Teresa

I've just watched Michele's performance... And I have to say that imo this boy is 3 metres above all the other contestants (and I'm sure Mika knows that too.) It's not about energy or ability to sing, it's about building a different world with every performance. And the amazing thing is that all these worlds he builds are not fake or made up for the show, they are all differents sides of his personality as a person and as an artist. That's the main thing: he is pure, and authentic, and he sings without 'trying', in a completely natural and effortless way, and through that he builds these magic worlds that keep you glued to the screen and leave you with the desire to listen to him more and more. I enjoyed this performance even more than the others: the song is difficult, complex, hypnotical, and he managed to give his own interpretation not only of the song itself but also of what the song is 'made of': watching him I felt like I could see and hear all the inner struggle and resigned sorrow this song conveys, he really moved something in me, and that's very rare to find. Bravo Bravi! Ps: can I just say that I really enjoyed the Street Clerks? XD I liked their approach to the song and the final result... And Mika's reaction was PRICELESS, lol. Oh, and I also loved what Mika said about Gaia, that she's not perfect, but in this imperfection there is the quality of an artist. Oh, and btw, Mika's Italian is really, really impressive now, complex and correct.

Oh yesyesyes someone open a new thread! I know a lot of people hate this XF thing but still, this is Mika singing a new duet version of his own song, so I think everyone should be interested, apart from the context the performance is into!

Hello! I am in a hurry so I don't have time to do a full translation, but I wanted to translate a few bits that I found more interesting, I'll just summarize the other parts! At the beginning he talks about him learning Italian, the interviewer says he has been very professional, and he said that back then everyone, his management included, laughed at him and was against it and thought it was impossible to do, but he wanted to do it because it was a strange, different thing, so he learned Italian in about two months, on tour, with his Sicilian teacher. He also said that it would have been much more difficult if he hadn't known French, and if he hadn't studied at school some Latin; he says that back then he thought it was useless but now he is realizing that it has helped him a lot. (Lol, as a student of classical humanities myself, I would have never thought I would hear a popstar praising Latin, thank you Mika!!). Then he says he has forgotten his Spanish, and about the confusion with languages. Then the interviewer says that XF, and also the fact that he speaks Italian, has led a lot of more people to get to know his music; so he talks about television, and how making popular television, in every country, allows him to make all the albums he wants with a complete freedom, and he defines his music as alternative pop, a strange combination. Then the interviewer said that before knowing him also as a person on XF she thought he was a little bit posh, and I found his answer interesting, so I'll translate it! M: I like absurdity, my music can only come from a happiness that comes from an absurdity. In life, I like all the absurd things, for me this is the most important thing, to have a bit of absurdity in normal life. That's why I like Morgan, I like the caricature of Simona (I think he wants to say character, but I'm not sure), I like the ironical side of Elio for example, all of this is absurd, but at the same time it is sincere, and this is the thing I like the most, because from absurdity comes tolerance, and from tolerance comes happiness. Then the interviewer says it is a speech that reveals his openmindness and they talk about his early life, and the many slammed doors he has received in the music industry, that's why, the interviewer says, he is always so sympathetic to the rejected contestants; he also says that he wanted to make music in his own style and that it wasn't easy back then and that even nowadays it's not easy for him to do the things he likes doing. Then they talk about his beginning on MySpace and internet, that he finds essential to music and that is changing the music industry; it has brought some problems but also has offered much more freedom. Then they talk about the new version of Sturdust with Chiara, that he really likes because it is different and she asks if he has abandoned the electronic scene, so he talks a bit about his next album, I'll translate this: M: Yes for my new album I'm doing I have abandoned electronic music, completely. I don't want to do electronic music on this new album. But at the same time I've written to Alessandro Benassi asking him if he had a musical base I could use to inspire myself to write a song, just like I did with Stardust. So he gave me a demo and I wrote a song on that demo. I want to write in all the ways I can, but then, for the production, I don't want to do EDM. But that doesn't mean I can't work with Benny Benassi, but with the production it is a different thing. But tonight I'm doing with Chiara a version that I like a lot (he will sing it live tonight on XF, it is already on top of the Italian charts), and I'm very happy because this shows that songs are songs: I can completely change the production and the song survives. Then he says he doesn't like to call his SongBook a “best of”, because that'd imply it is a final period, while it is a pause before the fourth album that he is doing now for next year. Then he reads Chiara's tweets live. Then he talks about Italy in answer to a question asking him what he will keep the most of Italy when he goes away, and he says he doesn't like saying “going away”, and he says he'll come back. He talks about his apartment in Milan where he is living(I too understood it is not his). He also says he has to go to LA in January to finish the new record, and that he had the choice to tour Italy in January or make the new album and he decided for the latter, because he has to do his main job, writing songs. Then they talk about his interest in writing, that happened accidentally; and then there is Myriam's question, already translated, and the funny bit about having 4 or 5 kids. Sorry for the very quick translation, but I hope it helps!

Tonight's songs! GRUPPI Street Clerks - ...Baby One More Time (Britney Spears) Ape Escape - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana) UNDER DONNE Gaia - I'll Stand By You (The Pretenders) Valentina - Ghetto Superstar (Pras feat. Mya & Ol' Dirty Bastard) Violetta - Friday I'm In Love (The Cure) Roberta - All That She Wants (Ace of Base) UNDER UOMINI Michele - Cieli Neri (Bluvertigo) Andrea - Digging In The Dirt (Peter Gabriel) OVER Aba - Why (Annie Lennox) Alan - Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden) Fabio - Everybody Hurts (R.E.M.)

Yes, that's exactly the way I saw it too, I couldn't have explained it better

As usual, I couldn't agree more with everything you said

Well, that is your opinion. He does not look like a circus freak to me at all. He looks like a smart man debating about music , but that's just my opinion. Thanks for the reports everybody! glad you enjoyed it!

I think that when Mika talks about freedom, he means 'artistic freedom'. That means the judges and the vocal coaches can work with the contestants however they want (in RAI they couldn't give too many not so known songs for example, because it had to satisfy a wider audience); it means that they can say in their judgments whatever they want, that they can work on the arrangements, they can experiment, that basically they don't have to conform to anything ARTISTICALLY. That's his whole point, and basically his only interest; I honestly think Mika doesn't give a damn about the organization side, and the whole business machine his work as a judge is put into. He only cares about the artistic point of view: the choice of the songs, the rehearsals with the contestants, the visual aspect, the live show itself and the musical debates after the performances. I agree with you all, of course everything is in the hands of the 'bosses' of Sky and Sony (the record company that partners XF), but that does not affect the fact that, at least during the programme and during their whole work, the judges are, as Mika says, very free to do what they want. And that's what I -as a person who watches XF in tv- care about. As I said before, for me it would have been a very nice plus to see a show live, but fundamentally a plus. In Sky's mind people in the audience are not supposed to enjoy the show, but to represent and cheer for the contestants. You can see that after a performance when they always show their 'fanclubs'. Everything is for the sake of what appears on tv, that's the main thing, the means through which people are supposed to enjoy the show. Then of course the organization is terrible (we're in Italy after all XD), quite offensive, and they should have been more sincere about the real possibilities of watching the show live; but what I wanted to say is that this burocratic side has nothing to do with what goes actually on during the programme. I just enjoy, as I said in some other posts, the positive side of it, that is the artistic side. Having said that, I honestly hope that those who'd like to get a ticket can get one! and well, if you come from abroad, even if you don't get the ticket you can still enjoy Italy, which -believe me- has some things that are quite better than XFactor

Yes, the judges' teams have no power. I remember Simona said somewhere in an interview that last year some close friends of her got angry with her because she couldn't find a way to find them tickets! But she said she barely had any. I think it's a shame, but in the end XF is a programme made for television, so it 'gives its best' in tv. Even if -I agree- it would have been nice to see it live just for once. But I think there will be more possibilities for the final, which will be at the Assago Forum, and it will be a sort of live concert; in that occasion I'm sure Sky will be interested in having much more people as possible.

@DerMoment, 'hai spaccato' means 'you rocked'! I actually hate this saying but I can easily forgive Mika And yes, 'che' is read 'ke', but the word 'manche' is borrowed from French, so we keep the French pronunciation. Ps: I thought that too about Ellie Goulding, lol, she wouldn't have made it to the next show XD

I'm watching it now...I've finished the first manche. I too LOVED Michele's performance , really, Morgan's judgment exactly expressed the way I felt about it, he created a whole world. (btw, kudos to Morgan and his choice, I loved this psychedelic side of Michele, and I'm loving the musical path he's leading him on. Pink Floyd is not my favourite band but The Piper at the Gates of Dawn is one of my very favourite albums, I got really excited when I realized Michele was going to sing See Emily Play, and he totally didn't disappoint me!) Oh, and LOL at the beginning "I've just seen my dress ... and this time too there will be a little sofa singing Pink Floyd!" I also love Gaia, but this time she was -imo- not as special as we know she can be. I didn't like the choice of the song, I'd really like to hear her sing some "heavier" song, something from the 70s, or even something new wave, she has such a special timbre Mika can experiment a lot with her, and I'm sure he will! Still don't like Violetta that much though. Maybe for not-Italians is different, you haven't known that song as much as we have. Thing is, when Jovanotti sings it, I cry; when Violetta sings it, I see a girl sighing and trying to be emotional; she undoubltly did very well, and was very elegant and delicate, she tried to sing "with her heart on her sleeve", but honestly I felt nothing; when I saw that Mika had given her that song I thought she would be so powerful she would have everyone- me included- in tears, but it didn't happen, at least for me. Just a matter of personal tastes I suppose Oh, and Mika reeeeally loves that song by Jovanotti, I'm very happy for this Anyway, it's a very good thing that we are discussing interpretative skills and little details, because all the contestants (one can like one more than another of course), are really really good and different. Tomorrow I'll watch the second manche! Thanks everyone for finding and posting the links!!

Ahah, well, knowing Morgan, it could be something experimental, weird, but with a (maybe not immediate) sense of melody. I think that- if it really comes out- it could be interesting to say the least. Morgan can add the weirdness of the musical arrangement, and Mika can add his usual musical taste, his sense of melody and his lyric depth. I think that if they find the right way the two of them can cooperate to create something original At least I hope so! Ps: if you want to know what Morgan's music is like, my favourite song by him is 'amore assurdo', it has something hypnotical. But that's not exactly 'mainstream'

I haven't even watched the interview yet, but after reading your post I just wanted to express how happy I am, especially because he says he is 'stimulated', and that's exactly what I had hoped this Italian experience would be for him: not only remunerative or successful, but mainly stimulating; both on a personal and human level and both on an artistic level: and these two aspects in Mika's songwriting are anyway strictly linked. So I'm very happy Ps: if he really makes this song with Morgan, I'll be veeeery curious to hear it! I really wouldn't know what to expect!

Ahahahah, he's basically saying that for us Italians it's difficult to appreciate falsetto, coz we immediately think of the 70s band 'I Cugini di campagna', check their song anima mia to have an example XD Lol, he's just making a joke at the end of the 'serious' article. Diego is a radio host from Radio Deejay, he has interviewed Mika too, on the YouTube search for 'Mika Pinocchio' (the name of the show, he's with his female co-host) EDIT: sorry, I hadn't seen it had already been answered!

Everyone's song tonight, from the official site! UNDER UOMINI Michele – See Emily Play (Pink Floyd) Andrea – Another Brick in The Wall (Pink Floyd) UNDER DONNE Gaia – Bitch (Meredith Brooks) Viò – Le Tasche Piene di Sassi (Jovanotti) Valentina – Raggamuffin (Selah Sue) OVER Fabio - Basket Case (Green Day) Alan – Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (Nina Simone Aba – Lover to Lover (Florence + the Machine) GRUPPI Street Clerks - Nice Che Dice (Zucchero) FreeBoys – Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams) Ape Escape – Luce (Elisa)

Thank you!!

LAST PART OF THE INTERVIEW (third page of the written scans); the previous parts have been translated by Lucrezia in previous posts! I: And you, do you want to get married? M: If you mean the classic marriage in church, no. But if the question is: do I want to have the same rights as a married couple? Yes, a hundred per cent. Do I want to make a commitment? Yes, hundred per cent. Do I want to face the consequences of breaking that commitment? Yes, hundred per cent. Do I think it is right that I should have kids? Yes, a thousand per cent. Do I think I can be able to give a child love and a good education, a welcoming and free environment? Yes, thousand per cent. I have no doubt. And who says I'm wrong doesn't know what he is saying, he's a poor fool. I: Do you feel ready to have a family? M: Maybe yes, maybe no. But if I project myself in the future, I see myself with a lot of children. I: A lot? M: The right number is 4 or 5. I come from a numerous family and I'd like to create a similar one. I like confusion. Just think that last summer we went on holiday all together: 26 people, 8 cars, 48 suitcases. A beautiful trip, through France and Italy. Where were we? I: You were saying you are not interested in marriage, but you are in having kids. M: Actually I don't exclude getting married, one day. The thing is that I have already made a commitment, I've been with my partner for 7 years. It didn't always go smoothly, on the contrary, there have been highs and lows and we even broke up for some time: a horrible period. But nothing strange, ours has always been a very conventional love story. I: Do all the songs that you have written talk about him? M: Oh no, some of them talk about imaginary loves, people I fantasized about. Sometimes you make movies in your head, everybody does, it's pointless to deny it. I: In The Origin Of Love you sing: “From the air I breath, to the love I need, the only thing I know is you're the origin of love”. M: This one was dedicated to my partner. I love him very much. I: What makes your love strong? M: Sense of humour, tolerance and trust. I: But you're always around the world. M: We don't see each other every day, but it is not a big problem. I: Is he perchance Italian? M: No, he's not Italian, or at least not completely... I don't want to say more. I have always wanted to protect him, just like I've always wanted to protect my private life. Now, actually, I am sharing always bigger pieces with the public, just like with this interview. But I'll never accept the absurd idea that, once you have become a famous figure, you are obliged to talk by force about your own business, about your sexuality. I: Is it not part of the game? M: To a certain extent. The continuous attempts to extort information belong to a distructive idea of information. Moreover, already before I came out, my life was in my songs. Billy Brown talks about a middle-aged husband who leaves wife and kids to be with his man. I've never hidden. I: Has this created any problems for you? M: Of course. When I showed my record company in America my first album, they called me up, all embarassed: “Listen, Mika, in this song, Grace Kelly, you're saying that you look at yourself in the mirror and that you would like to be like a woman.” Me: “So what?”. “Well, we'd have a few problems”. “And what the f**k do I care?”. They asked me if I wanted to change the lyrics, I answered absolutely no way. I: Then why did you wait such a long time to come out? And why did you eventually decide to do it? M: Who insinuates it has been a marketing operation says bulls**t. And the truth is that I have waited because I wasn't ready. I did it when I was feeling happy. And then, I had to deal with a lot of things, before. I had to tell my auntie, my uncle, my friends who didn't know it. I had to talk about it with my family and with my partner's family. It wasn't just about me. I: And how did it go? M: In the family with some it went well, with others it was terrible. I have gone through a few cruelties. But cruelty is the product of fear: fear that you may have changed and that a bond may break, fear of what you don't know. Then things settle, and in fact relationships get better, because we are more sincere. I: What role did religion have? M: My family is Maronite christian, but we are open-minded people. Even if I consider myself a believer [the word is “credente”, I think the right translation is “religious” but I'm not sure], I don't want the Church to judge me or to try to change me. Because there's absolutely nothing to change. I: And with press? M: It was hard. Once a gay journalist said I was an as***le because I didn't want to say I was gay. But it was about my life! And this pressure is bullism, the same homophobic bullism I had been a victim of at school, when I was a kid. I: Isn't a public figure coming out an example for those who are afraid to declare their homosexuality? M: The example is the person, not his sexuality. And I've always tried to be an example for all my fans. My songs talk about the outsiders, about tolerance. Nerds, gays, heteros, all together have always come to my concerts. It is my message from the stage: we are a group of weird people, but we are ok like this, and for a few hours we can forget everything. I: And you, have you forgotten the bullies of your childhood? Have you forgiven them? M: Yes. I don't feel anger anymore. Or better, I only feel it sometimes. I: What made you angry, back then? M: Kids can be cruel, much more than adults. They used to make fun of me for my sexuality, even before I myself started undestanding something of it. And then there was a teacher that used to massacre me. Psychological tortures, on the edge of physical violence. When my father realized it, he went to the school and made a big fuss: they said I was a liar, I got expelled. I: When did it start to get better? M: The first time I got on a stage. A sudden revelation: this is the place where weird people like me stand, and they are all happy.

:lmfao: Nice one!! XD

Lucrezia, my part is ready! l'll post it after yours, so it will be in order!

Ok, good idea!! I can translate the last page, if it is ok! From 'se intende il matrimonio' till the end, you can do the first two, the long introduction of the interviewer about his new house and the interview until 'le stesse possibilità di scelta', so the split will follow the split of the pages and people who are interested can find the 'original' sentences in the scans Let me know if it is ok, if so I will translate my part tonight!

Ahahah thank you, but it's not true about you! As for the translation, as I said, I can make a very literal one but now I'm not home, I can make it tonight though!

Ooooh, I've just read the whole interview. :wub2: If nobody translates it in the meantime I can translate it tonight! I really really enjoyed it!

I think he meant that he had to talk to his and his partner's family not about being gay but about coming out officially to 'everyone' but I don't know of course! I think tomorrow I'm buying the magazine ... Even if I wish soooo much that more 'serious' interviews like this were video-interviews... It's my fault but I never trust a journalist 100% XD I mean, an article describes the atmosphere of the interview but it doesn't make you 'directly live' it, if you know what I mean...

Oh, I don't know but I think that's just twitter gossip! He said he would rent a house, not buy it... And consider that Milan is not exactly a cheap city!

I think so too... I think he's gonna surprise us!