holdingyourdrink

Thank you, but I am not sure if it’s victorious per sé. It’s been a natural outlet to what felt like unanswered questions in my life, if that makes any sense? Like I mentioned in the other topic when we started talking about this: creativity begets creativity. I feel Mika’s work just gave me the right nudge to allow myself to be creative again. Doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m a total fangurl though! Which means he is embarrassingly often the victim of my doodles. It’s my way of giving back. My form of a tiny love. Thank you! And you know what? After I have discovered his work more and even have seen him live now many times, I keep expanding my colour palette. Not just in my own life: but when I’m drawing him as well. I feel that this is his superpower, one that he probably didn’t anticipate on, but ultimately the reality to us fans.

Love that you have decided to start this thread. If you allow me, I’d love to dive into it right away. I think this mostly applies to me. I come from a very emancipated and immigrant household where education is everything and was absolutely the main focus growing up. I have been raised with the idea that in order to excel and to succeed, distractions were not allowed if they would possibly hurt my education. The best metaphor I can find is that I was only allowed to be one colour, in order to succeed and to excel. And that one colour was my education. I used to draw for fun. It was my meditation. But I had given up on it when I was 17, because life happened. I had put this part of me away. For almost 20 years. Then BAM a pandemic happened and my incredibly efficient constructed life just kind of went POOF. In the meantime my life was still very busy, but different. So the one colour I had chosen to be, was kind of established and settled in my life. I had already reached the point where I had succeeded and excelled. One day during the start of pandemic I heard Mika on the radio in a frantic pandemic supermarket craziness, it was “Relax” and although I knew the song, it’s the first time I really started listening while witnessing the bizarre situation in front of me unfold. I decided to look him up and dove into a whole discovery of not just his entire discography, but also the rest of his work. That day I also decided to start drawing again. Long story short: his music and his work have opened my mind, to not only acknowledge but also honour all sides of me. Including my artistic side. It allowed me to see myself in all the colours that I am and to BE colourful. And to be proud of that. It allowed me to connect the dots that have always been there, his work just opened my eyes to it. I now feel very enriched in all aspects of my life. I don’t really share my doodles on the forum, but I do so on my Instagram profile. In case anyone is curious.

Makes perfect sense. Can’t wait to see him back as a coach!

How likely is it he will do a second date right after?

There are many things about Mika’s stories and work that resonate with me, which made me a fan in the first place. However, this point seems to be resonating with many of us and it is a small part of what makes this not “just” a fanclub, but a community of kindred spirits. And it’s a beautiful thing. However, how much I *can* be transported back into my 14 year old self again, I am just as much reminded that I am responsible for my own happiness and I cannot blame my bullies for being unhappy nor for feeling like an outsider or weirdo. Today I am a very proud weirdo and I completely own my weirdness (yes it’s weird to just be drawing one face all the time, but I don’t care!). And this community gives me the safe space where I can do this and to feel accepted. So thank you ❤️

I really loved this reaction as well, it was such a nice surprise and the fact that the show contacted him is actually really sweet, I don’t think it has been done before? Good research! They must’ve had some Mika fans working in production!

Speaking from own experience as a bullied person as well, this is unfortunately true. Those who know me know that I’m very outgoing and actually quite open, but in certain crowds that could intimidate me I completely shut down. I am transferred back into my 14 year old self and although it’s been a long time, my first reaction is still the same. I just hide it better now.

This actually happens to rabbits FYI. And yes… HOW did he get a bit of sheet stuck between his front teeth

Amazing!! The venue looks amazing as well, I’m sure you and your sister will have the best of times. Do you know if it’s only seated? Or were there also standing places available?

This sounds very like it could be a Mika music video in some way. A pharaoh? Why not, timeless fashion! The Newfoundland puppy? It’s because he’s a tall man so it actually looks like a normal sized puppy! The gold chain in the pool? Rebelling against capitalism!

Buffy! Of course I know Buffy! I’m team Angel I wasn’t aware of what impact it had, but I think I can safely say we have a very similar phenomenon going on here Do you have Instagram? The artists that are active and inspired by Mika (talking about musicians, crafty people, painters etc) mostly post their work there and not so much on the forum. Just FYI

I can only speak for the gigs I bought for: it’s different per venue. In Amsterdam you could buy it through presale on the ticketing website. In Berlin you will have the write the venue an email to ask for accessible places. @kathif you are considering to buy accessible places for certain venues, it’s wise to email them up front, to see if you can reserve them before general sale starts. It’s what I did for the Roundhouse last year. (They informed me they would be made available at the general sale though, which was a bit stressful, haha. But it is good to know beforehand.)

I think the bride and groom didn’t realize the ending is actually not so happy in that song

But wait, you are always excited! I can only imagine how much you are bouncing around the room right now

I was in the corner towards the piano not far away from you! We were also on that side of the catwalk. Right behind the VIP section. Can’t wait to read your report!

He’s terrible!

Thank you so much, that means the world to me ❤️ Same, honestly!

This is very true. For me personally, listening to his music and further exploring his work made me rediscover the artistic side of me, one that I had laid to rest for many years. Creativity begets creativity. His creativity is like a catalyst. Not just to me, to many!

My thoughts exactly, it sounds like a full on UK tour!!

This is a great rumour if it’s true…. Mika in London is a dream! A week after Berlin! Argh! I most likely can’t go due to work, I already have FOMO and nothing is confirmed yet

I’m really okay, thank you for your concern! But I won’t file a complaint, never crossed my mind. I guess they were overwhelmed and didn’t expect us running for the barrier. Of course it did leave an impression, but it’s nothing more than that. It’s their first time, I’m sure they will make adjustments for the next edition so it won’t happen again. And in the end the festival was really fantastic! So all is good!

Good thing you were able to smuggle it in! And 3 euros per bottle.. those are airport prices Sorry I missed you! Where were you standing?

Oops you are right, OOL was after! Sleep deprivation scrambled my brain.

It was the first edition of Brava Madrid, so we knew there could be hiccups in the organization. For some fans, tickets and/or bracelets didn’t scan (which is a problem when you’ve been queuing and aim for a barrier spot!). Personally, I unfortunately had a very unpleasant encounter while entering with security staff. I had been queuing and when my ticket and bracelet scanned I sprinted towards the stage about 500 meters away, running past security like the first 30 others. They janked my arm and pushed me back violently while screaming at me in Spanish. While I absolutely agree with security of the artists being highest priority and of course I complied immediately, the violence was quite unnecessary. Especially since I had been singled out and let the others that had ran past them as well, go. That was the only nasty encounter though! In the end I miraculously did reach barrier (yes, I am fast) and had a very good spot. The rest of the festival was actually amazing. I really enjoyed the line-up for that day. There were two Spanish artists I didn’t know (Vicco and Belen Aguilera), but I enjoyed their set. What added to the atmosphere is that there was a group of girls who were clearly fans and they were super hyped: singing, dancing, jumping…the works! I let them in front of me for the barrier, because they would be gone when Mika would arrive. So it was a win-win for everyone. Usually at festivals there is a dip in energy between sets. However, they had arranged for in-between entertainment with a pretty good DJ and even a kiss-cam! The last one was really hilarious and it made me even more aware of the huge LGBTQIA+ attendance in the audience. The atmosphere was light and fun, no pushing at the barrier and when I looked around people were all smiles, even between strangers. It really is my favourite festival I have been at so far. In the line up was also Natasha Bedingfield and Mel C, now a very much renowned solo artist, but formerly part of the Spice Girls. Both artists have songs that are young adulthood anthems of mine, so seeing them live was a dream. Natasha Bedingfield with her song “Unwritten” touched an emotional chord with me, I didn’t expect that to happen. It was pure joy to listen to her. Both of them are true forces on stage, I thoroughly enjoyed their sets. When it was time for Mika to come, there had been a shift in the audience with clearly more Mika fans reaching the front. We were standing behind the VIP standing area. They were apparently super VIPs with backstage access, so not the same as the VIP tickets that were offered at general sale. Apparently I had been dancing and singing with a Spanish singer/influencer. I only found out because he told me and asked me to tag him in my Instagram story, which I did. Apparently he had sang in Mika’s choir in the past. Now I don’t know if he really sang background or if it was the polka dot choir. Either way it was fun dancing and singing with him! Mika’s energy was amazing and the crowd really responded warmly to him. The stage was very high though and had a ramp in the middle. Even though he is a tall man, when he was on the other side of the ramp I could only see his curls. Or maybe I am just short, haha! The height of the stage took away a bit of the experience from the people in the front like us, but I understand when you have an event with 20.000 people, you want those in the back to see well as well. He started with Origin of Love with the new intro that I absolutely LOVE! He also had a huge flower with him, which he gave to the audience. Well, I am not sure if he ever got that flower back to be honest, it was just passed down from person to person and I never saw it reappear again on stage like previous gigs, haha. Usually he has different stage lights accompanying him, forming like a frame for him to work in/from. For this stage however he used the backdrop that we know from Coachella and he also used it in Greece. Which pushed him more forward on the ramp. Looking at pictures from the event (taken from afar/a broader perspective) that was a really good choice. His set was shorter than usual, since he was only on for 1h15m as opposed to the usual 1.5h, but it still felt like a complete gig with only core songs missing like Lollipop, Tiny Love and Boum Boum Boum. He was very chatty and spoke the entire gig in Spanish, with an occasional Spaliano (Spanish-Italian). I only know this since I was with Bea who had to smile about the random Italian words/sentences in there. Since I heard he still spoke some English during the last Spanish festival, I think he really must’ve cranked up his Duolingo usage for this one! My personal favourites Overrated and Rain were on the setlist. Gosh do they work well live! And the engagement from the audience was really good, especially from the VIP area. They knew all the songs and sang along. Mika was very pleased to see this and it made our experience better as well, since they were standing right in front of us. During Underwater he took Karin’s phone, that was fun, especially since he apparently called the emergency number by accident! I think he wanted to film and turn the camera on, but since it isn’t an iPhone he had no idea how to do that, haha. When it was over we waited way too long for him to come out, which he eventually didn’t. So after goodbyes and many “see you in March for the new tour, but hopefully sooner!” we all went back to our hotels for some well deserved sleep. It being the last gig for a while made me a bit sad, but with a new album and tour coming up in March, we have something really good to look forward to, I’m sure! Madrid, you have been good to us! I’m curious to see the photos of the event. They made a LOT of pictures of front row, so we may turn up at some point. Haha.

Dispatch: “What is your emergency?” Mika: LOVE LOVE LOVE Dispatch: “Excuse me?” Mika: OVERRATED Dispatch: “Where are you?” Mika: The butterfly lounge! Dispatch: “Can you give me the address?” Mika: UNDERWAAAATER