Cautionary Wife

Hi Hannah Good to know you. You are among friends. We're not TOO weird on here. HA!! CW.

You are a star Yoppappop. I thoroughly enjoyed this. I coped with a fair bit - Mika speaks fairly slowly and I think we have the gist of what he says in interviews, but every single interview is worth the time and effort for the one odd little gem of information that we haven't had before... hanging on his every word... ain't we sad souls!!! Missing word here is "Line Dancing" CW.

That's right. "Because everyone was calling me 'Maika', or 'Mischa'." CW.

THE ATLATA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION Radio slowly warming up to unconventional 23-year-old artist By NICK MARINO Published on: 02/17/2007 England's brightest new pop star has long fingers, gangly limbs and a tiny waist. His hair falls in dark ringlets. The American pop star he most resembles is John Mayer. The animal he most resembles is a giraffe. His name is unisex. In his 23 years, he's only met one other Mika, and that was a Japanese lady who accompanied him on piano in music college. This Mika  the English one, whose name is pronounced MEE-kuh  has the No. 1 song in Britain at the moment, "Grace Kelly." Perhaps you've heard it. It's a real piano-pounder with giant chord progressions and a stratospheric falsetto chorus. The song's lyrics allude to Freddie Mercury, the flamboyant Queen singer whose showtuney sensibility resonates in Mika's melodies. Some American radio stations, including local adult-alternative station Dave FM, have begun playing "Grace Kelly," while others are thinking about it. Mika is here in Atlanta to see if he can persuade them. Chris Brannen, operations manager at Dave, says the station is already spinning the song two to three times a day, focusing on weekends and overnight airplay, and that he's planning to start "hand-placing it throughout the day." He compares it to another left-field hit that swept England before breaking in the States: Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." "I think with the buzz and the flash and the pizzazz that Mika has around him, I think that it's going to be a hit ... it's catchy. And yes, it will be one of those songs that, after you hear it for the 300th time  very similar to 'Crazy'  people [will start] saying, 'If I hear that song one more time...' But that's how hits are made." Hits like Mika's album, "Life In Cartoon Motion," a kaleidoscopic record integrating piano pop and disco throb. While it won't be out in the States until March 27, it, too, is No. 1 back home in Blighty. 'Setting trends isn't easy' On this sunny Valentine's Day afternoon, he's high above Buckhead in the penthouse conference room of Top 40 radio station Star 94. He's already given a joint performance for employees of Top 40 station Q100, and alternative rock station 99X. Now here he is, helping decorate for his next promotional gig. After this, he's got a private concert at the Realm condominium tower, sponsored by Dave FM. Then it's off to Boston, then New York, and then back overseas for a tour. Mika grasps a purple balloon, fills it with helium, lifts it to his lips and inhales. He sings the hook of "Grace Kelly" in a comically squeaky pitch, riffing on his own voice, a voice that once caused a record executive to ask him, "Do you have to sing so high?" Well, he doesn't have to. The guy started studying voice at age 11; his first gig was at the Royal Opera House. He can sing in a low, rounded voice  and sometimes he does  but his trademark move is a vocal leap into thin air. Here in the States, Mika is still mostly unknown. Perhaps because of this, or perhaps it's just his nature, he punctuates his refined manners with a self-deprecating wit. He exhibits a rare combination of precociousness and modesty. If he were back home, he points out, he could be "swanning around" at the Brits  the U.K.'s version of the Grammys. He's not nominated, but that's because he's not eligible this year. "I keep getting text messages saying 'Have a great time tonight,'" he says. "And I'm like, 'I'm playing the condo next door.'" Balloons are placed at the doorway, and Valentine's candy is strewn across the conference room table. Before long, the Star 94 staff gathers around. Joel Klaiman, a Universal Records bigwig in a pinstriped jacket, introduces his artist by saying, "You probably won't ever see Mika in a conference room again." Mika, he says, already has confirmed dates on "The Tonight Show" and "Good Morning America," and "Saturday Night Live" is trying to work around Mika's schedule. Mika sits at a big keyboard and plays three songs. The first is "My Interpretation," a breakup song disguised as a jaunty pop tune. The second is "Love Today," a rave-up that starts big and grows bigger. Last comes "Grace Kelly," which he says was written in a fit of anger after feeling rejected and frustrated by a music business that wouldn't give him any attention. Needless to say, he's got plenty of attention now. With Mercury long dead and glam-rock band the Darkness looking like a one-hit wonder, Mika's closest stylistic contemporary is the singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, another restless soul whose work includes cabaret-pop and opera. After Mika's conference room performance, Klaiman explains his sales pitch for getting such an unconventional artist on mainstream radio: "Setting trends isn't easy." That's especially true when the competition is so much more familiar to American ears. In the Star 94 lobby are posters of Kelly Clarkson and James Blunt, the sorts of traditional pop acts with whom Mika is competing for air time. Defining artistic success After Star 94, Mika heads over to the Realm, arriving quite early for his performance. At the suggestion of his manager, Mika kills time by exploring the leafy grandeur of West Paces Ferry. His song "Billy Brown," about a gay love affair, plays on the SUV's stereo. "I think that I wasn't born out of any sound scene," Mika says. "I was rejected by pretty much all of them. So I kind of had to find my own way of doing things." He says he gets his songwriting inspiration from his life and his friends' lives, or perhaps from "trashy magazines or fancy books." Then the song "Big Girl" comes on  this is a kind of 21st century update of Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls," a song that Mika says was inspired by the Butterfly Lounge, a plus-sized ladies' club in Southern California. Mika soon reveals that, for him, success means being "massive" enough to continue indulging his artistic muse. "If I make a certain amount of money on my live shows," he says, "then I can turn my live show actually into a big-top circus tent and take that all around the United States. And not have opening acts that are sub-par bands that no one's interested in ... instead, let's have trapeze artists." He's already on his way. When word leaked about Mika's recent private gig at the Roxy in Los Angeles, fans lined up around the block  so he hired jugglers to keep them entertained. Time for the fans The Dave FM show is held in the 8th floor lounge of the Realm, an upscale condo tower. About 125 fans have crowded into the space, having won a little Dave FM contest. Essentially, the station started announcing the show at 9 a.m. one day not long ago, asking listeners who wanted to come to respond via e-mail. Within six hours, the guest list was full. Dave FM's Brannen introduces Mika by comparing him to Queen, Elton John and George Michael. After a brief delay due to an errant fire alarm, Mika bounds into the room, says, "Wow, that's the best entrance I've had in a long time," and plays the same three songs he played at Star 94. The performances are no less charismatic than before. Afterward, he greets a long line of fans, including 29-year-old Nikki Rahnert. She tells Mika that his songs make her smile, and he signs a picture of himself with the words "To Nikki  I am glad the tunes make you smile. [Heart] Mika." PHOTO CAPTIONS: 1. With his dizzying falsetto and funky instrumentation, Mika has moved to No. 1 on the British charts, and his single "Grace Kelly" is starting to get played on Atlanta stations, including Dave FM, which sponsored this listener event at Realm condos in Buckhead. 2. "I think that I wasn't born out of any sound scene. I was rejected by pretty much all of them. So I kind of had to find my own way of doing things," Mika says. 3. Pop singer Mika has left Britain and headed across the Atlantic in efforts to broaden his stardom. If the enthusiastic autograph seekers are any indication, he's well on his way to success. Chris Brannen, operations manager at Dave FM, describes him as full of buzz, flash and panache.

LOVE TODAY I had a close look at this with few lyrics in the CD booklet. It's really weird print, but looks like First verse looks like this... I’ve been crying for so long Fighting tears just to carry on But now, but now it's gone away Hey girl why can’t you carry on [carry on] Is it just cuz you’re just like your mother Little tight, like to tease for fun [tease for fun] Well you ain't gonna tease no other Gonna make you a lover . . . 2nd verse . . . Carolina sits on ‘95 Give her a dollar and she'll make you smile Hook her, book her, nook her Walk away! Girl dresses like a kid for fun [kid for fun] Licks her lips like they’re something other Tries to tell you life has just begun [just begun] Now you know she's getting something other Than the love from her mother --- and the 'bridge' bit.... Girl in the blue 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 In the case of "Little tyke" or as in the booklet "Little tight" - it really depends if it is Mika who had overseen this publication. With his dyslexia, he probably wouldn't be able to notice if he's been misinterpretted. GRACE KELLY Instances of "try" are "tried" in the lyric book.... and occurrences of "don't" need an apostrophe. CW.

Prefer my singers not to be in a falling down state. CW.

ALL OF MP3 on February 24, 2007 The European Top 100 Albums is compiled by Billboard Information Group and based on the national album sales charts of 18 European territories: Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Finland, Flanders, Italy, Ireland, Norway, Holland, Portugal, Sweden, United Kingdom, Wallony. 1 Norah Jones - Not Too Late 2 Madonna - Confessions Tour 3 Bloc Party - Weekend In The City 4 Nelly Furtado - Loose 5 Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion 6 Falco - Hoch Wie Nie 7 Amy Winehouse - Back To Black 8 Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High 9 Katie Melua - Piece By Piece 10 Carla Bruni - No Promises MONSTERS AND CRITICS Music News Norah Jones continues reign over Europe By Paul Sexton Feb 16, 2007, 13:54 GMT Norah Jones started a second week atop European Top 100 Albums with 'Not Too Late' (Blue Note/Parlophone), ruling the composite listing ahead of Madonna`s 'The Confessions Tour' (Warner Bros.), which held at No. 2. Nelly Furtado`s "All Good Things (Come To An End)" (Mosley/Geffen) began a third consecutive and fourth aggregate week at No. 1 on Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, leading the field again in Denmark, Holland, Switzerland and the Belgian region of Flanders. Jones held at No. 1 in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Holland and Flanders, added a No. 1 debut in Sweden and climbed from No. 4 to 1 in Poland and Wallony. 'Not Too Late' falls from the top in the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Finland and Norway. British alternative rock outfit Bloc Party scored a No. 3 debut on European Top 100 Albums with its sophomore release 'A Weekend In The City.' Released in the United Kingdom and some other markets by parent indie Wichita and in others by V2, it opened at No. 2 at home with sales of 73,000 copies. 'Weekend' is new at No. 2 in Ireland, No. 5 in Germany and No. 10 in France and climbed 9-2 in Flanders, as Wichita put initial worldwide shipments for the set at 500,000. Bloc Party`s first album 'Silent Alarm' debuted and peaked at No. 6 on Top 100 Albums two years ago. Mika debuted at No. 5 on the pan-European chart with his album 'Life In Cartoon Motion' (Casablanca/Universal Island). It was part of a notable double for the Lebanese-born discovery in the United Kingdom, where the album sold 108,000 to open at No. 1. Lead single "Grace Kelly" snagged a fourth week at the top in the U.K., rising to composite sales of 222,000. The single, which held at No. 5 on the Eurochart, led the Irish chart for a second week as the album arrived at No. 2 there behind Snow Patrol`s "Eyes Open" (Fiction/Polydor), which held at No. 13 in its 41st week on the aggregate chart. The late Austrian pop star Falco scored a new posthumous success with the double CD compilation 'Hoch Wie Nie' (Sony BMG). It was in at No. 6 on Top 100 Albums after it debuted at No. 1 in Austria, No. 2 in Germany and No. 5 in Switzerland. Falco, best remembered for his international chart-topper of 1986 "Rock Me Amadeus," died in 1998. The new retrospective was released to mark what would have been his 50th birthday Feb. 19. Fall Out Boy augmented its No. 1 debut on The Billboard 200 with 'Infinity On High' with a pan-European No. 8 debut for the sophomore set, released on Mercury in Europe. It was new at No. 3 in the United Kingdom on sales of 64,000, while the single "This Ain`t A Scene It`s An Arms Race" dipped 2-4 there. The track was up 8-5 in Ireland but fell 9-14 on the Eurochart. German megastar Herbert Gronemeyer entered the Eurochart at No. 6 and the German singles listing at No. 1 with the EP 'Lied 1 - Stuck Von Himmel' (Capitol), which also arrived at No. 4 in Switzerland and No. 5 in Austria. David Gilmour`s live version of Pink Floyd`s 'Arnold Layne' (EMI), which hit No. 19 on the U.K. chart at the turn of the year, was a top ten success in Italy, where it rose 7-6. Joining the top ten there was Take That`s "Patience" (Polydor), up 11-9. The track, which Wednesday night (Feb. 14) won the fan-voted British single category at the Brit Awards, had six weeks atop the Eurochart at the end of 2006. ----- CW.

LICM holding her off in iTunes, though not at amazon at the mo'. CW.

I'll have another look at Big Girl over the weekend and make some edits to my earlier posting here, so that it's easier to find the concensus view. Thanks too for Satellite. I could only get disjointed phrases that didn't make enough sense to send in here. Beautiful song. Never occurred to me it could be a cover. You can get Satellite off iTunes - just checked it is still there today, and it's the B-side of the 7" vinyl of Grace Kelly vinyl. (I got it off the vinyl). CW.

I enjoyed the interview.... settles the dilema whether Mika likes Marmite... or NOT !!! ) Maybe someone else already 'spread' that morsel? CW.

DIGITAL SPY Saturday, February 17 2007 By Daniel Kilkelly Mika is at the top of the Irish singles chart with Grace Kelly for a third week. High climbers this week included Akon and Snoop Dogg's I Wanna Love You and Kaiser Chiefs' Ruby. Meanwhile, Leona Lewis, Fall Out Boy and Cascada each dropped down one place. Snow Patrol's Eyes Open has remained at the top of the album chart for another week, followed by Mika's Life In Cartoon Motion at number two and Rod Stewart's If We Fall In Love Tonight at number three. The top ten singles in full: 1. (1) Mika: 'Grace Kelly' 2. (18) Akon ft. Snoop Dogg: 'I Wanna Love You' 3. (3) Jojo: 'Too Little Too Late' 4. (2) Just Jack: 'Starz In Their Eyes' 5. (4) Leona: 'A Moment Like This' 6. (5) Fall Out Boy: 'This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race' 7. (31) Kaiser Chiefs: 'Ruby' 8. (7) Cascada: 'Truly Madly Deeply' 9. (10) 2Pac ft. Ashanti & T.I.: 'Pac's Life' 10. (9) Jessica Simpson: 'A Public Affair' --- CW.

SCOTTISH DAILY RECORD 16 February 2007 THE OFFICIAL UK CHARTS COMPANY Rick Fulton MIKA holds on to the Scottish No.1 with ease this week. The highest new entry is the FHM High Street Honeys with their version of I Touch Myself which is in at No.6. And Jessica Simpson's poplite tune A Public Affair is the only other new entry in the Scottish top 10 at number 10 - although the video is well worth watching - it's even funnier than her singing. The Scottish top 20 has only two other new entries, Ericke's dance track The Beat Is Rockin' at number 14 and 2Pac's Pac's Life at number 19. 1 (1) Mika Grace Kelly 2 (2) Fall Out Boy This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race 3 (5) Just Jack Starz In Their Eyes 4 (4) Mason Exceeder 5 (7) JoJo Too Little, Too Late 6 (-) FHM High Street Honeys I Touch Myself 7 (6) The View Same Jeans 8 (8) Eric Prydz vs Floyd Proper Education 9 (11) Cascada Truly Madly Deeply 10 (-) Jessica Simpson A Public Affair 11 (15) Booty Luv Boogie 2Nite 12 (14) Sharam PATT (Party All The Time) 13 (3) Bloc Party The Prayer 14 (-) Ericke The Beat Is Rockin' 15 (13) Take That Patience 16 (9) My Chemical Romance Famous Last Words 17 (12) Leona Lewis A Moment Like This 18 (18) The Ordinary Boys I Luv U 19 (-) 2Pac ft Ashanti & T.I. Pac's Life 20 (19) Akon ft Eminem Smack That --- CW.

THE MANEATER By Hannah Hayes, Staff Writer. February 16, 2007. The album lacks originality but uses varied musical influences. Have you ever dreamt of sailing over a rainbow with Freddie Mercury on a bicycle or playing keyboards for Modern English? Well, since Freddie is permanently unavailable and uh, Modern English is too, Mika would like to take you on that rainbow cruise, and he’ll be sure to feed you gumdrops and lollipops on the way. He’s hurtful, purple, dirty, flirty, dyslexic and Lebanese, debuting with Life in Cartoon Motion, which pulsates with the beats of his idols, Queen, Michael Jackson, Prince, Elton John, The Beatles and Harry Nilsson. Talk about an identity crisis, but such a turbulent album only makes sense for a man’s turbulent past. Raised in Beirut during the height of the war in the 1980s, his father was taken hostage at an American embassy while his family fled to Paris, leaving Mika with only music to cling to. His family eventually settled in London where Mika acquired his theatrical, exaggerated performance antics from his turn in a Richard Strauss opera when he was 11. At the start of his musical career he did recordings with the Royal Opera House and even the Orbit gum jingle. But Mika’s done with chewing gum; he’s more interested in being a musical ringleader, like his idols. Although unintended, Mika’s voice is haunting almost identical to Freddie Mercury’s, especially in his song “Billy Brown,” which itself is reminiscent of Queen’s “Loverboy.” Mika even boasts his own ode to fat-bottomed girls, “Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)”. Life in Cartoon Motion continues to draw lines to Mercury and beyond. His first single “Relax (Take It Easy)” plays with the melody from Cutting Crew’s solitary hit, “(I Just) Died in Your Arms,” and “Lollipop” is a sunshiny, double-dutch rhyme set to trombones. His current single “Grace Kelly” serves as a revenge ditty for record labels that wanted him to be more mainstream. In an exercise of his confidence, Mika sent the lyrics “Should I bend over, should I look older/ just to be put on the shelf” along with the “Grace Kelly” demo to an executive who turned him away. Mika claims The Beatles taught him that he could put anything in a pop song and make it work, but is the work his own or is Life in Cartoon Motion more of a tribute album to the influence of Mercury? It no doubt delivers as a proficient collection of falsetto-fueled pop, but each track seems to lean so heavily on inspiration from the ghosts of great music past that his originality feels well, uninspired. Mika’s success might not expand past the U.K. indie scene, or he could be 2007’s breakout solo artist. His future is as much of a mystery as his sexuality. --- CW,

Down to 49%. Someone else must be voting. ) CW.

16 Feb 2007 Hello mikamyspacers, well, mikamyspacers in the US! (sorry UK'ers!) MIKA is up against Corbin Bleu and Young Love in AOL's 'BREAKERS' You can go and vote for MIKA by clicking HERE GO GO GO! The artist with the most votes will be announced on March 30th and will get their own dedicated spotlight on AOL Music!! Let's make sure MIKA WINS! GO!!! mikamyspace xxxx --- The above is a new blog entry on http://www.myspace.com/mikamyspace. This relates to opportunity to vote on AOL BREAKERS between three artists, Mika, Corbin Bleu and Young Love. I am in UK and it appeared to accept my vote. Current result: 48% Mika 45% Corbin Bleu 8% Young Love CW ---

Thank you, nice people. CW.

I'm getting the 'Private video' message too. CW.

Try this page to register for advance info about ticket sales for "The Police". It's free. http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/artist/953901/?search_redirect=The%20Police&tm_link=tm_header_search Once you have an account on there, you can add to your personalised list of performers you wish to be informed about when concerts coming up. Mika doesn't appear to be available on that facility as yet - but I would imagine he will be fairly soon as there is no doubt his success will continue. There's usually more than one place to get advance ticket info - sometimes you can register with Radio Stations which will do this, who may issue passwords to access presale, of which there might be more than one. CW.

I loved the little bit of Prince's Kiss and Killer Queen - he was embarrassingly caught off guard there and didn't know the words - but endearing, especially his 'Miss Piggy' voice. CW

Thanks - that was very kind. Loved that excerpt of My Interpretation. Didn't find the othr one yet. CW.

VH1 MUSIC FIRST FOR FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16TH, 2007 It’s over two months away, but the Coachella festival in Indio, California is already sold-out. The three-day music fest takes place on April 27th through the 29th and will feature performances from the recently reunited Rage Against the Machine and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Other acts set to perform include the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bjork, Interpol and more. Rolling Stone reports that the event will remain in Empire Polo Fields in Indio, which were potentially going to be sold off to housing development. Also if you do have a coveted ticket to the event, make sure and hitch a ride with some of your friends. Cars with four people or more will have better access to the site. --- CW.

ITV are showing Tesco's album ad just for Mika - caught it earlier - so they must have some copies. CW.

May not all be totally accurate but the ones on this board seemed generally more so than a site I saw suggested the other day, though one may help with the gaps in the other. http://www.lyricsmania.com/lyrics/mika_lyrics_10092/ Might be time to revisit our lyrics here soon, now we are more used to the songs, and more performances to choose from to have a chance of hearing the words right. CW.

http://www.mikafanclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=320&highlight=Lyrics

Would be classed as British or International? CW.