Cautionary Wife

Is there any way to hear the Napster "Session" songs complete? I can't get Napster cos I'm on Mac. Gutted !! CW.

THE SUN Bizarre Gig Guide Mika's so hip says Natasha January 25, 2007 HERE’S NATASHA BEDINGFIELD cosying up to UK chart-topper MIKA at his sell-out showcase gig in Los Angeles. The pair hooked up after his concert and Nat kindly sent me her exclusive review of the show. She said: LA hipsters were queueing around the block to get in. The room was done up with rude-shaped balloons, glowsticks and rosettes. Lots of cute boys were there. Definitely a good place to go pulling if you are single! Mika kicked off with Relax, Take It Easy — a top party track. His 30-minute set ended on a high with the anthemic Grace Kelly — sure to be as big a hit in the States as it is in the UK. Dressed in a frilly white shirt and lime green trousers, he looked hot. He has great charisma and has a glint in his eye that draws you in. The LA scene seemed in love with Mika too. It’s great to see UK talent fly the flag here. I’ll definitely be buying his album as soon as it hits the shelves. I have enjoyed a sneak preview of his album Life In Cartoon Motion and agree with Natasha — Mika is a big talent. The CD — released February 5 — is influenced by SCISSOR SISTERS, QUEEN and ELTON JOHN but Mika has also put his own stamp on it. There’s no doubt it is going be one of the albums of the year. Bizarre --- CW.

This may not be the correct place on forum... First time I have seen this promo video for Grace Kelly (PUll Tiger Tail Remix) and I can't find previous mention of it on here. So... URL HERE CW.

THE SUN Bizarre 'Always been a camp show-off' By GORDON SMART Deputy Showbiz Editor January 23, 2007 MIKA is Britain’s biggest new chart star, yet he cannot read music, has crippling dyslexia and was relentlessly bullied at school. But he has overcome all the odds and is set for huge success. The 23-year-old pop sensation from London has landed an unprecedented No1 with debut single Grace Kelly  from music downloads ALONE. The recent change in chart rules paved the way for his huge online following to propel him to the top of the charts without selling even a single copy in record stores. There hasn’t been a buzz about an artist on the same scale since Lily Allen exploded on to the scene last year with an army of fans built up on her page on website MySpace. And much like Lily, who has four Brit Award nominations to her name, most music industry pundits are predicting the same overwhelming success for Mika, who was born in the Lebanon. He is already drawing comparisons with legends such as Freddie Mercury, Elton John, David Bowie and Robbie Williams. But the flamboyant, ultra-camp musician is unlike any other act on the music scene now, proudly boasting about being his own man. He refuses to say whether he is gay or straight, claiming his sexuality is of no consequence to his career. He said: “I never talk about anything to do with my sexuality. “I just don’t think I need to. People ask me all the time. But I just don’t see the point. “In order to survive I’ve kind of shut up different parts of my life, and that’s one of them, especially this early in my career. “I don’t really feel that it’s necessary to know in terms of my music. “Some people make records that are defined by their sexuality but mine really are not. “It does play a lot with campness. It has a theatricality to it. Why not? It’s pop music! “If you’re 14 years old and you’re gay, well, just do whatever you want. I’m not confused and I don’t have any barriers about the way I live my life. That’s why I don’t want to put it under the microscope.†His camp personality and music tick all the boxes for UK chart success. He has tapped into Britain’s obsession with high-glam pop, much like Scissor Sisters, the Pet Shop Boys and The Feeling before him. And he is incredibly good-looking, pulling off the androgynous appeal of David Bowie which has already earned him a megabucks deal with leading British designer Paul Smith as the face of a new global advertising campaign. And his success isn’t confined to the UK. He is already earmarked for megastardom in the US after being picked up by music guru Tommy Mottola, the former mentor to Mariah Carey and one of the most respected figures in music. His resounding appraisal of Mika’s potential couldn’t be more glowing. He said: “In greatness he could achieve what Bowie or Robbie or Elton has achieved. He’s in the league of those gentlemen.†But behind Mika, real name Mica Penniman, is a torrid tale of bullying and an incredibly peculiar upbringing. He was born in Beirut to an American father and Lebanese mother. He spent most of his early years in Paris before moving to plush Kensington in London. And the severe dyslexia he suffered as a child caused chaos in his education as he skipped from Lebanon to France, then Britain. He attended the incredibly posh Westminster School then the Royal College of Music before dropping out to mix pop music with classical training. His parents believed all their five children should be privately educated. It cost them a fortune and they were once forced to sell their home when Mika’s banker father hit hard times. Mika was an eccentric child with a strange taste in fashion from an early age  which he has carried into his adult life. But the odd look resulted in perfect material for the school bullies. Mika explained: “I was bullied throughout school. It was verbal bullying. I was a strange kid. “I would go to school in strange clothes  bow ties, funny-coloured shorts. Otherwise, I don’t know why I got bullied. Some kids just get bullied, don’t they? I was called the typical fag and all those other homophobic, horrible little comments that kids throw at one another. “If I’d known the reason, perhaps I wouldn’t have got bullied. I was a show-off as a kid. A bit weird. I had that beaten out of me at school. “I tried to form bands at school but because all the other kids hated me they wouldn’t play with me. “The only people I could get to be in my bands were the kids who got rejected from everyone else’s bands. But soon they didn’t want to play with me either because I was very dominating.†When he was 11 he was pulled out of classes for seven months after a particularly bad spell of bullying. He describes having “a little breakdown†and was educated at home by his mother in the meantime. While he was off, his mother hired a Russian singing teacher who helped him discover his incredible, five-octave singing range. The boy soprano emerged and, before long, he graduated to perform in the chorus line of a Strauss opera at the Royal Opera House. He soon learned he had a talent for songwriting and started to sing jingles. He said: “When I was 14 I recorded one for an Orbit chewing gum advert. It went, ‘Orbit Chewing Gum  and it’s good for your teeth too!’ “I didn’t write the words myself, I just sang it. “This studio hired me to do it because I was very cheap and had no idea what I should be charging for doing this kind of work  and the studio weren’t keen to educate me about that. “For the Orbit jingle, I sent in a bill for £45. “Apparently, you can actually charge a lot more for doing adverts. “By the age of 15 I had £2,000 in my savings account, from doing jingles and stuff like that. I thought that was loads.†He provided the catchy bits of music for food producer Kuwaiti Danish Dairy Company and created muzak too, some of which was taken up by British Airways. He added: “I’ll never forget calling up British Airways to get a ticket, only to be placed in a line listening to my own voice. “That was a painful eight minutes.†Whether you love Mika or hate him, he demands your attention. His songs really are irritatingly catchy and outrageously colourful. But if you want to become a fully-fledged member of the Mika fan club, it will take a brave move to join the new dressing-up trend that has started appearing at his gigs. He said: “I have a cool set of fans who come to my live shows dressed up as the characters in my songs and the cartoons on my website. “There’s Billy Brown, a married man who discovers he’s gay, and Lollipop Girl, who wears a pink frock and licks a lollipop. “And Chew Chew is a monkey who’s always trying to steal Lollipop Girl’s lollipop. “It’s really fun and makes people feel they’re part of the project.†And if Mika continues on the path of his meteoric success, he will have a lot more animated fans. ON this week's Bizarre podcast, Mika talks about his celeb pals and how being “a dyslexic kid who couldn’t really speak English†led him to music. Podcast HERE Transcript HERE CW.

Hi Josie8x8 Just a friendly wave. CW.

Hi MaryP Glad to know you. Enjoy the music and enjoy this board. CW.

... And an attempt at this one... BIG GIRL (YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL) Big girls, you are beautiful Walks in to the room Feels like a big balloon I said, ‘Hey girl, you are beautiful’ ‘Diet coke and a pizza please’ Diet coke, I’m on my knees screaming ‘Big girl, you are beautiful’. You take your skinny girl Feel like I’m gonna die ‘Cos a real woman Needs a real man, here’s why You take your girl And multiply her by four Now a whole lotta woman Needs whole lot more Get yourself to the Butterfly Lounge Find yourself a big lady Big boy, come on round And they’ll be calling you ‘Baby’ You don’t need to fanaticise Since I was in my braces Watering hole with the girls around And curves in all the right places Hey girls, you are beautiful Big girls, you are beautiful Big girls, you are beautiful Big girls, you are beautiful Walks in to the room Feels like a big balloon I said, ‘Hey girls, you are beautiful’ ‘Diet coke and a pizza please’ Diet coke, I’m on my knees screaming ‘Big girl, you are beautiful’ You are beautiful You take your girl And multiply her by four Now a whole lotta woman Needs a whole lot more Get yourself to the Butterfly Lounge Find yourself a big lady Big boy, come on round And they’ll be calling you ‘Baby’ You don’t need to fanaticise Since I was in my braces A watering hole with the girls around And curves in all the right places Big girls, you are beautiful Big girls, you are beautiful Big girls, you are beautiful Big girls, you are beautiful Get yourself to the Butterfly Lounge Find yourself a big lady Big boy come on round And they’ll be calling you ‘Baby’ You don’t need to fanticise Since I was in my braces A watering hole with the girls around And curves in all the right places Big girls, you are beautiful Big girls, you are beautiful Big girls, you are beautiful Big girls, you are beautiful You are beautiful Get yourself to the Butterfly Lounge Find yourself a big lady Big boy, come one round And they’ll be calling you ‘Baby’ You don’t need to fanticise Since I was in my braces A watering hole with the girls around And curves in all the right places Big girls, you are beautiful Big girls, you are beautiful Big girls, you are beautiful Big girls, you are beautiful Oh you are beautiful Get yourself to the Butterfly Lounge Find yourself a big lady Big boy, come one round And they’ll be calling you ‘Baby’ Don’t need to fanticise Since I was in my braces A watering hole with the girls around And curves in all the right places Big girl, you are beautiful Big girl, you are beautiful Big girl, you are beautiful Big girl, you are beautiful Big girl, you are beautiful CW.

THIS IS LONDON Roll up, roll up for the launch of T-Mobile's street gigs 2007 23.01.07 MIKA MIXES IT UP FOR HIS GLOBAL ALBUM LAUNCH AT THIS CIRCUS THEMED EXTRAVAGANZA T-Mobile Street Gigs are back with a bang and this special circus is coming to town for one night only. Now in their third year, T-Mobile Street Gigs continue to bring you the most exciting bands around in some truly unusual places - creating unforgettable and totally unique gigs, like The Strokes playing the Natural History Museum, or The Streets playing London's only lighthouse. For the first gig of 2007, T-Mobile Street Gigs are proud to present a very special one off gig with Mika - 2007's most hotly tipped new artist. Mika is no ordinary performer and this will be no ordinary circus! As master of the ring, Mika promises a fabulously flamboyant performance together with a whole host of circus themed surprises! For one night only, this specially erected circus will play the backdrop to Mika who will launch his seasonal debut album 'Life in Cartoon Motion', exclusively to T-Mobile customers and their friends. Having already captured critics' hearts and headlines ahead of his debut single release, 'Grace Kelly', 23-year-old Mika is guaranteed to wow the crowds with his unmissable performance at this exclusive and extravagant circus themed T-Mobile Street Gig at Berkeley Square on 5th February. As well as being part of Mika's unique global album launch for his debut album 'Life in Cartoon Motion', in Berkeley Square's stunning setting, fans will also be treated to an array of circus antics and surprises! Expect the unexpected - it is a T-Mobile Street Gig after all! The only givens at a T-Mobile Street Gig are superb live music, original ideas, incredible venues and a phenomenal experience that you just won't get anywhere else! Tickets are strictly by invite only. To be in with a chance of getting on the guestlist, music fans must register online between 24th - 31st January at www.t-mobile.co.uk/streetgigs. CW.

THE TIMES TIMES 2 The Face BY Damian Whitworth Mika: Downloads lead to singular success Smarting from yet another record company rejection, a young aspiring singersongwriter sat down at his piano and composed a jaunty slice of pop with an angry “screw you†message for the executives who wanted him to be something he was not. Now that song, Grace Kelly, sits atop the singles chart, and its creator, Mika, is being lauded as the effervescent sound of 2007. A week before its release in hard format, the song is only the second single to reach No 1 through downloads, and the flamboyant 23-year-old finds himself compared to Elton John, David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and Robbie Williams. His enormously confident performance on Later . . . With Jools Holland, singing and accompanying himself at the piano, marked the arrival of someone sure of his star potential. Promoters are hurriedly rebooking the dates on his sell-out UK tour at larger venues. Born Mica Penniman to an American father and Lebanese mother in Beirut, he emigrated with his family to Paris and then London. He struggled with dyslexia, and his unusual dress sense (red trousers and bow ties) and manner caused him to be bullied at school in South Kensington. “I was called the typical fag and all those other homophobic, horrible little comments that kids throw at each other.†His mother educated him at home for several months, during which a Russian singing teacher helped him to find his five-octave singing voice. He had spells at Westminster School and the Royal College of Music before concentrating on building a pop career. He had some success writing and performing advertising jingles: “I’ll never forget calling up British Airways to get a ticket, only to be placed in a queue listening to my own voice. That was a painful eight minutes.†But he had to send out countless demo tapes before eventually winning a recording contract and being championed by Radio 1. Mika has taken a multi-media approach to building his fan base, creating  with his sister, an artist  a group of animated characters that feature in the songs and have their own blogs. He is to be the new face of Paul Smith. The camp, showy nature of his performances has prompted plenty of speculation about his sexual preferences. “I never talk about anything to do with my sexuality,†he has said. “I just don’t think I need to. I don’t really feel it is necessary to know in terms of my music.†He says he loves artists such as Prince, Harry Nilsson, Elton John and Michael Jackson: “These people make amazing pop records that couldn’t be performed by anybody else, and that’s what I always wanted to do.†On the Queen-ish Grace Kelly he opines repeatedly: “Why don’t you like me? Why don’t you like me?†He doesn’t need to ask that any more. CW.

OK... a first attempt at this.... corrections please? HAPPY ENDING This is the way you left me I’m not pretending No hope, no love, no glory No happy ending This is the way that we love Like it’s for ever Then live the rest of our life But not together Wake the morning, stumble in my life Can’t get no love without sacrifice If anything should happen Of this I wish you well Mmm, a little bit heaven A little bit of hell This is the hardest story that I’ve ever told No hope of love or glory Happy ending’s gone for evermore I feel as if I’m wasted And I wasted every day This is the way you left me I’m not pretending No hope, no love, no glory No happy ending This is the way that we love Like it’s for ever And live the rest of our life But not together Two o’clock in the morning, something’s on my mind Can’t get no rest, keep walking around If I pretend that nothing ever went wrong I can get to my sleep, I can think that we just carried on This is the hardest story that I’ve ever told No hope of love or glory Happy endings gone for evermore I feel as if I’m wasted And I wasted every day Oh I…. This is the way you left me I’m not pretending Feel as I’m wasted No hope of love or glory No happy ending And I…. This is the way that we love Like it’s forever Wasted every day Then live the rest of my life But not together Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Hm little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love And I Little bit of love Little bit of love Feel as if I’m wasted Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love And I Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Wasted every day Little bit of love Little bit of love Little bit of love Hey, hey hey This is the way you left me I’m not pretending No hope of love or glory No happy ending This is the way that we love And it’s for ever Then live the rest of my life But not together This is the way you left me I’m not pretending No hope, no love, no glory No happy ending This the way that we love And it’s for ever Then live the rest of our life But not together This is the way you left me I’m not pretending No hope, no love, no glory No happy ending CW.

'My Attempt' at these lyrics... well it's a start. Please feel free to suggest corrections or alternatives? MY INTERPRETATION You talk about life and talk about death And everything in-between like it’s nothing And words are easy You talk about me, you talk about you And everything I do Like it’s something that needs repealing I don’t need an alibi, or for you to realize The things we left unsaid Are only taking space up in our heads Make it my fault, win the game Point the finger, place the blame And curse me up and down It doesn’t matter now ‘Cos I don’t care if ever talk to you again This is not about emotion I don’t need a reason not to tell What you say or what will happen in end This is my interpretation And it don’t, don’t make sense The first two weeks turn into ten I hold my breath and wonder when it’ll happen Does it really matter? If half of what you said is true And half of what I didn’t do Could be different And would make you better If we forget the things we know Could have somewhere to go If the only way is down I can see them now ‘Cos I don’t care if I every talk to you again This is not about emotion I don’t need a reason not to tell What you say or what will happen in the end This is my interpretation And it don’t, don’t make sense And it don’t have to make no sense to you at all ‘Cos this is my interpretation …. yeah, yeah (?) CW.

There was something on Watchdog on BBC the other night, that mentioned there are steps to making it illegal to sell tickets above their face value. I hope it gets into legislation. The worst cases are where people buy non existent tickets at sky high prices from plausible-sounding companies, only to be left hanging around at the venue and being given the run around or a no-show (in both senses of the word). Cliff Richard was on the programme (filmed) and spoke out about this and was very sympathetic to his fans. The artists need to get behind it. CW,

I've sent mp3 of the audio of this interview to Sunny Monkey, in case he wants to upload here. CW.

Here's my effort. Missing a couple of words that come in twice indicated by … [?]. Any other corrections welcome, of course. LOVE TODAY Dum, da da di da di Dum, da da di da di Everybody's gonna love today Gonna love today Gonna love today Everybody's gonna love today Gonna love today Anyway you want to Anyway you've got to Love love me Love love me Love love I’ve been cryin’ for so long Fightin’ tears just to carry on Right now, right now it's gone away Hey girl why can’t you carry on [carry on] Here's a curse you’re just like your mother Little tyke, like to tease for fun [tease for fun] Well you ain't gonna tease no other Gonna make you a lover Everybody's gonna love today Love today Love today Everybody's gonna love today Anyway you want to Anyway you've got to Love love me Love love me Love love … [?] the girl with the big bust on, Big bust on Big bust on Don’t tell your momma and your papa’s gone Papa’s gone Momma, momma papa Shock shock me Shock shock me Shock shock But everybody's gonna love today Gonna love today Gonna love today I said everybody's gonna love today Gonna love today [everybody] Anyway you want to [ahaa] Anyway you've got to [you’ve got to] Love love me Love love me Love love Carolina sits on 95 Give her a dollar and she'll make you smile Hook her, book her, nook her Walk away Mary dresses like a kid for fun [kid for fun] Use her lips like they’re something other Tries to tell you life has just begun [just begun] But you know she's getting something other Than a love from a mother Everybody's gonna love today Love today Love today Everybody's gonna love today Anyway you want to Anyway you've got to Love love me Love love me Love love … [?] the girl with the big bust on, Big bust on Big bust on Don’t tell your momma and your papa’s gone Papa’s gone Momma, momma papa Shock shock me Shock shock me Shock shock And everybody's gonna love today Gonna love today Gonna love today Say everybody's gonna love today Gonna love today Anyway you want to Anyway you've got to [got to] Love love me [love me] Love love me Love love Dum, da da di da di Dum, da da di da di Dum, da da di da di Dum, da da di oh hoo Da di da di oh hoo Da di da di dum Da da di da di dum Da da di da di dum Everybody’s gonna love today Gonna love today Gonna love today Everybody’s gonna love today Gonna love today Anyway you want to Anyway you’ve got to Love love me Love love me Love love Dum da da di da di Dum da da di da di Dum da da di da di Dum da da di oh hoo Da da di da di oh hoo Da di da di dum Da da di da di dum Da da di da di dum CW.

THE SUN By MICHAEL DEACON January 24, 2007 ZANY singer MIKA doesn't want to buy a country mansion like most rich pop stars. Instead, he's planning to splash out on a whole VILLAGE. The Beirut-born star – at No1 this week with single Grace Kelly – has already decided how he'll spend the millions he looks set to make from his blossoming music career. He said: "I have this dream. I want to build a little village, just for me, and have all these houses for different purposes. "I'd have 'The Art House', where I'd paint, and 'The Baking House', where I'd bake. "I don't know how to cook, but it's a nice idea! "It would be somewhere in the Cotswolds, somewhere idyllic and perfect." The 23-year-old, whose debut album Life In Cartoon Motion is out on February 5, has finally tasted success after years of pestering uninterested record companies with his demos. Indeed, at one stage Mika's career was going so badly that he was even FIRED as a music tutor. He admitted: "I tried giving private tuition in music as an evening job while I was at college – but I would always get fired really quickly because I can't sight-read music. "But who wants to learn the piano that way anyway? I just learnt by listening to records and making little songs up." Mika's ungrateful clients may have spurned him – but his chart success means he's at last teaching them a lesson. CW.

I haven't heard all of it yet - but the chorus seems about right. CW.

Thanks.. I'll edit that bit. CW.

I really can't vouch for lyrics of this song - found on the web.... Think there will be a few corrections but it's a start point? Stuck In The Middle I sit and think about the day that you’re gonna die, ‘Cos your wrinkled eyes betrayed the joy with which you smiled. Care to see my reason? Care to put your life in mine? Looking at life from the perspective of a boy Who’s learnt to love you but has also learned to grow. Could we make it better, stormy weather, So I dunno. Oh, oh, oh – Is there anybody home? Who’ll believe me, won’t deceive me, who’ll try to teach me? Ah, ah, ah – Is there anybody home? Who wants to have me, just to love me? Stuck in the middle. I look at you, You look at me, We bite each other. And with your better words you kick me in the gutter. But my troops are bigger than yours ‘Cos you’ll never stand my fight. Ours is a family that’s based upon tradition But with my careless words I tread upon your vision. Are five kids better than one, who’d busy like to be gone? Oh, oh, oh – Is there anybody home? Who’ll believe me, won’t deceive me, who’ll try to teach me? Ah, ah, ah – Is there anybody home? Who wants to have me, just to love me? Stuck in the middle. Yea...Yea...Yea... This is to my name, This ain’t a pretty plan to break your heart of me. I know that what I’ve started means that when we have parted I can live in all this (stench?). Oh, oh, oh – Is there anybody home? Who’ll believe me, won’t deceive me, who’ll try to teach me? Ah, ah, ah – Is there anybody home? Who wants to have me, just to love me? Stuck in the middle, Stuck in the middle, Stuck in the middle, Stuck in the middle. CW.

Ah.... Took a ride to the end of the line Where no one ever goes. Ended up on a broken train with nobody I know. But the pain and the longings the same. When you’re dying Now I’m lost and I’m screaming for help. Relax, take it easy For there is nothing that we can do. Relax, take it easy Blame it on me or blame it on you. It’s as if I’m scared. It’s as if I’m terrified. It’s as if I scared. It’s as if I’m playing with fire. Scared. It’s as if I’m terrified. Are you scared? Are we playing with fire? Relax There is an answer to the darkest times. It’s clear we don’t understand it but the last thing on my mind Is to leave you", [EDIT] I believe that we’re in this together. Don’t scream – there are so many roads left. Relax, take it easy For there is nothing that we can do. Relax, take it easy Blame it on me or blame it on you. Relax, take it easy For there is nothing that we can do. Relax, take it easy Blame it on me or blame it on you. Relax, take it easy For there is nothing that we can do. Relax, take it easy Blame it on me or blame it on you. Relax, take it easy For there is nothing that we can do. Relax, take it easy Blame it on me or blame it on you. It’s as if I’m scared. It’s as if I’m terrified. It’s as if I scared. It’s as if I’m playing with fire. Scared. It’s as if I’m terrified. Are you scared? Are we playing with fire? Relax Relax Relax Ah... Relax Ah.... ----- PS Not 100% on the part after "It's clear we don't understand... if anyone can improve on tha? CW.

TOWERLOAD.COM Pop Phenom Mika Takes Manhattan in Candy-Coated Showcase 01/23/2007 Last night I had the opportunity to attend a special showcase by Mika, the London-based, Lebanese pop star whose catchy single "Grace Kelly" just hit #1 on the UK charts, and whose emergence in the U.S. has received more advance hype than the iPhone. Fortunately, Mika lives up to it. I shot these photos [Photos HERE] at the event which was held at The Box, a tiny cabaret space on New York's Lower East Side. After about an hour, the ebullient curly-top singer, who has earned comparisons to Elton John, George Michael, Freddie Mercury, Rufus Wainwright, and Jake Shears, emerged on stage and ran through a selection of tracks from his album Life in Cartoon Motion. He finished up with the single "Grace Kelly", which he apparently wrote as a flip-off to record labels who told the singer he should sound a certain way. I managed to catch a glimpse of John Cameron Mitchell at the event, which seemed entirely appropriate as Mika's energy can be very Hedwig-esque, and my boyfriend spotted former supermodel (there for the Celebrity Mole fans) Frederique bopping along to the music. Mika draws an eclectic crowd. Mika's bubble gum pop translates flawlessly live. We were sent away from the showcase with a gift bag containing a CD, a huge selection of candy, and a special Mika hacky sack, but bribes weren't necessary. I think most of the audience was already sold. I am, anyway. For those of you who become dangerously addicted to songs with catchy, fizzy, narrative lyrics that tell a story, Mika is your man. I drank the Kool-Ade, and now I'm hooked. It will be interesting to see whether he can catch on in the U.S. The Scissor Sisters have seen chart-topping success in the U.K., while in the U.S. they remain niche artists. I think Mika's optimistic songs should find a bigger audience here — they're already playing as MTV promos, and Mika just signed a huge deal to front designer Paul Smith's spring/summer 2007 campaign (above right). Smith's colorful image suits the cartoon-obsessed singer to a T. From: Towerload.com --- CW.

TUESDAY METRO 'I'm the world's worst karaoke singer' Tuesday, January 23, 2007 Mika isn't a conventional musician. His incredulous life history to date, five-octave vocal range, unruly hair and neatly manicured nails ensure that he isn't your average pop star. When Simon Cowell says he's "strange", there's a part of you that has to agree. "He told me that my songs were strange - he said something to the effect that I might as well not bother," says Mika, smiling. "At the same time, he said I had a distinctive voice and that could help me out. I got upset to a point, but at the same time, I realised he was clearly not the person to work with me. This was before his Pop Idol fame. "I understood early on that this is someone who spends his life looking for singers to sing projects he has already created, and that would have been a disaster for me to work too closely with someone like that. But I saw him at a party recently and he congratulated me." Luckily, Mika (pronounced Mee-ka) wasn't put off by Simon's comments, but he says he'd never go on the X Factor. "Music speaks for itself, egos just get in the way of it. If I went on the show, I'd be kicked out in the first round! I certainly wouldn't make it into the later stages," the 23-year-old says. "I'm the worst karaoke singer in the world - that's why I write songs that are practically impossible to be sung in karaoke." Born in Beirut, Mika and his family emigrated to Paris as self-imposed exiles because of the civil war. They settled in London when he was nine. "Moving here was hard. I went to a French school when I first came here and had a really hard time," he admits. "Moving over to the English system was better because they were more sympathetic to my dyslexia. I was bullied, and verbally abused." Rather than fighting the bullies, Mika coped by writing songs to deal with his feelings. "I dealt with it quite passively, much in the same way as when I went in for a meeting with a music company in London after they heard a demo of mine, and they sat down for an hour telling me how I had to write songs like everybody else in order to be accepted," he says. "I got angry and wrote Grace Kelly when I got home. They never called me back but two years later, the song is doing so well. The song says 'here's the middle finger and the time has proven my point'. "I could have been brash and loud and rude and told them to f*** off, but I didn't, I put it in the song instead, and then it worked for me. It's the perfect example of this passive aggression that I seem to practise in my life." CW.

ENFIELD INDEPENDENT Mika: Life In Cartoon Motion By Staff Reporter 23 January 2007 The power of the Polyphonic Spree, the wistfulness of Jim Noir and the je ne sais quoi of Queen meet up in the musical orbit of this flighty ten track wonder. My Interpretation stands toe to toe with The Magic Numbers and The Mamas & The Papas, sending you flying with its deep seated vocal projection and a glorious, ranging melody. The centrepiece of the album, Any Other World, is pure theatrics in Michael Crawford-sized portions, veering just the right side of sentimentality. A fresh and bold sound ready to push the boundaries of pop music. CW.

Continued from: THE INDEPENDENT Published: 23 January 2007 The website words of Mika * I was born in Lebanon and raised in Paris and London, hopping from country to country like a footloose hippy with my brothers and sisters. * Coming from a different background to most I found no place at school and delved into music from an early age. I started writing songs as a kid, not because of grand ambitions but because it was an easy way to tell as story, a joke and often tell the truth. Tell the truth in a song and people are less pissed off than if you were to say it too their face. * I sent out my stories to anyone and everyone, not surprisingly I often got no reply. The further I got into music the more attention I was getting for my own song writing. I made a choice last year and decided to go for it. * Life in Cartoon Motion is my first record. It has a coming of age theme, and deals with my tranition (sic) from childhood to now. What's my sound? I guess it's in the writing. I apologuise (sic) in advance to the people whos (sic) stories and characters I've borrowed from. Remember, it's only a caricature. ENDS. CW.

THE INDEPENDENT Published: 23 January 2007 Introducing the sound of 2007: Mika. The man, the myth, the music He is 23, and is newly installed at number one. If you buy the hype, he is the biggest thing to hit the world of pop in a generation. Guy Adams goes in search of the maverick behind 'Grace Kelly' Take Freddie Mercury without the handlebar moustache; throw in equal dollops of Elton John, Robbie Williams, and Scissor Sisters; garnish with matinee-idol looks and the lyrical dexterity of a young David Bowie. The result is Mika, a young, London-based singer who has appeared from nowhere to go straight to the top of the charts. He's charming, he's 23, and if you believe the hype, he's the biggest thing to hit pop for a generation. On Sunday, Mika's debut single "Grace Kelly" became only the second track to reach number one on the strength of downloads alone (it isn't actually released until next week). His first album, Life in Cartoon Motion, will spark similar fireworks when it comes out in a fortnight. A few days ago, a BBC poll of senior music industry figures offered their own endorsement, picking Mika as the brightest "new hope" for the "sound of 2007". He's just clocked up 22,000 friends on MySpace, and was yesterday in New York attempting to crack America. In Britain, the Beirut-born prodigy has been signed up as a "face" of Paul Smith and is about to embark on a sell-out tour. He's done Jools Holland, met Cat Stevens, and recently received an unsolicited piece of fan-mail from a certain Brian May. Like any new pop sensation, he is about to enter the international celebrity stratosphere. He is, ladies and gentlemen, the official biggest thing since ... well, since the last big thing. "The appeal of Mika to me, and I would imagine many others, is simple: he's a proper star," said Q editor Paul Watts yesterday. "He's brash, arrogant, looks great and is already fond of saying foolish things. He writes proper songs, with daft lyrics and big choruses. Would that there were more like him." The single "Grace Kelly" is all these things, a catchy and extraordinarily inventive track (among other things, it samples the late princess of Monaco) about the difficulties of breaking into the pop industry. Yet, for all the praise now being heaped upon the track, its curly-haired singer is no ordinary plastic pop-poppet. He was trained at the Royal College of Music, plays piano like an angel, and writes and produces all his own songs. In an era of mass-market bubblegum pop, the boy is like a sore thumb. He's also delightfully eccentric, with a bizarre transatlantic accent, a polysexual persona, and a bizarre outlook on life (as detailed on his internet site). "In the past four or five years, we've been force-fed a strict diet of stars who don't write their own material, can't play instruments and hardly ever play live," said Mika's manager Iain Watt. "As this number one shows, he's different, the real deal." The singer is also cocky and opinionated. He boasts the most colourful of life-stories, and despite having struggled for almost five years to break into the music industry, is described by one recent interviewer as "so confident it's frightening". One interviewer said: "A lot of up and coming singers are excited about being interviewed, but with Mika I got the impression that he's been planning this his whole life. He's incredibly precocious." Mika Penniman, to use his full name, was born in Beirut, at the height of the Lebanese civil war to an American businessman and a Lebanese mother. The family evacuated to France in 1984, after Mika's father was taken hostage in Kuwait, and moved to London when Mika was nine. Although he came from an affluent family, who lived off the Cromwell Road near to South Kensington, Mika's early experiences in the UK were mostly unhappy. A dyslexic, he was bullied at a local French school, and spent six months outside the educational system. "I was the unconventional kid in school," he said. "I used to dress in bright red trousers, with a matching bow tie and shirt. Looking back, I was asking for it, and I had a pretty horrific time." Mika's mother pulled him out of the educational system, and allowed him to study music. He developed into a child singing prodigy, performing at the Royal Opera House and singing advertising jingles as a teenager. "It opened my eyes to this whole new world: this world where people work all day long, for weeks, to create an illusion. So you create a fantasy, and most people's jobs are rooted in reality. I realised that you didn't have to do that." He went on to Westminster school, gained a place aged 19 at the Royal College of Music, then dropped out in an attempt to launch a solo pop career. After years pushing demo CDs to music labels (no one said it would be easy) he was finally noticed during a few months in Miami in the spring of 2005. "His demo was originally pitched across record companies in the UK, and was completely ignored by them," said Watt. "So he went to Miami to continue working on songs and when he was over there he met a management company, Fuerte." They brokered a deal with Universal Records, and decided on a softly-softly approach to launching him. A mini EP, "Relax/Take it Easy", was released in August 2006. "We never ever wanted this project to be hyped and forced on people, because if you want a long-term career it's better if people just discover your work," Watt said. "He's intelligent and eloquent and like great pop stars there's an enduring quality to him, so we didn't want to suddenly ram him down people's throats." Radio One had other ideas, though. The station's head of music, George Ergatoudis, heard the debut EP and immediately decided to add it to the station's playlist. "We were the first station in the world to play and playlist him," he said. "In the first week of hearing stuff, we thought this guy is really going to go. The timing is just right. There's still a place in the market for a dynamic solo male pop star, and he's got that. Songs in that niche between Scissor Sisters and Queen work in public consciousness, and nobody else is doing that right now." "It was a quite straightforward case of my team, who I suppose number 14 people, hearing Mika's first four or five tracks and straight away saying, to a man, that there's something really going on with this guy. We were so confident it was going to go, and that we had something, we stuck him straight on air.'' The result has been a more-or-less overnight sensation, helped by Mika's sensitivity to the multimedia revolution in music. His Myspace site, which has received almost a million hits, showcases a cast of fictional cartoon characters that appear in lyrics of the debut album. They were painted by Yasmine, one of his two sisters (he also has a brother), who works as a professional artist with the nom de plume Dawack, and have been referred to in many of the singer's colourful interviews. "He's a great interview, articulate and opinionated and really self-confident," said his publicist, William Rice. "He's had a really fascinating life, which informs his music. Unlike lots of musicians, he's got lots of colourful experiences to write about, including a few really traumatic episodes which give him material that other artists don't really have." Mika's interviews often touch upon his disdain for the record industry that ignored him during the early stages of his career. "I was scorned by the alternative crowd, because of my obsession with good melodies," he once said. "And I was rejected by the commercial crowd, the big record companies, because they thought I was too weird." His rejection of what might broadly be termed "labels" crosses over into his private life. He is often compared to poly-sexual acts such as the Scissor Sisters, and likes to keep his sexuality ambiguous. "He's kept his private life private," says Rice. "We asked him early on whether he wanted to do that sort of ground in interviews and he said he'd rather not. But he's friendly about it if it gets raised in interview, rather than defensive. He is single though." Another friend says: "He likes artists such as David Bowie, and Mark Bolan and Prince, and one reason is that he likes their sexual ambiguity. Like them, he likes not quite spelling things out. I think he wants to keep people guessing." "He definitely doesn't have a girl or boyfriend. I'm pretty sure he's at least bisexual, but he doesn't spell it out, and in interviews when asked has just said something about how he doesn't like labels. He seems to enjoy the ambiguity." Yet remaining ambiguous may not be possible for much longer. Although Mika can still walk the streets of Earls Court, where he lives, without being mobbed, he's not got too many days of anonymity left. Yesterday, the pop magazine NME went so far as to announce that it would not be featuring the star because his music appeals to a broad cross-section, from teenage girls to foot-tapping grannies. "He's too mainstream," says a spokesman. "It would be like us featuring Take That. He's very pop, and although he's slightly to the left of mainstream, he's not something our target audience would filter into." In a roundabout way, with "Grace Kelly" sitting pretty at number one, there could hardly be a greater endorsement. Continued.... CW.

NEW YORK, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Mika's first single 'Grace Kelly' has topped the UK music charts on digital sales alone, despite the fact that the physical single won't be available in stores until January 29th. 'Grace Kelly' ascended to the coveted #1 spot after unseating Leona Lewis who had held the position for four weeks. With this honor Mika joins Gnarls Barkley as the only artists to reach the #1 position before their singles were released in stores. In addition, 'Grace Kelly' has now secured the top spot as the most played video on MTV. 'Historic', 'sensational' and 'without-any-doubt original' are just some of the adjectives being thrown around by critics in praise of 23 year-old rising UK newcomer, Mika, who -- on the strength of his debut album Life In Cartoon Motion (Casablanca/Universal Republic Records) has already been minted to most 2007 Artists to Watch Polls, and we're only a few weeks into the new year! Most recently the talented singer/songwriter topped the prestigious BBC Sound of Music Poll for 2007, which has anointed previously-unknown superstars such as 50 Cent, Keane and Corinne Bailey Rae. His much anticipated album is due in-stores in the U.S. on March 27. Universally praised for his chameleon-like pop apparitions that make up the 11 song debut disc, the Lebanese emigre (as nomadic as he is talented, now a Londoner via stopovers in Paris and other assorted cities) even has a go at describing himself on his delectable hand-scrawled MySpace site: 'Think Beck via Queen and Elton' he writes, throwing in Harry Nilsson, even though he frets his audience may not even know who the legendary singer/songwriter was. One thing is for certain, U.S. audiences are about to be properly introduced to Mika, thanks to the euphoric first single "Grace Kelly," already a smash hit in the UK, which has ignited a mailbag full of comparisons to Freddie Mercury and been ceremoniously added to the top tier of MTV Rotation here in the U.S. Ever-vigilant UK critics have been falling over themselves to hail Mika, with the Independent calling him 'The pop sensation of 2007,' and The Times writing: 'With certain acts -- it's obvious to anyone they've got he makings of something huge -- Mika is one of those artists,' and The Guardian confirming that: 'Mika is 2007's surest bet.' While in the U.S. Vanity Fair describes Mika as "a little bit Freddie Mercury, a little bit George Michael." Mika's song "Love Today" is also creating a buzz as part of Motorola's (RED) campaign. The spot containing his song in the background has SNL Alumnus Chris Kattan and Supermodel Alena featured in an impromptu comedy dance fest. (RED) was created by Bono and Bobby Shriver to raise awareness and money for the Global Fund to eliminate AIDS in Africa. Posting cartoon thumbnails of eclectic icons such as Walt Disney, Prince, cult cartoonist R. Crumb and Mao era Chinese marchers on his website, it's not certain whether Mika aims to fuse or diffuse his diverse repertoire of influences. A self-admitted caricature junkie, he's also a startling melodist, still partial to leaving it up to searing musical gems such as "Grace Kelly," "Stuck In The Middle," and "Relax And Take It Easy," to supply the missing puzzle pieces of his amazing journey so far. 'I've always respected people who make great records to their own vision,' writes the quixotic Mika: 'Tell the truth in a song and people are less pissed off than if you were to say it to their faces.' That's good, because the affable star is about to square off face-to-face with fame and fortune in a big way in 2007. Source: Universal Republic/Casablanca CW.