Alyara

This is so sweet and sad at the same time, I love it

Oh don't worry about it. Coronation Street is a very popular soap opera in Canada so my parents watched it for years and I watched along. Between the northern England accents, the British cultural references and the slang I seriously had no idea what they were talking about half the time. It took years for it to sound like I was listening to people speaking my native language. The funny thing was that I didn't even realize how much I was missing until later on when I started understanding everything. I seemed to just block things out when I didn't get them rather than consciously thinking about how a particular word or phrase didn't make sense to me. It wasn't until I actually lived in the UK and could get all of the cultural references that I really understood 100% of the dialogue.

I must've missed your reply as I'm only reading it now. Anyway yeah, I understand that feeling way too well. Being an English lover, I always try to get as much as I can and it's so frustrating when I miss some words or am unable to get a joke or something like that. I feel stupid and I think it can be bothering if I ask too much, therefore I just drop it at times. But it's so good when people take the time to explain

 

Now back on track, I really love this song deeply, it still makes me cry if I listen to it when I'm sad, he described that feeling of defencelessness so well. My favourite lines are ''Hold me carefully, just one breath could shatter me''

i love the video, especially what he says in the end. and i would say that definitely makes it clear that with meet&greets he means something different than meeting his fans after a show.

I preferred asking just to be sure. You never know after all... I've only been to 3 concerts so far and he didn't stop after any of them and I didn't know what meet&greets really were before Christine's explanation... and I even said mine was a dumb question XD

When Mika stops to sign autographs for fans who are waiting for him outside, it is NOT a meet and greet. I don't know why Mika fans started calling it that but it has been impossible to change this terminology which leads to confusion when we talk about true M&Gs. A true M&G has traditionally been a reception for press, VIPs, etc. Lots of booze, appetizers, etc. and the artist is expected to turn up and schmooze (kiss ass ) with all the VIPs.

 

In recent years artists have been trying to make more money from touring since people don't buy as many albums as they used to. So they have been basically turning fans into "VIPs" and charging them for it. So instead of standing around socializing with the artist it's more of an assembly line and you are guaranteed certain things like an autograph or a photograph (depending on what you buy).

 

Mika doesn't do the paid M&Gs but he does have to meet people. A lot of them are fans in the sense that they really like him but they probably know someone in the industry in order to get that kind of access or they won a radio contest etc. During a 2009 tour in North America some MFCers were allowed to be included in these M&Gs at the last minute but the M&Gs had been set up for promotional reasons, not so MFCers could meet Mika.

 

Occasionally MFC is able to set up a M&G just for MFC. Mika agrees to come and just chat to MFCers. These are few and far between and are often to celebrate his birthday or some other event so I am sure that is not what Mika is referring to when he talks about M&Gs in the context of his promotional obligations.

I really had no idea, thanks a lot for your detailed explanation

MIKA official @mikasounds

 

@Myspace came on the road with me for 24h in LA. See inside my world for a day bit.ly/1GRsDFT

 

Dumb question: when he says he'd like to only sing but also has to do radios, tv, press, meet and greets, is he referring to meet and greets with fans? I mean, does he know we call them like that or he doesn't and was maybe referring to something else?

Luv

AW, luv ya too

We're joking about it now, but I swear I panicked for a few secs. This damn piece of paper got stuck right at the top of my throat and I couldn't reach it with my fingers. I had to try three times! Now imagine me choking in the middle of a jumping crowd, with confetti falling on us and no one noticing I needed help. But then, as soon as I got rid of it, I started jumping and singing again. Call it Mika power XD

I'm a week late, but in case you're still interested,  here's my report.

 

 

Caribana day started with us waking up at 6 am after a 3 hour sleep, a thunderstorm and a crazy dog barking at the rain. By "us" I mean Sylvie, Sarah and me. We drove (actually, Sylvie drove, we were just sitting there) our way to Nyon through Mont Blanc tunnel, stopping briefly in a service area in France run by a very nice lady (insert sarcasm here). I went at the check-out to pay for a sandwich, she told me the price, I started putting money on the counter and then I accidentally dropped a coin, I ducked to pick it up off the floor (Mika quote on purpose) and she repeated the price. I got it, ffs! Don't you see I'm trying to give you the money? Anyway I managed to pay and we went back to the car. The travel went very well, no hitches at all, apart from Sylvie's neverending struggle at every toll booths because she couldn't reach them properly and had to lean out of the window. Ah, short people's problems. Once in Nyon we had a bit of a hard time to find the festival, but thanks to the sat-nav, which kept freezing from time to time btw, we found our way there and parked the car in a parking lot right in front of the gates. Sylvie asked an elderly woman if it was ok for us to leave the car there and she said she thought it was. Like, ma'am, what do you mean? You *think* it's ok, so there's still the possibility we won't find the car once the festival's over??? Luckily, she was very nice, she told us not to worry, she introduced herself as the festival president's mother and even gave us her phone number, just in case. The queue at the gate was very small and quiet, there were people from Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Finland and I met some of them. The security was awesome, giving us water and protecting us from the sun with some beach umbrellas, and we were all relaxed until a whole family tried to jump the queue, creating a bit of a mess. We all stood up and tried to make them go to the back, then the security stepped in to help us. They really were amazing. When the gates opened, they would only allow in one person at a time, giving everyone the time to walk halfway to the stage before letting in anoter person, so there was no running or pushing. We managed to find our spot in the front row easily, the stage was only a couple of meters away, so we were pretty close. The security guys kept providing us with water and earplugs and were very kind and funny. I don't remember much about the acts before Mika, they were not very interesting imo or maybe I was just too eager to see him. When the last one left the stage, we were given some cardboard crowns made by a fan and we hung Mr Pataccone (i.e. the biggest MFC badge) to the barrier right before us (we were even asked by a photographer to pose for her) waiting for him to come out. And eventually he did. It was so cool to see him from that close. That was only my second gig and I was in the front for the first time, I enjoyed every second of it. He told us he was happy to perform so early in the afternoon for he could see the audience very well and he did look at every single person in the front rows and interacted with us a lot. First thing I noticed, but it was quite hard not to notice, was the big hole on his crotch. I giggled. It served him right, he shouldn't wear suits during concerts, especially since it was 5 pm and very hot. He made us jump, dance, sing, scream, he drank some cherry-coloured drink from a bottle then said it tasted disgusting and when someone in the audience said they wanted to try it, he threw the bottle to them. He also told us the towel he was given smelled nice and he's always wanted to have scented towels but his mom wouldn't allow them 'cause she thinks everything with a nice smell is bad for the health. He seemed to be in a good mood and was rather chatty, unfortunately I don't remember everything he said ,'cause he was speaking in French and I missed some words here and there. When the gig was over, we went to wait for him and we saw the band leaving in a van, but he was nowhere to be seen. We were then told by the security that he had already left by boat since he had a flight to catch and was in a hurry. We stayed there a little bit longer, you know, just to be sure, and chatted for a while and then we left an hour later. Apparently we weren't done singing yet, since we played TOOL and TBWKTM while driving back home. Funny thing is I jokingly said I wanted a proof that he had a flight to catch or I wouldn't have believed it and by the time we got  home, we found out he had tweeted a pic of himself at Brussels airport. Well done, Mr Mika, you're forgiven.

 

 

Edit: I forgot to say that I almost choked when a piece of confetti flew right into my mouth while I was singing!! And since I'm here, here's a pic of us with the crowns and Pataccone 

 

Yeah the (British?) "r" after every A... I've heard it quite often with "idear" too, my English teacher would always say that, though she has an Australian accent.

But as far as I'm concerned his pronounciation has always been a bit odd

  

I think Mika doesn't always do this after an A sound but because the next word is a vowel the R links them together. And yes he has had some weird weird phrasing in his songs for sure. I think this "sofar" for "sofa" though is natural for many Brits though, like you said unlike some of his other odd pronunciations that are Mika inventions.

Aaah now I see. I didn't know that as my English teacher wasn't a native and she never mentioned this to us. My English is self-taught for the most part (as you can probably tell, it's far from perfect) and I'm more familiar with American accent since it's what I usually hear in movies and such. British accent was gibberish to me until only a few months ago, now it's getting better, but there still are lots of things I don't know yet, so please bear with me if I point out obvious things or ask dumb questions.

I've been listening to it and I think that V sound is because he first sings "You" in his chest voice with a lot of air, which also makes it sounds more like "shu" (less so than what he did in Heroes, "shu blood on me", but still a little), and then he continues in falsetto with "and I" and I think that transition between airy chest voice and falsetto is what you hear. Perhaps he even pronounces a tiny V or W like "You-w-and I", either to make that transition smoother or to chain the words together to make it sound more flowy.

 

Or I'm just over-analyzing things

His pronunciation is weird at times. Even in Good Wife when he says ''two seater sofa'' I keep hearing ''sofar''

It is. "You and I were one of a kind"

Ah okay. As I saw it written like that in the first post, I thought I was probably mishearing, but I wasn't sure about the meaning.

??? I don't get the word/s he's saying here -- anyone?

le pamplemousse= il pompelmo (grapefruit)

Oh and I forgot to add I too think it's ''in between us an ocean can be found'' since he then says ''how long will I swim before I drown''

Aw beautiful song! I agree with Manon, it sounds fragile, couldn't have found a better word. Just one thing... what does this line mean?

 

Definitely not one of my favourites as of now, but I like the China Boy part so maybe I won't skip it all the time

I like the music very much and the first stanza hit me. What I'm not sure of liking yet is that low voice that doesn't even sound like his, but maybe I need to listen to it some more times

A lighthearted song! The lyrics are funny, my favourite parts are

 

Okay... another song that brought tears to my eyes... which is a good thing I suppose. I love it when his emotions come through so powerfully. And the piano is amazing

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this song. It's the third time I'm listening to it and I'm still crying. The lyrics are heartbreaking and very "heart on the sleeve", especially this part

 

My report will come eventually. Have faith XD

It was not exactly a streaming but a page gathering periscopes and instagrams of the show...

Oh bummer! So let's hope someone saves the periscopes before they'll be removed. In the meantime, people who were at the Fabrique, please do share your pics and vids

Just wondering... we were told yestarday there was supposed to be a live streaming of the gig, was anyone able to record it?

It was my first concert after a long time that I didn't see him on stage and it was great! No queue for me but I had a great spot and there were even some eyecontact with him He was very funny and totally relaxed this time... His voice was so good and when he sang AOW all the audiece were totally captured by him!

 

I wait Sylvie for the detailed report 'cause she knows what to write about our adventure

Everything was awesome, the gig was awesome, meeting you and the others was awesome... I had so much fun! And I'm sorry for all the accidental elbows on your head XD I move too much, I guess. I'll write more when I get home, I still have a 6 hours journey ahead of me.

 

PS: I tried to send you a PM and it says you can't receave any.

Sub Team is already working on it Please have a little patience

His current accent might be more international lately with all his stays in France and Italy. His accent is always in motion , just like he is

Even when he speaks Italian, he doesn't have an accent. Of course you can tell he's not a native because he makes some mistakes or uses the wrong words at times, but there's no trace of English accent in his Italian and it's quite unusual, especially for someone who's learnt the language in such a short time. It must be because he has studied Spanish for years, since it's very similar to Italian