Gatagordinha

I haven't logged in here in years but I heard the sad news about David and felt I had to come and add my condolences on this thread. He really was the heart and soul of MFC back in the early days and although I only met him briefly in person twice, he seemed such a kind and fun person. Very sad for him to be taken so soon.

RIP Freddie

I voted! 

Out of the stuff I've heard that's on the new album, I definitely like this best. It has a very classic sound. Very catchy too but in a less annoying way than Talk About You.
I'm far from completely on board with Mika these days sadly, but on the strength of this song perhaps there's reason for me to at least listen to NPIH when it comes out. I don't think the spark will ever truly reignite for me, but we'll see.

Well it looks like the odds are increasing in Mika's favour

 

 

https://twitter.com/SkyUno/status/599203576267841536

I love how he's stooping to Cowell's level. No metaphor intended 

I would like to thank everyone for their supportive comments. Thank you very much.

I was just feeling upset that anyone might think that because I've been here a long while, I might not see anyone new as being as much of a fan as someone who came from the GK days.

I do see everyone on the forum as exactly the same as anyone else. The new fans are great as they've often come from places, like the USA, where we long for Mika to make his mark, and all of the people who come from far flung places like Korea, are proof he's making his mark all over the world.

What's been said to me about the Oldlings thread is also true. It does move very quickly, and so I do understand that posts may get overlooked. I may give it another try.

Once again, thank you all for showing some Mika-love to me. I'm touched, and very grateful.

Mika-love to you all.

I'm hardly ever here anymore and was just lurking reading this thread, but had to log in to say that I agree with what the others have said Marilyn: you most definitely have a strong identity and personality on here. However it's very true about the fast-moving thread thing - I used to fall victim to it too in the days when I posted more and you can take it to heart (we are human after all), until you realize it really is nothing personal! I think it has probably happened to more people than you realize, on here. It really was a busy busy place a few years ago wasn't it.

Anyway, I only pop in very very occasionally these days but I can guarantee that when I do, I will always take notice of your posts if I see them around, as I always have in the past

Let's all just trust Mika - he knows what he's doing.

 

Yes, I trusted Mika. I trusted Mika when he came on the scene presenting himself as someone who was all about writing and performing and planned to be doing the same in 10, 20 or more years.

 

I trusted Mika when he said he didn't have to answer to his record company or any other business pressures.

 

I trusted Mika when he said he wasn't interested in fashion.

 

I trusted Mika when he said he was driven by the need to be creative and not commercial.

 

I trusted Mika when he said he was the anti X Factor artist.

 

I am a fan of the person who said those things. I am a fan of the person who stood in the Sixth and I Synagogue and sang music clearly written and performed from his soul.

 

I am not a fan of a person who sells beer, sunglasses and clothing. I am not a fan of a person who sells out to some obscure talent show that will tie him up from making music and headlining tours and will contribute nothing to his legacy except becoming the David Hasselhoff of Italy.

 

This is extremely sad and disappointing and regardless of how well or badly it turns out for Mika personally it is still a breach of the trust that I (and I'm sure many others) put in him all these years to be someone who would never sacrifice their artistic integrity to sell products and become a C-list celebrity on a TV show that makes a mockery of real musical artists.

 

I will always be grateful I was one of the lucky few to see him at his very very best. But this is the end of the line for me as far as actively supporting Mika on a day to day basis goes. I am not waiting around another 3 years or more while he works on these side projects that seem to be entirely motivated by...I don't know what...but it's sure not artistic drive.

 

I hope he comes back to NA again one day with a great tour. And I hope I am still interested enough to care.

I'm with you Christine.

I do not recognise Mika these days. Not the Mika I fell in love with 6 years ago. Obviously everyone changes over time, one expects a bit of that, but I just can't relate to him or many of his decisions these days.

I've always said, whether people agree is up to them, but that the problem really started after WAG. The two singles released from TBWKTM in the UK, wern't the right ones. There were much better songs on the album than Rain and BIOTG. To show Mika's versatility, they could have tried to release Pick Up, as it's really bluesy and different, and GGG would have made a great dance-track, Touches You is awesome and I See You, lovely and romantic.

I don't think he has the choice over which singles are released. On one radio show I remember him playing GGG because he'd hoped it would be a single and thought it deserved to be on the radio.

As for this album. I think the word we are looking for here is "fiasco". It's been absolutely, nothing but a shambles. I've seen no adverts for the album on TV, nothing to let the UK know he's actually, NOT DEAD YET! As for the releases, they've been so confusing. We haven't really known if they've been released or not. Even Popular has been released in a backside-frontwards way, with the video being made weeks after the song itself was out.

If this is how the record company are going to treat Mika, he'd be much better off without them, doing his own thing, his own way.

I agree that BIOTG was a terrible single choice. I date the slide from then (although I know quite a few who were already turned off by WAG). It was one of the poorest songs on the album and had a frankly awful video. I thought Rain was better but by that time the damage was done.

And yes, TOOL has been a fiasco. I still can't get my head around why Celebrate was released way too late for the Olympic vibe when I am SURE it would have been picked up more if released just a few short weeks earlier. It wasn't a strong single anyway IMO but the record company couldn't even spot its glaringly obvious, if limited potential!! The mind boggles, it really does.

As he is doing the Seoul Jazz Festival on 17th or 18th of May we now can say for sure he won't take part as Jury Final and Final are on these two days

So the rumours can stop now...until next year of course

I used to think that way too. But now I´ve changed my mind. Clearly he goes to perform where he charts (aka France).

 

Yes, you might say that he is also doing a tour in US, but I think it´s a kind of promotion to go along with the Popular video.

 

If you take into account how big is France and how many gigs he is doing there, you´ll realise that it matters if he charts or he doesn´t.

 

I don´t really care if he becomes global, the New MJ or the new Freddie. But I´d love him to chart in my country cause it seems it´s the only way to bring him back. My first gig in Madrid was three years ago, and it was in the Palacio de los Deportes. It was sold out in few weeks. My last gig, just few months ago, was also in Madrid in a very tiny venue and it wasn´t sold out. It might mean that he won´t try to perform here again...

 

Sadly, charts matter.

I don't think the simple fact of not being in the charts is an excuse for not selling out venues. I follow a couple of American bands whose singles never get anywhere near the charts here, but they sell concert tickets here well enough. They've done that by nurturing a fanbase and building loyalty. I don't know why Mika struggled to fill venues in Spain this time around (or anywhere else) but perhaps it's more to do with poor promo and not getting the word out to those who might be interested in coming to see him, rather than where his single is in the charts. After all it shouldn't matter to a real fan if the single is in the charts or not

You really are into something here!! If you read the interview the Danish blogger made with him at Nibe Festival last July, he answers this to her question about his long silence: " I've had to find a reason to make an album". He also tells about pressure from the record co. etc....

 

Love,love

me

Did he really say that? I missed that interview.

Well that says all you need to know doesn't it. He needs to find his passion again (and I don't mean for his bf )

It is such a huge platform isn't it. Millions of viewers for that one show. I know some peeps who watch it in the UK, young ones too, who don't know Mika from a hole-in-the-ground atm.

At the end of the day, it's his decision whether to do it or not. But if he did, he's so gorgeous and talented that he'd get millions more fans in all countries, for his voice, his song and his looks.

Agreed, doing Eurovision would get him more fans across continental Europe, by which I mean excluding the UK! Over here it would just cement him as cheesy in everyone's eyes. I mean, I love Eurovision and so do many people in the UK and I think most years there are at least a couple of really great pop songs in the competition but let's be honest, it is seen as kind of a joke here and I don't think it would do his cred -what remains of it - any good at all here.

I think this is very unfortunate because as someone pointed out in another thread when Mika came on the scene he gave off an air of inclusivity, not exclusivity. He had enough of an exotic background to add a bit of glamour and he was certainly quirky but otherwise he came across like a down to earth boy who just wanted to have fun. He came from a wealthy background but rejected designer fashions in favour of what everyone was wearing on the streets of London at that time (yet at the same time had a very distinctive style about him). He was skinny but he embraced big girls. He was young and beautiful but made older people feel young again. His music was clever enough to appeal to adults but children loved the happy melodies.

 

A couple of years later he was wearing bespoke $10,000 shoes - a different pair for every day of the month it seems. Instead of having a record release party with people in the music industry, performers and fans as he had done with LICM, he had an exclusive release party for Songs For Sorrow with clothes and shoe designers and the EP was only available from his site or a clothes designer's shop.

 

His music went from being fun to being quite dark. Personally I found it interesting because I was very curious about Mika and wanted to see him open up and let the world see something beyond his 2-dimensional public image. But as was also pointed out in the other thread this was a lot less relateable for most people. When you read what fans feel they have in common with Mika now so much of it is problems - bullying, learning disabilities, feeling like an outsider. I think the average person does not really relate to this because most people are fairly social and at least when I was in school relentless bullying was very rare. Not rare in the sense that it rarely happened but that it was only ever 1 or 2 kids out of hundreds who were the victims.

 

I relate to Mika as I do to all musicians, with a mutual love of music. I want to hear their take on adult experiences since we are adults. I am not interested in angsty teen songs anymore and never related to feeling like an outsider. Since Mika was 25 years old and not Justin Bieber it wasn't really what you'd expect from him anyway. There is this rewriting of history to try to paint LICM as an album about childhood but it wasn't. It was about getting laid, a married man having a gay affair, men with big girl fetishes, Mika's struggles with the music industry, fear and struggles in the face of war.

 

To start writing about your miserable teen years several years later seems like a bit of a regression and self-indulgent. And it's something that most adults do not relate to or find an emotional connection with. Even if my teen years were miserable it's not something I would want to dwell on by listening to angsty teen songs.

 

I can understand why he chose love as a theme for TOOL and talks about joy now instead of darkness. Love is a universal thing and most fans of pop music want to hear joyous songs. Sadly it is mostly just the exclusive audience who is listening now.

I agree with most of this and it's very well expressed.

The whole designer shoes and clothes thing with him.. I have just never ever "got" that. I literally couldn't be less bothered about whether or not he is wearing Louboutins, or a designer jacket.

That makes a lot of sense. Tbh, when he released the singles from Origin I didn't even check the UK charts as I knew he wouldn't be there.

Rach have you been watching The Big Reunion on itv2? The music business is as precarious as a crumbling cliff edge. Bands and singers (not just Mika) can be big one minute, gone the next.

If Mika concentrated on the internet, what might be a good idea is for him to get all his independant contacts who've been doing things like, those short films, and make really great music videos. they needn't be really expensive, they just shouldn't have things that are too rediculous (like blue sheets for the sea or people dressed in daft animal costumes running round a forest) He should also star in them himself.

If he wants to be serious, then that's what he (maybe) should do. It would only take one vid to go global and he'd be okay again. Maybe not as he was before, but perhaps in a better way.

I haven't watched the Big Reunion but I'm aware of it, and I do know just how precarious and fickle the music biz is these days. That's why I think it is even more important than ever for an artist to retain control over what they do. These days you can do one of two things: sell your soul to a big record company and go with the flow and all that that entails, and yes a talented few will be lucky (eg Adele) and will take off globally, but many more will have their fifteen minutes and then fall by the wayside; or, you can do it the indie way and release your stuff - music, videos, merch, CDs etc - yourself, with the help of small record labels and distributors, utilizing the internet wisely and building a fanbase by word of mouth. Either way, success is never guaranteed. At least with the latter option, though, an artist has more freedom to innovate and take risks as they don't have to answer to the corporate machine. I've had the impression at times over the past three or four years that Mika doesn't enjoy making his music as much as he used to in his early days, perhaps because of the pressure he feels he is under to 'produce the goods'. I could be wrong but it's how it seems to me. What I would love to see most of all is for him to get his passion for music back. I don't care if he never charts again in this country now - to me that is all irrelevant now (I mean have you seen the charts these days?? )

Well his record company don't seem to do much to promote him (at least in the UK) so he couldn't do any worse on his own. And at least he wouldn't disappear off the radar for months.

 

It would be nice to see a return to the days of the blogs, this time interspersed with the odd new track

 

But I hope there would still be album releases with some interesting artwork.

Yep. What happened to those? He just never seemed to have the enthusiasm to keep it up did he. I wonder why?? I don't think he is a natural blogger actually, certainly not a natural writer. He would do better sharing his ideas online in another way - visually maybe or just by releasing music online more frequently and keeping the fan connection alive in that way.

I honestly don't know what the answer to the Mika conundrum is but I like to read other people's differing views on what his next career move ought to be.

There's just no obvious solution is there. I'm past the point of caring now about chart positions and even radio play. I'm not yet past the point of caring about Mika though, despite not being the fan I used to be.

I would love to see him relaunch himself as an independent artist and release everything online to fans as he writes and records, a drip-feed approach, backed up by regular small shows here in the UK (and not just London ) I'd like to see him have the freedom to do what he wants without the pressure of third party promo. He doesn't need the money, he is rich for heaven's sake, he is not some working-class, broke busker on the street trying to scrape a living. He can afford to do this. If he is serious about creating long term credibility for himself then I think this is the way forward.

I say this from the viewpoint of the UK. I know it has always been the plan to conquer the world in one fell swoop (in retrospect, a foolish plan IMO) but I still see him as a UK artist and still think there is a market, however modest, here for his music, but that he hasn't approached it in the right way since his early days.

Gosh. Reading these reviews, I can't help but think it would have been better if he had cancelled these gigs and rescheduled for next year (would've been able to go then myself but that's not why I'm saying this ).

Still, I guess as some of you say, to casual observers it was probably a good gig. However it is strange how he didn't do a TOOL-heavy set as one would expect. It's normal for an artist to focus on their most recent album at live gigs especially if they are trying to push it. Makes me wonder if he is p*ssed off at the poor sales of TOOL to date and couldn't give a flying fig any more

Weather forecast is for heavy rain in Manchester tomorrow guys. Take your umbrellas. It's a shame because although this past week has been very very cold, at least it has been bright and dry. But our weather changes so quickly here..

I hope everyone has a great time. I wish I was there too but just can't make it.

Enjoy!

I like the video. Mika looks great in it and I really love the way the music breaks in it, it really enhances the song, I think.

I've just realized what this song reminds me of. Coldplay. Not a specific song of theirs, but it has a Coldplay sound. It could easily be a Coldplay album track. I still think the chorus lacks punch though. All in all, the video helps sell the song, I think, which is good.

I think I could understand how you would feel....

but you know what... from 3rd party's eyes, Mika is more and more like French than English. Maybe because of his cultural background? I watch French movies, UK movies.. and I can see some differences between those countries from thoes media. And clearly Mika's music&artwork background smells French. More and more these days.... I thought that might be the reason he's getting close to France while shunned by English ppl...

I think there is a definite identity problem with Mika in the eyes of the British public, which affects the way he is accepted here. He is not seen as properly British, yet he's not American either, or really European. As for the Middle Eastern thing, that's doesn't seem to be relatable here either. It's hard for a lot of the public here to get a grip on him in respect of where he comes from and what cultural identity he displays. It's the old story of not quite fitting into any box. Of course that's something that should be celebrated but for some reason it isn't, not in Mika's case in the UK anyway .

Better choice for UK than Underwater, but Stardust would have been better.

I would like to see him promote it with a version as close to the recorded version as possible, none of this acoustic stuff. It did not work for Celebrate and it won't work for this. If that means singing to a backing track then so be it. Just my opinion.

 

But once again it seems odd (as Rose mentioned) to release the album here then go off touring elsewhere. He did that in 09 and it didn't work then so why do it again?

He has three dates here so far....all at small venues and none of which are sold out.

Seriously, what are the hopes of a 'proper' tour?

Yes.....it is probably for that very reason that a full tour hasn't been arranged.

I can't understand this either. It almost seems that he has his finger in so many pies that something has got to give. In this case it's the UK promo.

I was banking on there being a proper tour - or at least more UK dates for this tour after Christmas - as I can't go to the Manchester gig in December without some serious hassle and upheaval. Now I'm thinking it might be my only chance and I'm stressing about it now. I just never thought it would come to this, with this album. Perhaps we are jumping the gun a bit in worrying about a lack of further dates, but I do still worry! I want to see him again and I'm just not able to travel all over Europe to where he chooses to tour..

 

I also think some of the UK backlash/disinterest is due to the initial hype in 2007 and his Ivor Novello win. He was touted as a brilliant songwriter and the second coming of Freddie Mercury and anything that is not perceived to live up to that is panned. He seems to be judged by what was deemed to be his potential instead of held up against his peers in the top 40 charts.

 

Some of the criticism is not without warrant but compared to what people are actually listening to the criticisms seem minor, if not absurd.

 

Good points, and I agree.

Where to begin with this?

We need to face facts: Mika's just completely out of fashion here at the moment. The powers that be in the industry (those who decide what gets promoted and what is going to sell e.g. Radio 1 bosses) lost interest years ago and the listening/buying public has inevitably moved on. That is the long and the short of it.

It's a defeatist attitude maybe, but I think it will take a miracle to revive Mika's fortunes in the UK now.

I prefer cult artists anyway

He's on 24 in the UK top 40 albums chart http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/albums

Phew, I am so pleased. It didn't look good judging from the iTunes chart this week but I guess physical sales have been better.

Now he needs a GOOD second single to boost sales.

This is the first weekend its out. It's when people may download, or buy, because they've been working all week.

I really hope and pray the album does well. He's been working so hard to promote it, it would be terrible if it didn't do well!

I've seen it in HMVs in Manchester. Only the standard edition, but prominantly displayed. I also asked one of the guys working there, if they would play the album in the store. He said they would.

I looked on iTunes this morning, it was #67.

I'm shocked. I thought it would do better than this. Let's hope it gets a late boost this weekend, as you say.

I think Mika and Dita almost look as if they could be brother and sister. She's not unlike his real sisters, physically. You could say they are naturally prettier, but Dita has that same innate sense of style, and grooming. I can see why there is a mutual attraction between them, albeit a platonic one (on Mika's part at least ) They probably see a lot of themselves in each other.

That makes them sound narcissistic but I don't mean it like that. It's natural to be attracted to people who mirror you in some way.

Just interviewed Mika! He was actually very very interesting ! #mika pic.twitter.com/dSJZqwIK

 

I love the 'actually' she slipped in there

Was she expecting to have the pants bored off her?