Teresa

Oh I forgot! I don't know if someone had already written about it, however the following day Linus and Nicola spent some time talking about Mika, how he 'has it all', how nice, clever, funny, positive he is. Then they said they got loads of sweet and funny messages about him, a girl wrote: 'Mika, marry me. Or marry my husband, the house is big enough!' XD however, they were really enchanted by his personality. And this is also good because Linus is probably the most influential radio host in Italy, 'mr. AirPlay' as Elio calls him! Thought it was nice to share this with you all

I think he basically said that it was his intention to make an album in a house and not 100% in a recording studio. If the house is real or not, if it has already happened or it is just an intention for the future only Mika knows however the translation is very literal! Then Linus changed the subject, when he says 'listen' he always changes the subject about him being a citizen of the world, he is really fascinated by it, he talked about it with the other judges too. I think Mika used LA as a random comparison to illustrate the point that if you are in Italy it just takes you nothing to get to another country, while if you are for example in LA there is not that variety of choice in such a small travelling-time. But Linus and Nicola were actually talking about not the actual possibility of travelling, but the general Italian forma mentis about travelling, that we are more 'stantial', but then they agreed it is changing. (That is true). About San Francisco I really don't know, since I've never even been to America, unfortunately! But if you watch the video he looks very convinced XD personal tastes I suppose!

Oh, sorry I didn't specify! XD it's not the Heroes by Mika, it's Heroes by David Bowie! Because of the link between Bowie and Berlin (his famous Berlin trilogy) Sorry for the misunderstanding, my fault! Ps anyway, I don't think that Morgan could be able to sing Heroes by Mika, it's too high for him

Random personal thoughts after watching the Home Visit! First of all, I really loved this episode: it was interesting musically and it was deep and emotional without being cheesy, it was very 'true',if you know what I mean. Mika was phenomenal this time. He managed to be honest yet very 'human', to both fully express his own ideas and choices and to deal with the contestants not just as contestants but as people, and he dealt with them with depth, sympathy, humbleness, intelligence and an extreme sensitivity. He really was perfect, he's going beyond my highest expectations of him as a judge (and my expectations were very high!). And you can clearly see that because the rejected girls (especially the Valentina with blue eyes) of course were sorry but they weren't angry at all with him, they understood and shared his explanations and honestly thanked him 'for everything'. He really is an amazing person. Then, about the contestants... As you know I'm very happy for Michele Bravi, I am really curious to see how Morgan will work with him,As I said before I have a feeling it will be a very interesting musical path; and his performance backstage with the bearded guy was a little jewel imo! Then I really, really liked Gaia, she's my favourite from Mika's team. She is original, she has a stunning voice and as Marco said an amazing vocal control, and she's very clever: she talked about the other girls in a very intelligent and 'poignant' way. Valentina is also good (and she's beautiful btw, my brother says she looks like Pocahontas XD). I have to say the one I like the least of his team is actually Violetta. The first audition she was amazing, the second one she was very good, but now she's becoming a little bit clichè imo, she's always 'the same' if you know what I mean, she's not showing other artistic sides. As Mika said, I want to be able to imagine her singing without her ukulele, something different. And I don't know, but I also didn't like her attitude very much, I agree with Gaia, I think she's very self aware of her talent. Maybe too much, I'd add. Well anyway I might be wrong, We'll see, I hope that with Mika's help she can positively surprise me later on. Then for the groups I'm really happy for the Street Clerks and the Ape Escape! Lol I loved Simona: 'you're old, you're ugly, you dress terribly... But you're very good so I'll choose you'! XD the street clerks imo are really good, you can see they have played together for years and that they're professional musicians (a friend of mine actually knows one of them!). We'll see how they will do next week! As for the over... The only one that fully convinces me right now is Fabio, but we'll see. I was sorry for Roberta Pompa,because she was good and a special person, but in Mika's shoes I would have probably done the same: compared to the others she is maybe a little bit too much 'traditional'. But she's good, and I think she will be the one voted by the web audience to join the show next week, so for me she still has a chance, the audience loves her. I just want to add that I loved Morgan and Asia singing Heroes from the roof of Berlin: such a symbolic and beautiful thing to do. And that songs never fails to give me goosebumps everytime. Even if the best part of the whole ep was Mika on his own talking to the castle XD 'Ciao casa cattiva!' End of my personal random thoughts! Sorry if I write too much XD Thanks for reading and goodnight!

According to me=secondo me, it means 'in my opinion' Edit: and thank you Flavia for finishing the translation! Team work!

FIRST BIT OF THE INTERVIEW (from the dailymotion video minute 3:48 to 11:58) L: We all thought that Mika's adventure in XF would work, but sincerely very few thought it would have been this successful, and among these there's maybe Mika himself. Did you think it would go this well? Hello, welcome back! We're happy to have you here with us. M: I don't know. Now I'm very nervous because we haven't started the live shows, and this is different, it's like a different challenge. Is that correct? I haven't spoken Italian for two weeks and I'm very [nervous? missing word] L: You are afraid you might make some mistakes with words... But I do know that you Italian has progressed, for example, I see you pale, you almost look... M: What was that you said? “Emaciato”! I am emaciated. And this is not good, but thanks a lot for the vocabulary, but it's not a compliment, I do undestand this! N: Even Italians don't know the word “emaciato”! M: But you're not emaciated! N: No, I'm tanned! M: I've said “you is”, always the same [mistakes]! N: Listen, have you learned the meaning of the verb “scegliere” (“to choose”)? M: A bit! L: Look, “choosare” is more beautiful! [During the auditions he made up the neologism “choosare” instead of “scegliere”] Because we were a little bit envious that there was the Spanglish... M: Spaliano! Spanglish, spaliano! What is the word for... “Itanglish”..... This is very ugly. L: But please continue this way! However, are you having fun? M: Yes, I like my team, I like the other judges and the whole situation. It is really different from all the tv shows of the whole world, this is a programme... is that right? A crazy programme. L: You're going very well [with Italian] M: ...completely crazy. L: Even if compared to the English or American XF? M: Yes it's different, it's completely different. It's more free, with a lot more risks, and I don't know, the energy is more...more anarchic. And I like this! L: But hear how he speaks Italian! There are Italian singers who can't even make up these words! N: Listen, but isn't it because of the presence of Morgan, that maybe gives that touch of [craziness]... M: Morgan, the Dario Fo of Italian music [look at the press conference videos to understand this bit ] L: Someone wrote you this one, someone wrote it! M: Now Morgan has to pay me! N: It feels like it's something, you know, out of the future, hearing him talk Italian, it looks like he has taken a pill that lets him talk in Italian! Because last time... M: Yes an espresso much more espresso (? Lol) This is the magic pill. With sugar. Sugar with some espresso. L: This evening there is the last espisode of the not-live ones, the live ones will begin next week and they will be more tiring. Today it's the turn of the Home Visit, that you shot in July, I think M: Luglio? Oh, yes, July! July, where is July? In Ireland! This is my mind... L: You were in Ireland, in Dublin M: yes in Dublin, in Slane Castle L: With you there was Marco Mengoni? M: Yes, with Marco Mengoni N: What is Slane Castle? M: Slane Castle is a castle near Dublin, where a lot of artists have made a lot of concerts...Madonna, U2... Many times the U2... It's a very special place in the musical culture of Europe, according to me. Rolling stones... It's very important. It's a little bit like Knebworth, near London, but a hundred times more important. L: Did you like it? How was it? M: Yes, but I don't like the castle. It's a little bit old, a little bit strange... N: But you didn't sleep there, no? M: No, I didn't want to! But I think the U2 have made a whole album in this castle. The castle is beautiful, to make music it is incredible. L: Is there a recording studio? M: No, no recording studio! And now I got inspired and now I'm doing an album in the same way. In America, in a big house, I want to write and also... “ingrabare”? Record! Record the whole album in the house. L: Because it creates more atmosphere, it's more inspiring? M: Yes, without always being in a studio... L: How do you call these houses? Mansions? M: No it's not that cool, it's a little bit uglier than a mansion! In England a mansion is a palace! And this is not a palace... L: But where in America? M: Near Los Angeles. Because there are the best musicians. L: Listen, the thing I envy the most about you is the fact that you are a citizen of the world. We Italians are fundamentally a bit “provincial”, we live at home with our mothers until the 30s... M: No, that's not true! N: And we don't change city. It's not in our habits to change city, if you are born in Terni you continue living in Terni... M: But according to me this is really not true. L: It's changing now... M: It's changing, in an hour I can go from Milan to another country [not sure if he talks about cities or countries, I think countries, the word is the same]... It's incredible. In Los Angeles what can I do? Mexico? N&L: Yes! You can do many things... M: San Francisco? I don't like San Francisco... L: But I like when I hear you talking on the phone with your sister in French for example M: yes! We speak French, at home... But my sister, she speaks Arabic, Chinese, French, English, Spanish... L: Fantastic. But all of this is due to what? To your parents that have brought you up this cosmopolit? M: No. I think... I am the son of a family of immigrants, American immigrants. My mother is Lebanese-Syrian, my father is American but always in all the parts of the world because of his father L: So this has left you this open-mindness. M: yes! How do you say? Gypsy. We are gypsy. N: What did you grandfather do? Why did he travel that much? M: He was a diplomatic, in the Arabic world. So, a strange mix, very strange. L: A bit like Joe Strummer! From The Clash, he also was a son of diplomats, even if you two have lived different lives... M: yes! For example last week I wrote a song in a castle called Marouatte, in France. This castle... I've just finished. For eight days I've written songs with some others. And this castle is Miles Copeland's castle, and every year he makes an event for his favourite authors of the world of pop music, where 15 songwriters are all together in the castle … Miles Copeland is the manager of The Police but his father, and also his brother, Stewart Copeland, and the drummer of the Police.... L: But wasn't Stewart Copeland's father a CIA agent? That was the legend... M: Stewart Copeland's father was a diplomatic. But he was a CIA yes... But my grandfather wasn't! L: It's clear that we watch Homeland! Let's make a very short musical pause, let's put a minute of music then we start again, so you can breathe a bit! Note: Unfortunately this has taken me more than I expected, and I'm not home tonight, I'll translate the last minutes tomorrow! Sorry for the delay! In the meantime enjoy this first part!

FIRST OFF-AIR PART of the DailyMotion video (summary) Note: of this first part I haven't made a literal translation because I haven't understood everything because the music was very loud, but I wrote more or less everything they said, I hope that's ok. Linus (the interviewer) greets Mika and says something about his hair and they laugh, then asks how things are going and Mika says good but he's tired, then Linus says he does look tired and he agrees smiling. Linus says that the difficult part of XF (the live shows) hasn't begun yet, then he greets someone (I think Giulio Mazzoleni but I'm not sure). Then their voices fade even more, Mika probably says something appreciative about the radio studio but I could hardly hear them. (Any help by Italian fans with better hearing skills will be appreciated!!). Then Mika, just to make things worse, turns away from the camera, then he says he has not spoken Italian for two weeks; Linus reassures him, but says he is afraid of the live show. Then he greets the other interviewer Nicola (who had interviewed him in 2009), and Nicola tells him that he didn't remember he was that tall, he just remembered he (Nicola) was short! Then Mika tells him he's very well tanned, without dark circles under his eyes. Then he says he (Mika) is pale, with dark circles (occhiaie in Italian). Linus says that when he speaks Italian perfectly he will say “emaciato” (emaciated), and suggests him to say the word when he wants to impresse people! Then Nicola appreciates his shoes and says he's always very well-dressed, and that he likes the XF styling, and Mika says that this year it has changed, and Nicola says it's really cool. Then Linus sarcastically asks if there is someone who dresses Elio, Mika says he's very "sartorial". Linus then remembers that last year for the final he wore just a plain t-shirt he had seen him with a hundred times, and Nicola explains that he had put costumes for all the last season and on the last show he was dressed just like he dresses at home. “Travestito” says Mika, Nicola says “travestito da se stesso=disguised as himself”, but Mika laughs because “Elio travestito” sounds like he was a transvestite, and then he asks if that makes sense. Then the inteview begins. I am now translating the following part

Yes, in the late afternoon/evening I will translate it (first I have to do some stuff for uni ) but I will don't worry!

Loved, loved, loved this interview! :wub2: And I promise that when they load the videos on their site I will make a literal translation so everyone can enjoy it! But it will take some time because now he speaks very well and therefore he talks a lot

I absolutely LOVED this interview :wub2::wub2: Do you think it might deserve a new thread? It's linked to the x f experience but he talks a lot about other stuff too...

Thank you!

Will someone record it? (I don't have a recorder ) Because last time on the site they put the whole audio but they didn't put the whole video but just a part of it, and watching it live we can probably see the off-air parts... Anyway, looking forward to it!

:wub2: Looking forward to seeing them! They look really enchanted by the singer btw And I'm also looking forward to the radio deejay interview, the interviewer has interviewed Mika a few times now and I hope it will be a funny and relaxed interview like last time! Lol I think I repeated the word 'interview' XD

http://xfactor.sky.it/showvideo/174403/si-parte-per-gli-home-visit/14-10-2013/xfactor,XF7,/ Is there any chance this link might work? It's from sky.it, at 0:35 there are Mika and Marco Mengoni (his guest judge this week in Dublin). With Elio there is Linus, the radio host from radio deejay who will probably interview Mika this Thursday! Some people on twitter and Facebook have posted just the pic of Mika and Marco but I think it was just a still of the video so I couldn't find the original link for it... Hope the video works! If it Doesn't I'm sure someone who is better than me at this technological stuff will post it

Ahahah the song is called 'eppur mi son scordato di te', and the line goes 'don't cry green copper-haired salami' . Lol. And copper is not even green btw XD not the best song to learn Italian!

Ahahah no, don't worry, the goat girl didn't make it XD and btw I don't know if you watched it but yesterday she was really irritating imo. Mika and Morgan had their weird 'vision' (lol) about putting her and the other weird girl together as a very scary group, and she was very close-minded about it, while the other girl was more open to it. Among the girls someone very good won't be chosen because the places are only 3, however I think that they will let the audience vote during the second live episode who of these rejected contestants will be joining the show, so there should be another hope for them. (They did this last year and I heard they're gonna do it this year too). @DerMoment1608 I reeeeally hope too that Simona will choose not with her hormones but with her mind XD The two boys are nice and everything but, you know, I can surely live without them XD I really hope the street clerks and the ape escape can make it! And about Michele it is not a 'wow-feeling', that's what I liked about him, it's more a 'hmmm this is and could be very interesting' feeling, if you know what I mean He has left me curious to hear him singing other songs, while for example I'm not as curious for Violetta, she's amazing but, Idk, I can already imagine how she will sing. It happened the same for me for Chiara last year, I always enjoyed her performances, she was amazing, but she rarely 'surprised' me, which for example Marco Mengoni did during XF3, I always found his performances not only enjoyable but also 'stimulating', and I have a vague feeling that something similar could happen with Michele... Well, at least I hope so! Of course these are personal and questionable opinions based on a few seconds of performance, everything can change! Looking forward to the next episode and to comment it again with all of you! Bye bye

Yes it was a different process this time, they had to cut a lot in order to show everything so it was more static. Next time they'll sing properly coz they are only 24, and the judges will give longer motivations

Watched the episode tonight on Cielo! As I said before, the judges' reactions to cowell's video were priceless! XD And I think that Mika has got the best category as a whole, the under females. They are all objectively very, very good and interesting. (Tonight Gaia, the one with very short hair who sang White Rabbit (amazing song) caught my attention, last time they just briefly showed her). It will be very hard for Mika to only choose three of them, they all deserve their place there. Having said that, I have to admit that for my tastes at the moment my personal favourite (Mikasister will agree ) is a young boy, Michele Bravi. He is very natural and his singing is very 'classy', and his choice of songs was very good and sophisticated (Cat Stevens and Bruno Lauzi's song, that Mika really liked). If Morgan chooses him (and I think he will) I have a feeling his musical path in the programme could be very, very interesting and stimulating. Looking forward to it! Then of course I liked the Street Clerks (who are from Florence, I live near Florence ), and the ape escape singer always amazes me with his voice! Oh and Fabio, who sang Elvis, isn't bad either. Oh, and that crazy Rasta man too, I still feel he might have something original to say. Well we'll see, now we have only ideas through the auditions and boot camp, can't wait to properly hear them all again! Ps: btw, I don't know if you've seen Chiara Galiazzo's tweets... I think sooner or later she will join the MFC! Thanks for reading and goodnight everybody!

In an interview Mika said that when he was young and was still trying to find a producer Cowell told him he had an amazing voice and gave him his number. Mika tried to call him every day for the following 2 months, and even used his friends' numbers, but he never answered... And apart from that, I think what Mika dislikes in general is his approach, which is not the approach of someone really interested in good music for the sake of good music but just the approach of someone who just wants the artist to sell a lot of copies. Edit: oh, and he probably was irritated by his hypocrisy, calling him 'my friend', stuff like that when he never really cared about him or his music

Well I think that they wanted to seal the reached quality of the programme by calling the official inventor of it, but I loved the fact that no one was trying to fake any admiration for him, they subtly laughed about him and his serious and rather fake approach, so for me it worked as a funny contrast of which the production, I think, was very aware. 'Don't let Italy down' ---> judges' faces XD

Well, he probably tries to make a play on word, 'amico mio' (a-Miko) means 'my friend', and Mika looks at him like 'what the hell are you saying?' Lol And Elio sarcastically going on 'thank you Simon, grande Simon' I found this bit rather hilarious XD poor Cowell, he doesn't even realize he's been subtly mocked, he's too busy taking himself too seriously...

I'm gonna watch it tonight on Cielo, but I've seen on the internet the video with cowell assigning the categories... The whole situation was hilarious, with Cowell all serious and taking himself soooo seriously and the 4 judges almost laughing about him and looking at him sarcastically, lol. And yes, Mika's glance says it all XD

Thank you for posting! Interesting interview! Now I don't have time but I promise I will translate it tonight or tomorrow!

LucioBattistiLucioBattistiLucioBattisti!! Anche se a volte i testi sono un po' bizzarri ('non piangere salame dai capelli verde rame') XD penso che le canzoni di Battisti, oltre a essere bellissime, abbiano anche un appeal internazionale. Se ti interessa esiste una cover inglese di 'io vorrei, non vorrei, ma se vuoi', a opera di Mick Ronson, che era il chitarrista di David Bowie negli anni '70. Il testo è di bowie, molto bello, e la cover si intitola 'Music is lethal', c'è su youtube

I agree with you. In next episode's preview they showed a few seconds of Morgan complaining aloud to the other judges that he didn't want to break anyone's heart... I'm always sad for the rejected contestants too, even if I don't like them as singers... So I hope the judges will keep up to their responsibility with intelligence, sensitivity and respect. Ps: I'm very glad you're enjoying it!