 35% from last week; compared with the same week last year, sales were down 15.4%. Overall album sales -- 9.1 million units -- were up only 4.7% from last week. Digital continues to grow dramatically as a method of delivery. Some 218.6 million digital tracks have been sold so far this year, up 52% from the 144 million in the same period last year. This year, Universal Music continues to dominate in music sales market share with 33.8%, while Sony BMG is just edging Warner Music Group 22.5% to 21.4%. (Warner's market share is its best in five years). EMI follows with 11.5%. The last week of March has been a good launching pad for youth-oriented albums, capitalizing on vacation weeks and the fallow period that follows Valentine's Day in the new-release bins. Last year wasn't all that different from this year's stanza: There were five album debuts in the top 10, and Shakira's re-emerged "Oral Fixation Vol. 2" skyrocketed into the top 10 from No. 98. This week's top 10 is led by Tim McGraw's "Let It Go" (Curb), which sold 325,000 copies in the week ended Sunday, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That total is less than half the 766,000 units his 2004 album "Live Like You Were Dying" moved in its opening week. At No. 2, "Now! That's What I Call Music Vol. 24" sold 230,000 --the lowest debut sales week for a "Now" collection since "Vol. 13" sold 171,000 four years ago. And rapper Young Buck's second album, "Buck the World" (G-Unit/Interscope), sold 140,000, which is 121,000 fewer than its predecessor, 2004's "Straight Outta Ca$hville." Both discs debuted at No. 3. EMI did have the biggest sales for any tyro act as Mims' "Music Is My Savior" (Capitol) sold 78,000 copies and opened at No. 4. Good Charlotte's fourth album, "Good Morning Revival" (Daylight/Epic), settled in at No. 7, selling 66,000 copies, a distant cry from the 199,000 that "The Chronicles of Life and Death" moved in its first week three years ago. Rocket/Island's collection of Elton John hits, "Rocket Man: Number Ones," sold 49,000 to lift off at No. 9. It is John's seventh hit collection; the last one, the two-CD "Greatest Hits 1970-2002," debuted at No. 12 on sales of 101,000. Rounding out the top 10 was Jennifer Lopez's "Como Ama Una Mujer" (Epic), her first Spanish-language album, selling 48,000. The Epic set bowed at No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums and Top Latin Pop Albums charts as well. In 2005, her album "Rebirth" sold 261,000. Next week, Lopez will appear on both episodes of "American Idol"; last week's "Idol" coach, Gwen Stefani, saw her "Sweet Escape" enjoy a 60% sales spike, selling 42,000 copies and rising 10 slots to No. 15. Redman's "Red Gone Wild" (Def Jam) sold 44,000 to open at No. 13; Lil' Flip's "I Need Mine" (Asylum/Warner Bros.) was a slot lower on sales of 43,000. "Crystal Visions: The Very Best of Stevie Nicks" (Reprise) sold 34,000 copies to debut at No. 20. "Disneymania 5," which features acts such as Miley Cyrus and Jordan Pruitt singing tunes from Disney's animation pic catalog, sold 30,000 (No. 27), as did "Life in Cartoon Motion" (Geffen) by Mika, the Brit singer compared favorably to Freddie Mercury (No. 29). Debuts lining up at Nos. 32-34 were the Prodigy's "Return of the Mac" (Koch), 27,000; Alabama's "Songs of Inspiration Vol. II" (RCA), 26,000; and Jack Ingram's "This is It" (Big Machine), also 26,000. Macy Gray's "Big" (Geffen/will.i.am music) sold 23,000 (No. 39), and the Kaiser Chiefs' second disc, "Yours Truly Angry Mob" (Universal), sold 17,000 (No. 45). --- CW.

X-PRESS ONLINE, AUSTRALIA Living MIKA Life In Cartoon Motion Universal Music By ROBERT PENNEY April 4, 2007 02:27 PM Try as you may; it’s near impossible to sit through Life In Cartoon Motion without being reminded of the helium falsetto of Scissor Sisters’ frontman Jake Shears. Okay, admittedly the Sisters borrow heavily from Elton John, The Bee Gees and the like, but the musical influences of London-based, Lebanese-born Mika can often seem a little too obvious. The 23-year-old seemingly wrote the kitsch, bass-driven Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) with Freddie Mercury in mind, even down to isolating his vocals during the intro, àla Fat Bottomed Girls. Although credited in the album insert, Relax (Take It Easy) bafflingly pinches the melody of Cutting Crew’s ’80s power ballad (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight only to wind back another 10 years to apply a fairly mediocre disco treatment. Some moments can be a little trying as Mika applies exceedingly playful elements to ordinary melodies such as the sickly sweet Lollipop. Thankfully, this isn’t a major concern as the penmanship of the glitzy single, Grace Kelly, is far superior, as is the stomping piano number Billy Brown. Life In Cartoon Motion may be a hook-laden debut which mostly radiates good-natured, campy fun, however, sooner or later the dreaded game of ‘spot the watered-down influences’ is bound to rear its ugly head. --- CW.

I LIKE MUSIC LATEST NEWS 2 April 2007 23 year old pop sensation MIKA follows up his debut single Grace Kelly (which spent 5 weeks at Number One) with the release of his brand new single 'Love Today' on April 23rd 2007 on Casablanca Records. WATCH VIDEO CLIP A blast of pure pop energy, "Love Today" is taken from MIKA's debut album 'Life In Cartoon Motion' which went straight in at Number One and was certified platinum (300,000 sales) within two weeks of release. A whole host of remixes for 'Love Today' come courtesy of Rob Mello, Patrick Wolf and Switch. Formats include a 7" which features an acoustic version of 'Stuck In The Middle' The CD features a brand new track 'The only Lonely One (demo)' and an acoustic version of Billy Brown especially recorded on Freddie Mercury's old grand piano. WATCH behind the scenes footage of MIKA's circus themed album launch MIKA is captivating audiences across the world with Grace Kelly achieving high chart positions in Ireland (no 1), France (album gold), Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Germany and Sweden all ahead of its release in the US in March. The thrilling MIKA live experience heads across the UK in May at the following sold out dates: MAY 2007 13th LEEDS University 0113 244 4600 £12.50 14th LONDON Shepherds Bush Empire 0870 771 2000 £14.00 16th GLASGOW Barrowlands 0870 0600 100 £12.50 17th BIRMINGHAM Academy 0870 771 2000 £12.50 --- CW.

Now That's What I Call Music Vol.66 released today. As anticipated, Mika has the lead track "Grace Kelly" on Disc 1 of the this 2-CD compilation, ahead of all his recent competition in the UK. Now That's What I Call Music Vol.66 ~ Various Artists Product details Audio CD (2 April 2007) Number of Discs: 2 Label: Emi/Virgin ASIN: B000N2G1NU Disc: 1 1. MIKA - Grace Kelly 2. Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby 3. Sugababes vs Girls Aloud - Walk This Way 4. Take That - Patience 5. Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around...Comes Around 6. Nelly Furtado - Say It Right 7. Beyoncé - Irreplaceable 8. Kelis feat. Cee-Lo - Lil Star 9. Akon feat. Eminem - Smack That 10. Just Jack - Starz In Their Eyes 11. Calvin Harris - Acceptable In The 80's 12. Mason vs Princess Superstar - Perfect (Exceeder) 13. Booty Luv - Boogie 2Nite (Seamus Haji Big Love Edit) 14. Eric Prydz vs Floyd - Proper Education 15. Sharam - P.A.T.T. (Party All The Time) 16. Cascada - Truly Madly Deeply 17. Girls Aloud - I Think We're Alone Now 18. Seamus Haji - Last Night A DJ Saved My Life 19. Camille Jones vs Fedde Le Grand - The Creeps 20. Jamelia - Beware Of The Dog 21. Gwen Stefani - Wind It Up 22. Fergie feat. Ludacris - Glamorous 23. JoJo - Too Little, Too Late 24. Leona - A Moment Like This Disc: 2 1. The Fray - How To Save A Life 2. The View - Same Jeans 3. Gossip - Standing In The Way Of Control 4. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Catch You 5. Klaxons - Golden Skans 6. Fall Out Boy - This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race 7. The Killers - Read My Mind 8. U2 - Window In The Skies 9. Robbie Williams with Pet Shop Boys - She's Madonna 10. The Fratellis - Whistle For The Choir 11. The Ordinary Boys - I Luv U 12. Snow Patrol - Open Your Eyes 13. Razorlight - Before I Fall To Pieces 14. Scissor Sisters - She's My Man 15. The Feeling - Love It When You Call 16. McFly - Sorry's Not Good Enough 17. Lily Allen - Alfie 18. Jamie T - Calm Down Dearest 19. Sugababes - Easy 20. Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good 21. The Proclaimers feat. Brian Potter & Andy Pipkin - I'm Gonna Be (500 miles) CW.

E! ONLINE By Marc Malkin Mar 26, 2007 4:06 PM The magic of Mika hit Los Angeles last night. I finally got to seeâ€â€and hearâ€â€the one-name British pop star Mika at the legendary Troubadour, and he's exactly what I imagined. The mop-topped Mikaâ€â€most famous for his infectious "Grace Kelly" tuneâ€â€didn't stand still for a nanosecond during his 45-minute set. He jumped, wiggled, clapped his hands and shook his ass. At one point, he said, "I was terrified to play this gig tonight." If he truly was worried, he didn't show it. His music is a cocktail of Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the Scissor Sisters, with plenty of Bee Gees-like high notes. The crowd was quite a mix, too. Old, young, gay and straight. Unless I'm mistaken, I think I saw television icon Norman Lear. But the best part for me? Just before Mika came onstage, Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" blared from the speakers. I'm a fan of anyone who kick-starts his show with a little Dolly. --- CW

WASHINGTON POST Recordings By J. Freedom du Lac Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, March 27, 2007; Page C05 Mika is a nascent pop star with a potent falsetto and a real gift of melody. But the most striking thing about his campy debut, "Life in Cartoon Motion," is the way most of the songs sound: Orchestral, operatic and exceedingly theatrical, like showy Technicolor confections presented in high definition. Take the album's opener, "Grace Kelly," a daft rant against music industry suits and their apparent penchant for manipulating artists. After sampling some of the actress's movie dialogue, Mika sings: "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." Then the chorus kicks in and he tries to be even more like Freddie Mercury, channeling the Queen frontman with a stomping rhythm, buzzing guitars and multi-tracked vocal fly-overs. A "Bohemian Rhapsody"-style bridge takes the homage a step further. It's one of the year's more addictive pop singles. It's also among the weirdest. The Lebanese-born, British-based singer-songwriter knows from fanciful arrangements and colorful instrumentation, and even songs that would seem to be candidates for stripped-down treatments are dressed up and accessorized on this mostly likable album. "My Interpretation" opens with a piano line accented by acoustic guitar arpeggiation as Mika sings earnestly of life and death. It sounds at first like an attempt to steal some of James Blunt's fans while landing a slot on the next "Grey's Anatomy" soundtrack. But then the song starts to swell, with an electric bassline and additional vocal tracks, the melody goes skyward, and Mika's swooping voice does, too. While it's one of the album's more restrained songs, it's downright kaleidoscopic compared to Mika's plaintive falsetto-singing peers. Indeed, if it's monochromatic fare you're seeking, you've come to the wrong place -- that place being the discotheque, where the men wear Jil Sander shirts while singing percussive songs about suckable candy ("Lollipop") and the women get cheated on by their bi-curious husbands. Seriously: "Billy Brown" is a jaunty piano-pop number about a guy who "lived an ordinary life, two kids, a dog and a cautionary wife." And then? "While it was all going accordingly to plan / Then Billy Brown fell in love with another man." Nobody ever accused Mika of playing it straight! Or did they? The 23-year-old singer, who is already a star in England, says he received a death threat recently because he's refused to discuss his sexuality. The music speaks on his behalf, and what that music says is that Mika has listened to a lot of Queen, not to mention more than a few pop queens: His obvious influences include George Michael, Rufus Wainwright, the Scissor Sisters and Elton John. Especially Elton, who will almost certainly approve of the bittersweet standout "Stuck in the Middle," since it sounds so much like one of his own. There's also a heavy dose of modern disco, which forms the pulsating rhythmic backbone of much of the album, from "Relax (Take It Easy)" to "Ring Ring," a killer Killers-type dance-rock song. Mika is capable of a complete misfire. Consider "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)," which echoes Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" sonically with lyrics along the lines of Spinal Tap's "Big Bottom." It's not nearly cheeky enough to be funny. And besides, there's a thin line between clever and stoopid. DOWNLOAD THESE: "Grace Kelly," "Stuck in the Middle" --- CW.

JAM! SHOWBIZ Album Review: Mika LIFE IN CARTOON MOTION Good debut from Mika By DARRYL STERDAN -- Sun Media 16 March 2007 Mika Life in Cartoon Motion (Casablanca-Island/Universal) "I try to be like Grace Kelly, but all her looks were too sad," explains Mika. "So I try a little Freddie. I've gone identity-mad!" He's not kidding about that last part. The 21-year-old Beirut-born, London-based dance-pop phenom -- whose name, FYI, is pronounced Mee-ka -- channels a host of retrotastic influences on his exuberant smash-hit debut Life in Cartoon Motion. But perhaps none more than the one and only Freddie Mercury of Queen. Just check out the stratospheric falsetto vocals and addictively pumping, grandly flourished piano-pop of his chart-topping single Grace Kelly and you'll see what we mean. But the mono-monikered Mika doesn't stop there. Lollipop is a funky sugar-rush reminiscent of George Michael. Love Today gets down to the disco grooves of Scissor Sisters. Ring Ring puts Mika in touch with his inner Elton. The gay romance Billy Brown has chirpy horns and a bouncy groove nicked from Rufus Wainwright. And any dance tune called Relax can't help but conjure up memories of Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Mika's uncanny resemblance to his forebears has its downside -- you're too busy playing Name That Singer to appreciate these songs on their own merits. Still, until he settles into his own groove -- and finds his own identity -- he's certainly in good company. Track Listing: 1. Stuck In The Middle 2. Lollipop 3. Love Today 4. My Interpretation 5. Happy Ending/Over My Shoulder 6. Grace Kelly 7. Relax Take It Easy 8. Any Other World 9. Billy Brown 10. Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) --- CW.

DIGITAL SPY Saturday, March 17 2007, 09:15 GMT By Daniel Kilkelly Mika's Grace Kelly is at the top of the Irish singles chart for a seventh week. 21 Demands' Give Me A Minute debuted at number two this week, knocking Fray's How To Save A Life down to third position. Cascada climbed up four places to number four with Miracle, while Take That and Akon dropped three and five places respectively. Cascada's Everytime We Touch is at the top of the album chart, followed by Arcade Fire's Neon Bible at number two and Take That's Beautiful World at number three. The top ten singles in full: 1. (1) Mika: 'Grace Kelly' 2. (-) 21 Demands: 'Give Me A Minute' 3. (2) Fray: 'How To Save A Life' 4. (8) Cascada: 'Miracle' 5. (5) Gwen Stefani ft. Akon: 'The Sweet Escape' 6. (3) Take That: 'Shine' 7. (6) Justin Timberlake: 'What Goes Around... Comes Around' 8. (-) Scuba Dice: 'Holiday' 9. (4) Akon ft. Snoop Dogg: 'I Wanna Love You' 10. (7) Kaiser Chiefs: 'Ruby' --- CW.

ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY PRESS RELEASE 15 March 2007 Hailed as the next Freddie Mercury, Mika – a 23 year old Beirut born Londoner – has recently exploded onto the music scene in glorious technicolor, causing a sensation among music lovers and experts alike. Lighting designer Ian Tomlinson chose a mixture of fixtures for the tour, including: 12 PixelLine Micro Effects, 12 PixelLine 1044s, six PixelPars, six MAC 250 washes, six Mirrorballs and lots of festoon! The diverse rig allowed Ian to produce big theatrical effects injecting visual creativity to the various characters that Mika brings to life during his shows. The Micros formed an arch at the back of the stage and their high-powered effects complemented the 1044s perfectly. Ian comments: “The Micros held their own against the 1044s, I was very impressed and hopefully on the next tour we will introduce a media server. I’m pleased PixelLines are now available in different sizes, as it allows more flexibility in the rig – particularly when we are touring venues of different sizes.” Eclectic, fun, glam, energetic, and different are only a few words which can be used to describe Mika’s debut album ‘Life in Cartoon Motion’ – one of the most refreshing CDs to have come out of Britain for a long time. All the lighting was supplied by Adlib and a WholeHog IPC was used for control and programming. The tour manager is Jamie Butterworth and Dave Eldridge is the lighting tech. Image at http://news.etnow.com/etnews.nsf/a7640.jpg!OpenImageResource --- CW.

SUN HERALD Australia 15 March 2007 NEW British pop sensation Mika has some heavy hitters in his corner, so shut up and listen. CAMERON ADAMS reports BRITISH dandy Mika is on stage in Camden, briefly slowing down his non-stop poptastic live show for the haunting, classically influenced ballad Over My Shoulder. Though the show is a sellout and his first London show since topping the British charts with the single Grace Kelly and debut album Life in Cartoon Motion, it isn't stopping loud talkers drowning out his tender balladry. A familiar looking man with impressively high hair turns around to a particularly noisy couple and fires off a stern ``shhh'' a librarian would be proud of. The hirsute man handing out the shush? Brian May, legendary Queen guitarist. He's also one of Mika's most ardent fans, even if that means dealing with noisy crowds himself. "He's so supportive, to the point of defending me,'' Mika jokes the next day. "He's also been defending me to the press. It's amazing. I think that's why he's survived so long, he's still awake to it all, he's receptive. And he's not up his own a---, despite all the success.'' The shadow of May's old bandmate, Freddie Mercury, has followed Mika all over the world as he starts on his road to global domination. Mika's camp antics, flamboyant image and liberal falsetto have fuelled the constant comparisons, and Mercury even gets name-checked in Grace Kelly when Mika sings: "So I tried a little Freddie.'' Some critics say he's tried more than a little to channel Mr Mercury. What does May think? "Brian says he sees things in me that he saw in Freddie,'' Mika says. "He sees those things in other performers too, like Robbie Williams. He says there's only about four people in the UK he's seen that in and Freddie was one of them and there aren't many left. He's so incredibly supportive. "Anyone who tries to diss me in comparison to Queen, it just renders all their criticisms completely futile. That's quite pleasurable.'' It's been a fast, giddy ride for Mika, even though he considers himself "an overnight sensation 12 years in the making''. The Mika story is as colourful as his music. Born Michael Holbrook Penniman in Beirut in 1983, his family left war-torn Lebanon to move to Paris, then London. Penniman then adopted his nickname Mika (pronounced Meeka). Targeted by school bullies and suffering from dyslexia by age 11, he had a "little breakdown''. Mika then enrolled in a musical school, met a Russian music teacher and started earning money as a young teen by singing jingles for everything from British Airways to Orbit chewing gum. "At the same time as I was singing inflight music I was singing with the Royal Opera House, so I had no snob attitude when it came to what I do,'' Mika says. "It definitely helped.'' Soon he was wooed by the music industry, at a time when Craig David was the role model for male artists. "Record companies were coming to me saying `You can be successful, we'll support you but you have to be this','' Mika says of requests to make him more R&B. "I wasn't going to change. I told them to f--- off and wrote a song about it and moved on.'' That song became Grace Kelly. Lyrics such as "Why don't you like me, why don't you like yourself, should I bend over, should I look older just to be put on the shelf'' were not only aimed at a specific music-industry target, but Mika printed them out and sent them to the person in question. He was vindicated in January when, after signing a more creatively liberating record deal, the song became a British No.1 hit and his global calling card. "It is really nice,'' Mika says. "I forget about where that song came from sometimes. It's ironic, to break through with a song like that that is such a statement of honesty is really gratifying.'' Mika isn't honest across the board, however. Since his arrival on the scene, he's had to dodge questions about his sexuality. "I don't see any reason why you should talk about it,'' Mika says. "I can see why people are interested simply on a pop-culture basis, but people don't really care. They care for a little bit, because it sells newspapers and magazines, but as far as the work is concerned I don't think it really matters.'' One gay newspaper suggested Mika was keeping his sexuality under wraps in preparation for his mentor Tommy Mottola (the former Mr Mariah Carey) launching him in the notoriously homophobic US market. "People say `You don't want to talk about sexuality because you're worried about having success in the US and you're worried about sexual taboos','' Mika says. "I say `Have you heard the f---ing album?' There's a song called Billy Brown about a married man who has a homosexual affair and one of my lyrics goes `I tried to be like Grace Kelly'. "If I was worried about sexual taboos I certainly wouldn't have made the record I made. It has nothing to do with that. It has more to do with self-respect.'' Mika points to the old-school pop stars who didn't offer their personal life up for mass consumption. "I'm not creating an enigma or leaving mystery, I'm just respecting myself enough as an artist to give myself room to grow and not to be devoured all in one go,'' he says. "We all have to be dishes on a plate eventually, with the way we are marketed, but I have no intention of being a cheap Chinese all-you-can-eat buffet.'' Mika says he deliberately knows nothing of the private lives of his musical heroes. "I'd never compare myself to Freddie Mercury because I look up to him far too much. As an artist, not necessarily as a person. I'm not interested in people as people. Never have been. Never had a poster on my wall. It almost ruins it,'' he says. "I'm a huge Harry Nilsson obsessive and I'm so uninterested in his personal life because he was horrible and it makes me like him less. So I just know nothing about it. It's so boring.'' Mika is ready for the backlash that comes from instant success. "The reviews of my album are polarised and that's an achievement,'' Mika says. "I know people like to have a sacrificial cow they can fatten up and then slaughter, but I'm not willing to play that game. People are talking about a backlash but I'm at the beginning of my career and I've got a long way to go creatively and a lot of things to achieve. But I'm willing to go for it. I can get away with it now. Actually I've always gotten away with everything. It's important to get away with everything.'' Life in Cartoon Motion (Universal) out Saturday. Picture capiton: Mercury rising: Mika's camp antics, flamboyant image and liberal falsetto have fuelled comparisons with Freddie Mercury. --- CW.

Thank you. Highly cute. CW/

If last week was anything to go by, according to the BBC 2 website - it looks like the guest chooses 2 tracks per day... TRACKS OF MY YEARS JOSH GROBAN Take a look at Josh Groban's pick of his favourite tracks, and find out more about him here. Monday Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes ~ Paul Simon Butterflies & Hurricanes ~ Muse Tuesday Solsbury Hill ~ Peter Gabriel Under Pressure ~ Queen Wednesday Come Together ~ The Beatles Fix You ~ Coldplay Thursday Shout ~ Tears For Fears Into The West ~ Annie Lennox Friday In The Air Tonight ~ Phil Collins Slow Motion ~ David Gray ---- Ken Bruce's programme is on air 08.00 - 12.00 Mon-Fri. --- CW.

ENFIELD INDEPENDENT Thursday 8th March 2007 Win Club 2K7 on CD (The article doesn't say how to enter competition - presumably the print version of the Enfield Indpendent Newspaper would carry details.) 2007's club album of the year has just landed jam packed with the latest, most sought-after dance anthems to see you through the year. Club 2K7 brings together the freshest and most exciting new tracks of the last few months including the massive Cascada hit, Truly Madly Deeply and an incredible remix of Mika's latest number one smash, Grace Kelly. The album also boasts Wifi's splendid cover of Mary J. Blige's Be Without You, plus the FHM High Street Honeys are sure to get those pulses racing with their steamy rendition I Touch Myself, and direct you back on the dance floor to show off your sexy moves. Hot new pop mixes of huge tracks by Just Jack, Rhianna, Jo Jo and Girls Aloud add to the flavour of this deliciously definitive collection of funky club tunes including Big Bass V Michelle and Bodyrox feat. Luciana. Let's not also forget brand new tracks from Frisco, Micky Modelle and Liz Kay. With 42 massive club tracks guaranteed to keep you up till the early hours, Club 2K7 will be in your CD player well into 2K8and beyond! --- CW.

THE EDGE, BOSTON "Life in Cartoon Motion" on CD from Mika! - An EDGE "Mika" CD Release Party Exclusive! It’s all part of the EDGE Boston "Mika" CD Release Party being held on March 30 at Club Cafe! EDGE is giving away copies of the hot debut album "Life in Cartoon Motion" from Mika! ENTER NOW Winners MUST be available to claim their prizes at the EDGE "Mika" CD Release Party being held at Club Cafe on Friday, March 30. Winners must be able to present themselves to the EDGE staff between 9:30PM-11PM. NO PRIZES WILL BE MAILED TO WINNERS. Check your email on March 29! All event prizes will be awarded then. Mika wants to set the bar for fantastical, 3 dimensional pop at his own height. Which is over 6’ and statuesquely sculptured, since you ask. Welcome to his world: where some louche dilettante is throwing the greatest party in the universe and everyone is invited under his very own cherry moon. Mika is a songwriter, performer, producer and orchestrator and he’s ready to unleash his debut album to the world. Both astonishingly musical and profoundly thoughtful, his tunes combine a heady euphoric rush with darker unexpected elements: daytime melodramas and night-time tales of love, loss, abandonment, hope and happiness. They all jostle together for attention, each one a pure pop golden nugget. Keep it on the EDGE! ***** Please note, the giveaway you are entering is OFFICIALLY related to the EDGE "Mika" DVD Release Party at Club Cafe on Friday, March 30, 2007. PRIZES WON, MUST BE PICKED UP AT THE EVENT, NO EXCEPTIONS. --- CW.

JAM! SHOWBIZ, CANADA By JOHN WILLIAMS Senior Editor, JAM! Showbiz Mar 7, 2007 Mika lands at No. 2. Mika's debut "Life in Cartoon Motion" made a commotion on the Canadian album charts this week. The London-based singer-songwriter's new disc, buoyed by the hit single "Grace Kelly," debuted at No. 2 on sales of over 6,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan data. Mika (last name Pennimen), whose sound mixes the Scissor Sisters and Elton John with a little bit of Freddie Mercury in between, has been garnering a lot of attention through his MySpace page, where he has attracted a quarter of a million listeners this year. However, Mika's big debut it wasn't enough to unseat Norah Jones's "Not Too Late," which remained at No. 1 for a fifth straight week with over 8,000 in sales. The second-best debut went to Zachary Richard, whose disc "Lumiere dans le noir" landed at No. 3, racking up just under 6,000 in sales. The movement up top forced the compilation "2007 Grammy Nominees" to fall from No. 2 to No. 4, Justin Timberlake's "FutureSex/LoveSounds" was locked in at No. 5 for a second week in a row, and Fall Out Boy's "Infinity on High" dropped three spots to No. 6. Jann Arden's "Uncover Me" sank from No. 4 to No. 7, Nelly Furtado's "Loose" dropped two to No. 8, Akon's "Konvicted" held steady at No. 9, and Daughtry's self-titled album rounded out the top 10 at No. 10. Other notable debuts included the compilation "Juno Awards 2007" at No. 13, Craig Sharpe's "I Am" at No. 28, and "Euromix 2007" at No. 35. In the U.S., Daughtry's self-titled effort hit No. 1, followed by Norah Jones in second, Akon's "Konvicted" in third, Fall Out Boy in fourth, and Robin Thicke's "The Evolution of Robin Thicke" in fifth. --- CW.

THE CORNELL DAILY SUN A NEW FLAMBOYANT FREDDIE Mika's debut album hits high note By Justine Fields Ithaca, New York Thurs, March 8, 2007 Deckhead: Mika’s debut album hits high note Life in Cartoon Motion is a brilliant pop album by the eccentric Mika Penniman. On his debut album, Mika (Mee-ka) brings Freddie Mercury back to life while intertwining the familiar sounds of pop music’s greatest musicians in every note. In doing so he has created pop compositions that are, at the same time, like everything the world has heard before and nothing like what the world has heard before. The single “Grace Kelly†screams of Queen as Mika’s voice hits a high note and the bridge enters the chorus  he sings, “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!†Identity mad is just the expression to describe this album, which is worthy of comparisons to the songs of Elton John, Freddie Mercury and even the Beatles. Evident musical influences continue straight into the second track, but transgress from ’70s rock to ’80s pop. “Lollipop†is reminiscent of the Jackson Five with a simplified base beat and a young child singing one of the verses as if to honor the band’s youthfulness. A song with children singing about lollipops on an album that has a cover of psychedelic colors gives one the feel of being in the Big Rock Candy Mountain. In fact, Mika wrote the song for his younger sister. But, the youthful, dance party, sing-a-long feeling of the second track quickly comes to a halt as the alternative piano piece “My Interpretation†takes over. One of the few tracks that seem truly original, with the exception of the hints of the Bee Gees in the chorus, this song is a nice touch to show off the extent of Mika’s multiple genre talent. As a boy he performed in the chorus line of a Strauss opera at the Royal Opera House, and as an adult he attended the Royal College of Music in London. Despite his inability to read music due to dyslexia, Mika’s comprehension of all different genres of music is continuously apparent from track to track. Despite the lack of exposure of Life in Cartoon Motion, most people are bound to recognize the opening five seconds of the fourth track “Love Today,†since it was sampled and featured in the background of every commercial for The Hills on MTV. In an interview on his website, Mika described the origin of those familiar opening vocal notes, “Because I don’t really know how to play many instruments, I compensate by doing a lot of strange things with my voice.†Beyond the introduction Da’s and Do’s, Mika’s high-pitched voice constantly reminds the listener of Freddie Mercury in this upbeat optimistic song about loving to be happy. The same hopeful attitude carries on into the dance track “Relax, Take it Easy,†which helped Mika break it big in the U.K. late last year. The CD comes to a pause of optimism with the orchestral ballad “Any Other World,†which Mika has described as a song about readjusting your life to changes in the world. The break in liveliness is followed by the crux of the album composed of “Billy Brown†and “Big Girl (You Are Beautiful).†On a first listen to these two songs anybody remotely familiar with rock will recognize a modern day “Penny Lane†and “Fat Bottom Girls.†On “Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)†with lyrics such as “Walks in to the room/ feels like a big balloon/ I said hey girl you are beautiful†and “You take your girl and multiply about four/ Now a whole lot of woman needs a whole lot more,†I wouldn’t be surprised if Mika outdid Queen’s video of fat bottomed girls on bicycles. “Billy Brown†and “Big Girl†truly show Mika’s talent in taking the influential sounds of the rock gods and creating novel pop music. With trite lyrics and an Elton John-like piano arrangement, the following track titled “Stuck in the Middle†could be the weakest song on the album. But the close of the album redeems itself with “Happy Ending,†a song on which Mika’s vocal abilities gleam from the most average of octaves to ones that only those possessing true talent can sing with grace. The vocal beauty continues onto lullaby-esque bonus track “Ring Ring.†Beirut born, Paris and London raised, Mika brings something fresh yet so aged to the pop scene. He is an overly cheerful, tall, dark and handsome man that still lives in the basement of his parents’ home. He even featured two of the old ladies that hang out at his home in his video for “Grace Kelly.†But after one listen to Life in Cartoon Motion, none of this comes as a surprise. Although some may disapprove, most most are bound to find much enjoyment in this modern flamboyant Freddie. --- CW.