Welcome to the triptastic pop world of Mika

[Droopsy]

Nothing we haven't heard before but oh well, I must say I only like Mika's quotes:thumbdown:

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Big girls, Grace Kelly and lollipops

Welcome to the triptastic pop world of Mika

 

by malcolm venable / metro new york

JUN 15, 2007

 

PROFILE. “I don’t feel like a freak — people make me out to be one,†says singer Mika. Yet the Lebanon-born, London-bred artist certainly offers them enough ammunition.

 

For one, Mika’s music is a hybrid of disco and outrageous throwback rock; it stands in opposition to nearly everything that’s popular now. His album “Life in Cartoon Motion†sashays lyrically into strange ground, like the tribute to plump chicks “Big Girl†or “Billy Brown,†about a man cheating on his wife with another dude.

 

“I’m fascinated by the mundane, the everyday,†he says. “I like the underdog, like, ‘Big Girl.’ I stick her on a throne for three minutes and turn her into a queen.â€

 

Mika’s unusual imagery sets him apart too: His album cover artwork is a trippy wonderland of colors and characters that looks like the artistic upchuck of his idols Robert Crumb, Jim Woodring and Tony Millionaire. His over-the-top stage shows are like a pop circus.

 

“I like the in-between of circuses,†the 24-year-old says. His extravaganzas are somewhere between seedy and suspended reality. “It’s not Vegas expensive, but [circuses] create this illusion of entertainment often out of cheap materials. All of my performances, for those same reasons, don’t use special effects. It’s not very special if it doesn’t come from the heart of the person.â€

 

Like many a misunderstood artist before him, Mika had a rocky childhood that fostered a need for escapism. A civil war in Lebanon forced his family to move to Paris when he was just a year old, and then to London when he was 9. His Lebanese father was held hostage at Kuwait’s American Embassy. The family trauma, combined with Mika’s budding dyslexia and bullying from classmates eventually caused him to withdraw and stop speaking for nearly a year.

 

“I forgot how to read and write and it got to a point where I just shut down and stopped talking,†he says. He eventually found solace in music and learned to play the piano. By his teenage years, Mika had regular gigs creating jingles for television commercials. Now, he’s widely considered one of the U.K.’s most important new artists.

 

But the bullies haven’t gone away. The media has created a faux rift between Mika and Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters while several bloggers have made it their mission to out him thanks to his flamboyantly cheeky song lyrics like “sucking too hard on your lollipop, oh love is gonna get you down†and an admitted identity crisis in “Grace Kelly.†Mika says he’s equipped to handle the haters, though.

 

“You have to be yourself. Sometimes I feel like certain people in the press decide they’re going to pick on me or make my life hell. But being [targeted] is a sign of a real artist doing his thing. It means you have potential for a long career.â€

 

http://ny.metro.us/metro/entertainment/article/Big_girls_Grace_Kelly_and_lollipops/9014.html

[haru]

Thanks for posting !!

 

Mika, you're the BEST

[Sara]

Great read - thanks for posting!!

[CazGirl]

thanks for that!

 

even though his dad is american, not lebanese lol

[Queenie]

Mika and his wise words...

Thanks for sharing

[Kriszti]

I don't feel like a freak - people make me out to be one!

I agree!!!!

[lollipop_monkey]

thanks for that!

 

even though his dad is american, not lebanese lol

 

Yeah, and Mika's not 24 yet, either. Sigh. What ever happened to good, old fashioned fact checking?

[mel_tinydancer]

Yeah, and Mika's not 24 yet, either. Sigh. What ever happened to good, old fashioned fact checking?

 

 

That's what I thought too, they probably just rounded up though since he's turning 24 soon. I don't know, lol. Journalists are goofy.

 

Great article though! Amazing words from our boy!