Menthe

This morning in the train when I was going to work. Someone's ringtone was the beginning of Lollipop "Yo Mika" ... and it was a guy!

Those were the days : http://twitter.com/mikeychoiUK/status/303197461583904769/photo/1

I am happy for you all in the USA and in Canada. And so looking forward to see all the videos and gig reports.

Is this for real!?

I think that only one twitter started this buzz, it may be just a joke.

Have you seen this one ?: http://www.eurovisionfamily.tv/user/UKBBCeurovision/blog/?id=191202

They made EMD last year, quite funny I think:

:wait:

Not yet

Ok, thank you. I am waiting then...

Thank you for the link. Has Mika already been there?

I agree with you Marilyn (even if I wasn't there ). He seems to sing very well and Make you happy is so beautiful, I adore that version with strings. He is even dancing with Max.

I don't mind the French songs, but I understand it might deceive some people from UK. But he sang only two songs in French anyway. Especially EMD is better known in French amongs his fans. That is of course a very personal point of view, because I like a lot all the latin languages and enjoy for exemple hearing Stardust with Italian verses.

I think that despite of his voice problems Stardust sounds amazing as well as OOL. The public seems to be on fire

That's incredible, it is not even an official single.

Do you think it could have done well in other french speaking countries, if it has been released as single? Or maybe you have a different taste in Quebec?

And TOOL is # 23 on Italian iTunes! That's the magic of television.

Stardust (Italian version) is now #17 on Italian iTunes.

Thank you for the video! Her singing style is so different from Mika's but not bad at all. I am sure that Stardust could do well in Italy if it was a single. Underwater is still in the top 100 on iTunes Italy after last week's performance.

Thank you Sarina. Are we going to have a video?

I really love this song and the radio edit version is very good. I was pleased to hear Celebrate or Underwater on the radio, but if I head TOOL, I would become hysterical

It is so different from the pop songs we can hear at the moment and could do very well, especially in UK, if it was played on the radio.

Thanks to DerMoment for your analysis: I agree with it. The rythm seems a little bit faster and gives a lighter tone to the song: PERFECT FOR THE RADIO!

Someone, perhaps Marilyn, wrote about the theatrical side of the first part and that’s what I saw there. In the first part he is in a theater with the artificial water, painted sky, overacting like in a drama. I think that that’s the way they wanted it to be. Then once in water, it’s more realistic (the way it is filmed I mean, not the mermaids ) because he is focused on his love, he isn’t acting any more. First, the first part really annoyed me, because of the too theatrical acting and the tiny boat that didn’t even move when the see was agitated, but now I like it a lot, because I feel like having understood the whole thing. But that’s only my point of view...

I'm trying to get a french phone number for being allowed to vote

This time is seems that you can also get a code by connecting on Facebook. I will try this evening at home .

So, here is my report for Luxembourg - as always highly subjective

 

This time it was without queuing. I have to say that I missed the crowd in Munich at the front row. Hearing the people around you singing, seeing people jumping and waving with their arms in front of you, just seeing how the crowd reacts to Mika and just feeling the energy of the crowd... So it was partly a "forced" decision because of university and the long drive, but also a conscious decision to be at a later time at the venue.

 

Luckily Menthe and her daughter wanted to come later, too, and so we met at the train station and we went to the venue together. Beforehand I was a little bit nervous, because I didn't know her at all, but she and her daughter were lovely people It was very nice to talk with Menthe and so the time while waiting for the doors to open didn't feel long (Menthe, I hope that it wasn't to boring for your daughter. I wish I could have talked more with her.)

 

Finally the doors opened and we got a place around 5 meters away from the stage. And most of the time the view was very good from there

 

 

This time Mika wore a men's shirt and top hat. I loved seeing him more "noble" one time, too, after the more common dressing in Cologne and Munich.

 

The crowd was strange - and this isn't meant in a negative way, just couldn't find a better word. Mostly the crowd is on fire and is clapping loud after the songs or the crowd is more reserved and not clapping so loud, it goes hand in hand. But this time I would describe the reaction as very good, but not as being on fire, like in Cologne. But in return the applause after the songs was so loud!

 

 

One highlight for me was "Stardust" again. I love the acoustic version, so it will be highlight all the time, but I loved how the crowd softly sang with him this time, it was so nice.

 

Others have written about the waves and the fish and his laughing at Underwater, so I won't add much. Just that it was a great moment when he started laughing while singing - it was the kind of "you are really crazy, but I like it"-laugh After that he joked with the fish-poster. But I couldn't understand what he said, only that he was talking about "Finding Nemo" and that he couldn't remember the name of the blue surgeonfish, I think.

 

Throughout the gig Mika spoke French, too, so I couldn't understand what he was talking. Egoistically () I had the hope that he would talk in English when he said at the beginning of the gig that it is a multicultural crowd and he doesn't know in which language he should speak. But of course the cheering after "French?" was the loudest, so he spoke French. And of course he was in a French speaking country, so it would have been silly if he wouldn't have

 

And he said that we therefore would get 3 (French) bonus songs. In the end it were only two. Maybe he had planned "Une soleil mal lune" and than skipped it? But he played EMD - it's really one of my most favorite songs live! - and Karen I really wanted to hear that one live one time, one reason why I decided to do Luxembourg after all. And it was really perfect, because exactly at that time people slightly changed their positions and so I had a total free view. It was like front row, only more far away. And I was a little bit worried that my head would mess up things because of my expectations and my looking forward, this moment when you start to think although you just want to feel, but it was so intense, especially at the verses, I loved it

 

… And then came the fully drunken one :rolls_eyes: …. I don't know where he came from, he just went from the site to a place two rows before us. And he was really behaving like really drunk ones do… After some time a half-circle of free space was formed behind him, with the effect that it got tight in our rows. But somehow I blocked him from my mind and just went on with enjoying the concert, and then security came after not long time and pulled him away. And I felt so happy that it didn't happen at "Karen", that would have ruined everything. And admittedly it had a funny absurdity to have a total drunken guy right in your field of view throughout "Love you when I'm drunk"

 

 

Overall I thought that Mika was a little bit tired (and his voice as well). But there were some funny-mischievous situations nonetheless, aside from Underwater. Like joking with Max before Toy Boy, who had to copy every movement and singing of Mika at the beginning (and couldn't sing that low ) or a piping intro of "Celebrate"

 

And it's really strange how it changes for me which songs I like more or less at different gigs. But I like that, therefore different concerts are more interesting. This time I thought "Grace Kelly" was great - beforehand it was personally never a stand-out song live for me. WAG at the end was great, too, I love it every time, but this time even more.

 

And I love "Lola", "Popular" and "Origin of love" more and more after every new time listening live!

 

 

While going out of the hall we even saw Mrs P through the door from afar, too. I never saw her in real life before, so it was a nice surprise.

 

After that Menthe and her daughter went home and I waited together with the other German fans for Mika. It was well organized, we had a barrier and a barrier tape and Mika went down the line after he came out finally. I didn't have something I wanted him to sign. If there would have been a nice moment I would've asked him about the lyrics at the end of MYH, but I was in the second row and it didn't felt right, so I just watched him. And it was great so see him so nice and smiley with all his fans

 

Later Joy, Max and Curtis came out of the venue and talked a little bit with the remaining fans as well - all of them seem to be great people, too.

 

 

At the moment I'm still in a post-Mika-gig-happiness-state, just happy and thankful that I had the opportunity to experience Luxembourg (and the 2 concerts before)

Thank you for your report DerMoment. Finally I can have a moment on our family computer shared by at least 6 persons. I was so much funnier to queue up before the gig with you DerMoment and share some thoughts about the new album and other Mika or quinea pig related things . I hope you weren’t too tired by the long trip back home. I am looking forward to meet you in some other Mika gig soon.

I was so happy during this gig and it went by too quickly. My high lights were Rain, better live than last time at Rockhal in 2010 and TOOL, my favorite song of the new album. I missed Heroes or HE, but we got Karen instead, as the others already told. The crowd was very mixed and illustrates well how widely Mika’s music is appreciated.

Thank you for those who gave away the balloons for TOOL and organized the waves and the fishes for Underwater. It was so beautiful and fun at the same time. I just couldn’t but laugh when I saw a fish on a stick in front of me .

I wanted to say hello to the famous Tiibet after the gig. It was really nice to meet you in real life and speak a little in finnish.

Congratulations to all choir members

 

 

 

That's great I'm the one on the left side in the red jacket:

 

 

 

I'm looking forward to see you and your daughter tomorrow

Me too, and thanks for the photo. I will recognize you then. Perhaps you will be carrying some paper fishes, as Mellody suggested us to do... We'll see at the railway station then, for exemple somewhere in the entrancy hall (not so big here in Luxembourg).

@Menthe and furette

What would you think about meeting beforehand? (if it's okay for your daughter, Menthe)

 

I changed my train connections last night in a worrying attack that I would miss the concert because of the common delays of the German trains, so I could be there at 17:30 or 18:00 (if nothing big happens on the way).

It would be nice to meet you. The venue is less than 5 minutes walk from the railway station and we could meet there at about 18 (we can't before because my daughter finishes at school at 16.30 and must come home and eat before). I don't really know how do you look like, though. Can I find your photo in some gig reports?

Is someone here who doesn't queue and who is coming later (around 18:30) ?

Yes, I am coming at about 18 p.m. because I am with my daughter and I would like her to be in a good mood during the gig (not too tired, hungry, not feeling too well for X reasons). I really want to enjoy this gig and don't want anything to spoil it (like last time with my other daugher who felt sick in the middle of the gig )

A little interview and some bits of the concert on France 3 at about 24 min: http://www.france3.fr/jt/12-13/

Love OOL... I hope it will get airplay

 

 

 

I've never heard UW on French radio, which worries me a bit, but your comment means it does get played..?

I heard it twice last Sunday when driving in France on RFM and 107,7 (radio des autoroutes). I screamed a little when I recognized the first notes and my husband thought that we were in danger .

TOOL is number 47 in US charts: http://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200#/charts/billboard-200?begin=41&order=position

TBWKTM was number 19 the 1st week but dropped out quite quickly. I hope that TOOL stays longer in Billboard charts .