cubitus

Christine , for the regular visitors , you cannot go to Lebanon if there's a proof on you passport that you've been in Israel. The immigration agent will refuse you enter the country . And I find this to be extremely stupid - there are many more ways for spies to enter the country ( because that's the reason being given by Lebanese authorities). Unfortunately The only way for a tourist to visit both countries is to ask the Israeli authorities - if they accept - not to stamp the passport , and then to leave Israel via Jordan. Or the tourist might visit Lebanon at first and then enter Israel through Jordan and beg the israeli authorities to permit entering the Israeli lands , they might keep the visitor waiting for hours at the airports to investigate. On the other hand , VIPs can easily go from Israel to Lebanon ( via Jordan ) without any problem. Armin Van Buuren was doing a concert in Tel Aviv before coming to his Beirut's concert. And I think it works the other way back.

You don't want to yet you did. I was merely trying to give an explanation to a fellow forumer as to why Mika has never been in Israel , perhaps I'm wrong. On a personnal level I might perhaps not agree with Israeli politics and actions since its creation , but I have never been anti-Jewish. I respect all people of all backgrounds. Yes I respect you even If I find the tone of your message to be rude.

Well obviously , he's an international artist. He won't feel at ease talking about middle eastern politics. But wait , he's never been to Greece either ! Perhaps he just never had the opportunity to go there...

No , shakira did a concert in Beirut and later she went to Israel. I think it's Mika who simply doesn't want to go there. And I can understand such a thing. I mean there are good people and bad people everywhere , but Israel has done very bad things to middle eastern people in general and to Lebanese in particular. Every day Israeli airplanes fly in our sky...etc...

Well actually there's nothing going on in the Beirut area , I've been there two weeks ago and everything was ok. the problem is how are you supposed to go from Tel Aviv to Beirut ? It's very difficult , both countries are still technically " at war ".

The Lebanese gay community has been protesting in Beirut since the mayor of a suburb city raided a local gay nightclub called " ghost " and forced its closure , arresting a few transsexuals , and emprisoned and humiliated them without any legal authority to do such a thing. And actually LGBT center in Beirut has started legal action against that homophobe of a mayor. To protect himself he organized his own support from a local church , so it's been pretty tense these days , since he got the support of the ministry of interior in interim. That ignorant making horrible statements

Ummmm I don't really like what they did with relax , it just sounds...weird but i loved the concept of the show , and Stardust is just one of my favorite songs ever. i did like Carol's skyfall version too.

So who's going to this one ?

It's tomorrow , isn't it ? Hopefully someone will record it and YouTube it , I can translate it if you want.

(دبي - mbc.net) تستمر جسور التواصل الموسيقي والفني عبر البرنامج العالمي "Coke Studio بالعربي" على MBC4. وفي هذا السياق، تمتزج موسيقى البوب بالنغمات العربية من خلال اجتماع كل من نجم الـ Pop والـ Glam Rock البريطاني العالمي "ميكا"، والمغنية اللبنانية "كارول صقر"، الذَيْن يقومان معاً بتسجيل "ديو" فريد يعتمد على موسيقى "الفيوجن"، لينتجا نسخة جديد من أغنية ميكا الشهيرة “Relax, take it easy” التي أصدرها عام 2006، وحققت مبيعات عالية وشهرة واسعة استمرت إلى اليوم في مختلف دول العالم. وخلال الحلقة، يفاجئ "ميكا" جمهوره باصطحاب والدته -ذات الأصول اللبنانية- إلى الاستوديو، ليتحدّثا معاً عن العلاقة التي تربطهما بلبنان والمنطقة العربية عموماً، سيّما وأن "ميكا" من مواليد لبنان، رغم أنه لم يعش في ربوعه.. أما كارول صقر، فتبدي انسجاماً كبيراً من خلال إحساسها الموسيقي العالي مع موسيقى وإيقاعات الـ Pop، وذلك بمساعدة زوجها الملحّن والموزع الموسيقي هادي شرارة. أما النتيجة فـTrack *موسيقي متميّز، يحمله صوت كارول القوي إلى بعدٍ آخر، خصوصاً عندما يتداخل مع الطبقات الموسيقية المنخفضة والحادة التي يصل إليها باقتدار صوت "ميكا". Basically they're saying that Mika prepared a " fusion " version of relax with the Lebanese pop star Karol Sakr. And that during the show Mika will be accompanied by his mother and that they'll talk about their relationship with the Orient in general and Lebanon in particular.

I love everything about it !

Hello TOG hope you'll like it here. How did you discover Mika for the first time ?

Among all the gigs this is the one I would have LOVED to go to. I'm in love with his vocal range in stardust , I cannot believe he sang it that easily without a microphone. And the silence in that place is just amazing.

One day perhaps...if we both get rid of our corrupted politicians

Congrats !! Even if I don't know what smitten means lol.

Wow again ?

Last time he played Monaco , the venue was half empty (80€ the ticket) and the posh audience not very interactive. When we met Mika afterwards he said he was disappointed by the audience , so I highly doubt he plays Monaco , but who knows.

Wonderful song , one of his best french songs.

Have fun everyone ! I'll be thinking of you tonight !

We've got pretty similar secrets and I can't believe so many people did that eye thing.

And here's my entry

There's certainly a lot of honesty in Mika's answers even though I don't agree on the religion part , or what I call it the "supermarket religious practice ". I don't take what I like or what I need and just close my eye on what I don't like in a religion. I find it pretty hypocrite , that's why I chose to be agnostic.

Oh Yeah the printemps de Bourges is a real occasion to party even on the roads , you'll find musicians in every street corner. If he should see one thing I'll say the marais ! I used to live right next to it