New Out-magazine interview !

[stien]

yay Perez!

 

New very good article:

 

http://www.out.com/detail.asp?id=23440

[vanessa]

Thank for posting !

[lcmlcm]

i post here so i can read at work tmr...

 

The international sensation on his post-breakthrough, post-radio, post-Out life.

Shana Naomi Krochmal

When pop singer Mika, 24, appeared on Out’s cover last July [Pop's New Queen], he firmly declared, “I’m not willing to label myself.” His consistent not-quite no comment continues to ruffle the feathers of out and proud queers -- and, of course, rile up his staunchest defenders.

 

He recently checked in with Out from London, updating us on his whirlwind year, his most obscure and infamous inspirations, and just exactly what he thinks of the folks who say he’s hiding in plain sight.

 

Out: In 2007, you played at Coachella, won three World Music Awards and were nominated for a Grammy. What was the highlight?

Mika: Being able to pay my bills? [Laughs] No. I’m kidding. Everyone always wants me to say the big stuff, the huge festivals and performances. But it was just being given an insight into how to do things. A profession you’ve always wanted to do your entire life finally becomes real, and you have to make the most of it.

 

Are you going to the Grammys?

I don’t know. I’m more concerned with my own show the day after in Los Angeles. The nomination is quite an honor -- yet award ceremonies are always a little bit of a meat market, aren’t they? I like the nomination more than anything. I think if I was performing it’d be different because I’d have a purpose. We’ll see.

 

What’s going to be different about this tour?

Unfortunately, I can’t bring the same show all over the States. In L.A. and New York and some of the Canadian shows where we’re doing 10,000 seaters, we’ve got the full show. But because we’re playing clubs down to 1,500 people, we can’t physically fit [everything] into the venues. For the bigger shows, it is a lot closer to this total gig vision that I’ve got. We work with an 18-foot puppet, a snow machine, stuff like that. It’s fantasy. As long as it’s all based around a good set of songs and a good set of performances, it’s important to create magic and stretch the world.

 

How do you describe your ideal vision for a show?

I’ve been to a lot of arena gigs, and some are very disappointing because they rely too much on a big bunch of screens. There’s a disadvantage being 9,000 people away from the performer, and it’s that he’s quite small. But there is also an advantage to that, because you can create illusions that you never could within a small club, a sense of scale and magic. In the next two years when I’m developing my big shows, especially in Europe and Canada and in Asia, I’m looking forward to creating this virtually delicious show that happens all over at different stages of the arena -- so you never feel like you’re far away whether you’re in the third row or the 300th row.

 

Whose big arena shows do you like the best?

I think that the Madonna concerts are really entertaining. It’s not like going to a Led Zeppelin gig, but it’s still kind of a visual feat. Prince -- he’s the master, and that relies mostly on music too, the tightness of the band, the tightness of his performance. And also there’s that whole Cirque du Soleil thing, you know? When you see some of those shows, you’re literally sitting there scratching your head, wondering how the hell they’ve managed to create that visual effect.

 

Who has inspired your music and the way that you perform?

I always go on about Harry Nilsson. He’s just this victim of his own profession, very underrated. He’s so talented, undeniably so, both as a writer and as a singer -- but just not quite fashionable enough to be famous as a household name. And ironically enough, he was the favorite songwriter of the Beatles for most of their career, both Lennon and McCartney, and very good friends with them as well. And I love Prince, because he’s a musical genius and he’s the opposite end of the spectrum. Whereas Harry Nilsson was introspective and fragile, Prince is a superstar and kind of the short man who kind of dominates the arena.

 

You’ve sold nearly 5 million records worldwide, and yet such a small percentage of that is in the U.S. Are you frustrated about not being a household name here?

No. I mean, it’s a mixture. I think the U.S. takes time. If someone asks me, “Have you reached the climax of your success in the U.S.?” I would immediately say, “100 percent no.” Is my career growing in the U.S. steadily? Yes. Is it growing as fast as it is in other countries? Maybe not. But when I put my tickets on sale, my tours sell out -- and I’m on my third U.S. tour. The fact that I’m doing so well in Canada is a good reflection that the American market isn’t really that alien to me. My gigs in America are pretty intense. It’s not as if I’m going and getting disappointed. What confuses me is that my gigs are pretty mental, yet I just can’t get the radio support.

 

Why do you think that is?

It’s very simple. I didn’t get radio support in the States with “Grace Kelly,” even though it was number one in most territories around the world, probably in the top two or three songs in the world by radio play in every single country. I heard from a [u.S.] radio station a couple of months ago, and the programmer’s excuse was, “It’s because he says he wants to be like a woman. He has the line where he says he wants to be like Grace Kelly, and we just don’t feel comfortable with this song.” And then when it got to “Love Today,” and we tried to get radio to play it they said, “Impossible -- it’s a man singing in the vocal range of the woman.” It’s kind of depressing, really. It’s just confusing. But I see the humor of it. Far more people are listening to me online than are listening on radio and, quite frankly, that’s the contact I’m quite comfortable with at the moment, because it means I can sell tickets to my live shows.

 

If “Lollipop” were a Fergie song, I think it would have been a huge summer hit on American radio.

Well, yeah, there’s this thing where you should know your place. But you can bitch about it, or you can just create other ways to make your career grow. And I’m certainly not intending to bitch about it -- I hardly ever do, actually.

 

Are you working on your next album?

I’ve been working on it for a while actually. I was recording demos for my second album as I was recording the first album. I really like the opportunity that I have in front of me. I just want more. When I was making my first album, I wouldn’t talk to anyone about it, and I think I’m going to have to keep the same attitude for this one. Even though I’m ****ing tempted to go on and on!

 

Please, let me tempt you! You could go on a little more.

[Laughs] No. No more. But I’m certainly not going to kowtow to the pressure of trying to get radio support in certain territories. I’m not interested in manipulating what I do for anything. I’m going to do what I do. I write songs for myself, and I’m going to continue doing that. If it gives me that funny feeling in the back of my spine, the kind of feeling that makes me want to go to the loo, then I know that it’s good.

 

Let’s talk about the reaction to your Out cover story.

So how did it go?

 

On our side? There were a lot of people who were just thrilled to see it and hear what you had to say. And we also got a lot of flak, people who said, “How could a magazine called Out put someone on the cover who seems ashamed to admit he’s gay?”

That’s nonsense.

 

What’s your reaction to that?

Yeah, well, I’m sure you heard that a lot. But I always polarize opinions, whether it’s my private life or the music that I make, and I’ve had to deal with that over the past year. I think that’s been one of the biggest learning curves. I’ve gotten a huge amount of success, but if you had any idea of the amount of flak that I get for the kind of songs that I write or the way that I talk about or refuse to talk about almost any private aspect of my life -- you’d be pretty astonished. And one of the biggest challenges that I’ve had is just saying to myself, You know what? Just stay the same. Stay the way that you are. I can understand that you got polarized opinions. Of course you were going to. That doesn’t surprise me.

 

Do you think there’s a way to describe your sexuality without using labels?

Of course there’s ways of discussing sexuality without using labels. I think that if you want to discuss sexuality or just kind of sexual things to begin with, I think there definitely is. I think that’s far more interesting than talking about whether someone is agreeing to or refusing to use labels. I think that’s what your article -- and definitely your [cover] headline [Mika: Gay/Post-Gay/Not Gay?] was getting at.

 

Is that a conversation you want to have more of? Is it that you won’t talk about anything in your life regarding sex, or that you don’t want to talk about it in the terms that people have been asking you to?

I’ll talk about my opinions, and I’ll talk about my music, and I’ll write about my opinions or about my personal life stories in my music. I will not talk about labels, and I will not talk about over-categorizing things, because labels are the one thing that I’ve never agreed with -- simply because I just don’t fit into them in my own personal life. And yes, if someone’s willing to have an interesting conversation and take the time and patience to go into stuff like that, then yeah, I think it’s fascinating. But I write songs -- that’s what I do first. I don’t politicize myself or my life, and I am who I am. If you know my lyrics and if you know my songs, you probably know a lot more about me than if you just read an article about me.

[Kriszti]

thanks so much

[xlindee]

Thanks for posting, that was a great interview:thumb_yello:

[IngievV]

Thanks for posting:thumb_yello:

 

If you know my lyrics and if you know my songs, you probably know a lot more about me than if you just read an article about me.

 

I smell an over analyzing of his songs coming up:roftl:

[Grace Ally]

 

Thanks for posting, Stien!

[greta]

Thanks for posting:thumb_yello:

 

If you know my lyrics and if you know my songs, you probably know a lot more about me than if you just read an article about me.

 

I smell an over analyzing of his songs coming up:roftl:

yes please!.. better than focusing on his nose-hairs:mf_rosetinted:

[mariposa]

Thank you so much for posting! It's a great interview!

[guylainem123]

thank you... that's a nice one

[JackViolet]

Thanks for posting! OUT seems to do good interviews with him. Very sincere and attentive and introspective and respectful without being glib or pushy.

 

--Jack

[Piperita Patty]

A profession you’ve always wanted to do your entire life finally becomes real, and you have to make the most of it.

 

Today I've got a lovely chat with a Brazilian guy who came in Italy to improve his singing and I truly understoond how much engagement, passion and force someone needs to realize what he/she has always dreamed about...

Now I bet this is the best gratification

[dcdeb]

Thanks for posting! OUT seems to do good interviews with him. Very sincere and attentive and introspective and respectful without being glib or pushy.

 

--Jack

 

Agreed.

 

Thoughtful and thought-provoking questions, I think -- questions he

has to think about an answer for, rather than going into "pat answer"

mode.

 

dcdeb

[IngievV]

yes please!.. better than focusing on his nose-hairs:mf_rosetinted:

 

I swear I didn't want to start a discussion on his nose hairs:mf_rosetinted:

[sienna]

Thanks for posting!

 

Interesting article.

[cath85]

thanks for posting!

I agree OUT seems to do the best interviews with him

[Reni]

Thanks for posting:thumb_yello:

 

If you know my lyrics and if you know my songs, you probably know a lot more about me than if you just read an article about me.

 

I smell an over analyzing of his songs coming up:roftl:

 

Probably.

Guess there are some threads bumping up the next days:roftl:

[lizsmith]

Ya.. I really enjoyed it too!!! (and i'm talking about the interview... not the nose hairs:)

[Lollipop]

I love the way he says his songs show you more about his personality than interviews. Still doesn't help anymore though, but just to know his songs are truthfull, that doesn't make much sense but I know what I mean!!!!

 

XXXX

[avoca]

Agreed.

 

Thoughtful and thought-provoking questions, I think -- questions he

has to think about an answer for, rather than going into "pat answer"

mode.

 

dcdeb

 

yeah, but it's what OUT, or the advocate would ask, isn't it..? trying to out him or smt.. that's expected and probably by him also. he knows he's not talking with the financial times

 

he's as diplomatic as usual

 

thx for posting!

[OhMyMika!!]

You know what? Just stay the same. Stay the way that you are.

 

Good idea...Indeed!

 

Thanks sooo much for this!

[Matt1984]

I found the interview rather annoying... Is it just me?

 

If he doesn't want to discuss his sexuality, he should clarify that with his interviewer before. I'm sure they would reach an agreement easily. There's no need to say or print again and again all those useless words to avoid the subject. Once is enough, I just wish he stopped discussing it tout court, if that's his choice.

 

Or better, I wish he came out and end all the useless speculations.

That's clearly not what he wants to do and I 100% respect that.

Please forgive my lack of politeness, but I think we need a poster boy for homosexuality so badly and he's so amazingly talented, successful, smart, beautiful, down-to-earth! What better example could I possibly hope for?

 

On the other hand, by avoiding the subject, he's risking to become another unnecessary bad example for gay people instead.

Just look what happened recently with Darren Hayes, former frontman of Savage Garden: he came out at the same time he was fired from his record company, so that in the eye of the public the moral of this story is "as long as you're married to a woman, you're successful, but when you decide to jump out of the closet, you lose the fortune it took you so long to achieve".

 

I just wish him to be still at the top when he will find the balls to reply to his interviewer: "Yes, I'm gay and perfectly well-adjusted. That's all I'm going to say about the subject and I do not intend to discuss my lovelife in interviews, I already expose my feelings enough in my songs."

I guess I just found myself another excellent reason to keep supporting him and caring for him even more.

[flopii*]

Cool interview!

Thanks for sharing!

[avoca]

I found the interview rather annoying... Is it just me?

 

If he doesn't want to discuss his sexuality, he should clarify that with his interviewer before. I'm sure they would reach an agreement easily. There's no need to say or print again and again all those useless words to avoid the subject. Once is enough, I just wish he stopped discussing it tout court, if that's his choice.

 

Or better, I wish he came out and end all the useless speculations.

That's clearly not what he wants to do and I 100% respect that.

Please forgive my lack of politeness, but I think we need a poster boy for homosexuality so badly and he's so amazingly talented, successful, smart, beautiful, down-to-earth! What better example could I possibly hope for?

 

On the other hand, by avoiding the subject, he's risking to become another unnecessary bad example for gay people instead.

Just look what happened recently with Darren Hayes, former frontman of Savage Garden: he came out at the same time he was fired from his record company, so that in the eye of the public the moral of this story is "as long as you're married to a woman, you're successful, but when you decide to jump out of the closet, you lose the fortune it took you so long to achieve".

 

I just wish him to be still at the top when he will find the balls to reply to his interviewer: "Yes, I'm gay and perfectly well-adjusted. That's all I'm going to say about the subject and I do not intend to discuss my lovelife in interviews, I already expose my feelings enough in my songs."

I guess I just found myself another excellent reason to keep supporting him and caring for him even more.

 

 

*hugs matt tightly*

 

where have ya been, luv? we missed ya. I mean it.

[stien]

I found the interview rather annoying... Is it just me?

 

If he doesn't want to discuss his sexuality, he should clarify that with his interviewer before. I'm sure they would reach an agreement easily. There's no need to say or print again and again all those useless words to avoid the subject. Once is enough, I just wish he stopped discussing it tout court, if that's his choice.

 

Or better, I wish he came out and end all the useless speculations.

That's clearly not what he wants to do and I 100% respect that.

Please forgive my lack of politeness, but I think we need a poster boy for homosexuality so badly and he's so amazingly talented, successful, smart, beautiful, down-to-earth! What better example could I possibly hope for?

 

On the other hand, by avoiding the subject, he's risking to become another unnecessary bad example for gay people instead.

Just look what happened recently with Darren Hayes, former frontman of Savage Garden: he came out at the same time he was fired from his record company, so that in the eye of the public the moral of this story is "as long as you're married to a woman, you're successful, but when you decide to jump out of the closet, you lose the fortune it took you so long to achieve".

 

I just wish him to be still at the top when he will find the balls to reply to his interviewer: "Yes, I'm gay and perfectly well-adjusted. That's all I'm going to say about the subject and I do not intend to discuss my lovelife in interviews, I already expose my feelings enough in my songs."

I guess I just found myself another excellent reason to keep supporting him and caring for him even more.

 

give it time...

and in the mean time: keep as supportive as you are.

 

That's exactly what I do