Pandora_Z

Maybe I am being a little too cynical about Twitter. I always thought of celebrities using Twitter as more of a promotional tool than as something personal. I have followed MIKA for years on Twitter but he has never replied to any of my tweets and I doubt that he bothers to read them. I mean how could he? He probably gets hundreds of tweets everyday from fans. But maybe he does read them. I guess I don't know because I don't know MIKA in real life. I concede. Maybe he does write the majority of his tweets. I guess I'll believe it if he ever replies personally to one of my tweets.

Yes, I do agree with you on this point. There are countless bands and songwriters whose music I enjoy but I don't invest much in them except the fact that I enjoy their music. It isn't really being the same sort of fan. I enjoy their music but if they were gone tomorrow it wouldn't affect me much. But I am a fan of MIKA. I cannot let a day go by without listening to his music. Even during the three years of hiding, I listened to him everyday. His music causes my heart to want to sing out in joy. I know that probably sounds silly but that is the best way to describe it. So if MIKA dropped off the face of the earth (again!) I would still be a fan because I would still have his music. I would still listen to it everyday because it brings me so much joy. And someday MIKA will start to look older and his voice will go but the music he made will live on forever. This is true as well. It reminds me of the song "Mr. Richland's Favorite Song" by Harry Nilsson. And I hope you didn't think I meant you specifically. I meant in general. No one really knows who wrote the tweets except the person who wrote them.

It seems as if MIKA does spend more time pandering to France but that doesn't make me any less of a fan just because he doesn't tour in the US. I guess I am confused as to what makes someone a fan. Because of certain situations, I would not be able to go to many of his shows even if he did tour the US. But I can still be a fan because I love his music, I love his voice, I purchase his music, I give his music to friends as gifts, I follow what he is doing...I am his fan because of what he has given to me. Beautiful music, an angelic voice, hope and joy. He could be anywhere in the world and I would still be a fan. Anyway, to throw a little reality on this...how do you really know the person on Twitter is the actual star themselves. You assume it is but...

Yes it was very different to be a fan of someone in the times before Internet, Facebook and Twitter. If you were especially lucky you could go to concerts but the first Barry concert I went to was in 1982. You used the radio more and your own music. You read articles in magazines and maybe if you were lucky you could see them perform on television. Now, I have only been to two MIKA concerts but I can watch almost every performance on YouTube. Of course it isn't the same as being there. I wish I had the means of following him around the world but I don't. But I am still a fierce fan!

I completely understand. This is going to date me but I have been an avid Barry Manilow fan since 1974. I went though the good years of the 70's and early 80's and also supported him wholeheartedly through all the jokes and cracks made about him in later years (and today). To me, Barry is one of the world's greatest performers and he is still performing and selling albums! http://www.billboard.com/column/chartbeat/barry-manilow-scores-50th-hit-on-billboard-1008019332.story#/column/chartbeat/barry-manilow-scores-50th-hit-on-billboard-1008019332.story But I have only seen him perform live twice but I own every piece of music he has ever put out there. That is what makes a true fan. To be able to stick with someone through the good times and the bad, the ups and the downs, and be there with them even when they make mistakes. Sort of like a marriage. That is how I feel about MIKA. I will always be his fan no matter what he does. Even if he stops performing and simply writes songs, I will still find a way to support him in any way I can. I can wait 27 years for him if that is what it takes.

I like your interpretation. Very good.

Okay this is going way out there but did anyone notice how the mast of the boat is a cross? The bag of light is on one side and the cross (religion) is on the other and he is trapped in between on a too-small boat. All he wants is to be away from it all and be alone with his love. Maybe the storm represents his struggles in regards to religion and how he was raised. He struggles with the mast during the storm representing his struggles trying to understand. He finally falls overboard (or jumps overboard) to actually try to save himself and his love. He is in under his head with his love and all these people (mer-people) come up and want things from him. That is why they are taking his clothes. Everyone wants something from him and eventually his love is taken from him as well. Too deep...?

That's the way I understood the video also. He was on the boat trying to protect his love from the "storms of this life" but when he needed his love most of all, when he actually needed him "to breathe", his love was stolen from him by someone else and the loss of love destroyed him. I thought the video was beautiful in an artistic sort of way. About the product placement...there was also product placement in Rain but it didn't ruin that video for me. I love that one as well.

I can't believe he's beating everyone! Katy Perry, One Direction...even McCarney and Brian May. And not by a little but by a large amount! So exciting! I hope it gets him some much needed exposure!

I wish he could somehow become more well known in the US. When I first heard his voice in 2007, I told everyone I knew that he was going to be as popular as Madonna or Michael Jackson. His voice is a gift, he is charismatic, his music is beautiful, and his live shows are awesome. I just knew deep down that he was the next "one". But in the area I live, you do not hear his songs at all. The only way anyone knows about him is because I will not shut up about him! In the city I live in, I found one shop with only four copies of TOOL. I realize that most people probably don't purchase physical CD's anymore but instead use something like iTunes, however having a physical CD in a store is still a reminder to people that he is still around. This just seems like a lack of support from his label. I still feel his time will come. I still believe in him, in his talent and creativity, in his foresight, and in his beautiful angelic voice. I have to believe. A world without his music would be a very dull, lifeless place.

I totally agree, Christine.

Oops! I did not know that. I learned something today and any day you can learn something makes it a good day! I don't know the French language but if anyone needs to know how to speak in Crow or Northern Cheyenne, I can help there!

Where in the world did they get the name Spinee? Oh and he was born in Beyrouth, Lebanon. Either that was a joke or someone does not know how to spell! I agree!!

Now this is just me thinking this because I am a mother but I always worry about the health of his vocal chords. Back in June he tweeted "@mikasounds: At the vocal doctor. About to get a camera stuck down my throat. All quite a regular afternoon for a hypochondriac" So the mother in me starts worrying if something might be wrong with his voice and I had this nagging feeling that he was having problems singing. So maybe he needs to take time off because he is having problems and needs time to heal. And I am probably just being hysterical and melodramatic!

Yes, I agree. That site doesn't deserve any more traffic. But I was laughing hysterically at the one where MIKA's wife is pregnant and she has a baby bump! She??!!

I found this one funny mainly because it was so obviously not true. But if you didn't know much about MIKA and didn't follow him on Twitter, you wouldn't know the difference.... http://en.mediamass.net/people/mika/dogrecovery.html

I found this article which appears to be a site that creates stories about celebrities that aren't true...satire.... http://en.mediamass.net/people/mika/new-album.html So I don't know what to believe. I simply cannot imagine him not performing since it seems like he enjoys performing so much. But I don't really know him. And it took 3 years to get TOOL finished...I can't believe he could rush back in the studio and crank another one out in a year. Unless he is going to release an EP or something like that.

I don't know how I feel about OOL. I don't feel it worked quite right on Jay Leno. I understand what he is saying in the song and the story he is trying to convey but I feel most of today's audience wouldn't bother to stick through the entire song and wouldn't really try to understand what he is saying. It's too deep. Of course, all of us who love MIKA will dig deep into his songs and try to discover what he is telling us. But the casual listener just wants something simple they can sing with. Underwater would be good as a single and IOLYWID and Popular would be perfect singles. They aren't too deep...just catchy...with lyrics that are easy to remember. OOL is just too complicated for a single. In my opinion.

I can honestly say that I have never heard any MIKA song played on the radio ever. But I live in the middle of nowhere. Just my opinion... I think they will release UW in the US. I think they are a little cautious about releasing TOOL as a single here. I never give much hope to ever hearing a MIKA song on US radio. He just isn't mainstream enough and that's what I love about him. He stays true to who he is.

I would have done the same thing!! I probably wouldn't have remembered how to speak English! Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. It is exciting to hear what goes on behind the scenes. And I am so happy for you to have had this once in a lifetime experience. I screamed extra loud for you when he had the choir introduce themselves! The only part that makes me sad was that I was not able to meet you in person and give you a great big hug! Hopefully, we will be able to meet up at a future Mika show when he comes back "to do a proper tour" like he promised.

The opening act was "The Dolls". I hadn't heard of them before. They didn't play very long, maybe 20 - 30 minutes. They were not bad and they exuded abundant energy. I didn't mind them though they weren't necessarily my cup of tea but my husband didn't care for them at all. It's funny, I asked my husband what he thought of MIKA after the show. Keep in mind that my husband does not listen to MIKA at all and has never even seen a video of MIKA performing. He said he actually liked MIKA's music but that MIKA reminded him of a little boy. I didn't know what to make of that!

The concert was simply amazing! It was so exciting to see him again after three years. We sat up in the first row in the balcony. I know Mika waved a few times in my general direction because I was standing and screaming out the lyrics to every song. (Along with everyone else!). I tried to take a couple pictures but I was just a smidgen too far away for them to turn out decently. I wish I could have stayed after and met everyone. I really wanted to but after waiting for 45 minutes in the rain, the opening act and then almost two straight hours of Mika, my husband had exhausted his supply of patience. There was no way I could stay any longer. I had even brought my TOOL CD for Mika to sign but that didn't happen. Oh well, we all do what we can to keep our significant other happy. But I was walking on air when we left. Mika's shows are nothing short of amazing!

OH MY WORD!!! I am so excited for you! I can't wait to see you up on that stage!

Yes, thank you Christine for the advice. You're right, it isn't fair to save spots. It would upset me if I was standing behind someone who saved a bunch of spots for friends. I will probably be able to find you guys after the show since I'm not going to make it there very early beforehand. I'm so excited and it sounds like the NYC shows were awesome!