greta Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 By Howard Cohen Doing things his own way works for tough Grammy-nominated singer c Clatchy Newspapers The sound of Mika Penniman's debut album, "Life in Cartoon Motion," celebrates the aspects of pop music that sullen, corporate-created artists have studiously avoided during recent years: the fun, melody, creativity and dignity. The album blends arch, witty storytelling with catchy tunes that are disco-oriented one moment, glam rock the next, with multitracked vocal chorales recalling prime Queen without the heavy metal bombast. The hit single "Grace Kelly" even offers a shout-out to the late, flamboyant Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. Fans can catch the performer when he plays Seattle's Showbox SoDo at 7 p.m. Feb. 14. Despite mainstream pop radio program directors' obsession with machine-driven urban fare, Mika, 24, has succeeded in the United States. "Life in Cartoon Motion" has offered hits "Grace Kelly" and "Love Today." And "Lollipop," an album track, has seen its share of downloads, according to Joel Klaiman, senior vice president of promotion and artist development for Universal Republic. "Relax (Take It Easy)" released Dec. 12 of last year. On Sunday, Mika will go up against his fellow musicians at the Grammy Awards. "Love Today" is nominated for best dance recording, and the artist is competing with the likes of Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and The Chemical Brothers. Mika's Day-Glo music, not unlike Scissor Sisters' retro dance pop which similarly went over big in England before inching across the Atlantic, "creates different challenges for a label," Klaiman says. "It's not a record flying up the urban charts, or he's not an artist getting exposure on 'American Idol' ... but music fans who can hear it appreciate that it's catchy and fun and bringing back a great old-time pop quality." The Beirut-born, Paris and London-bred singer, who designed his colorfully illustrated CD booklet with older sister Yasmine, says he is up for the challenge of competing for a spot on the pop charts. He already has been through enough in his brief life to make that battle seem insignificant. Mika - the third of five children born to a U.S. businessman and a Lebanese mother - and his family fled to France in 1984 at the height of the Lebanese civil war. His father had been held pris oner for seven months inside Kuwait's U.S. embassy. A few years later, at age 9, Mika was living in London with his family. Dyslexic and bullied, Mika stopped speaking. His mother suggested music as therapy, and he became something of a child singing prodigy, performing at the Royal Opera House and finding his voice in popular music. His parents' record collection served as fuel: Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Serge Gainsbourg, French songs, Arabic music. Today, Mika speaks English, French and some Spanish, he says. Despite his musical gifts, nobody in the business knew what to do with him, and he faced constant rejection. Thus was born "Grace Kelly," a defiant song to the music business honcho who offered Mika a deal, but only if he changed his style to sound more like other established pop singers such as Craig David or Robbie Williams. "The music I was making was seen as unmarketable and unsellable and unplayable on radio. Every door was slammed in my face. I was rejected by the indie scene because I had a fascination with the 3 1/2 -minute pop song, and I really wanted to make songs that told stories but were intensely melodic. I was working for a big music company in the U.K. who told me they'd support me if I agreed to write some more normal hit pop songs, and that made no sense to me. So I went home furious and instead of telling them where to stick it I wrote "Grace Kelly" instead. That's where the line, 'Should I bend over/Should I look older/Just to be put on the shelf?' comes from." Two weeks later, Mika says, he met Miami-based singer-songwriter Jodi Marr, and the two formed an alliance. "I was only able to go to Miami d uring my vacations, and so we ended up writing a new bridge in Miami while sitting in Barry Gibb's studio, Middle Ear, and hiding in people's studios from the warehouse district in North Miami to Barry's studio... We got caught and thrown out of there. It took us about a year to demo four songs. It was a crash course for me in how to make pop songs." Universal Republic ultimately allowed Mika to make the sort of album he envisioned. "From the minute we heard it, we knew it was special," Universal's Klaiman says. "In today's changing landscape of music, we often look for things that are special, diverse, eccentric, and I think Mika embodies all of that." see the show What: Singer-songwriter Mika performs pop and indie rock Where: Showbox SoDo in Seattle When: 7 p.m. Feb. 14 Tickets: Start at $25 More information: www.ticketmaster.com, www.mikasounds.com/uk.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatagordinha Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 T4Pg All hail Queen Greta of Google! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greta Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 T4Pg All hail Queen Greta of Google! luv! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miek Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 luv! Greta, you a are great !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greta Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 Greta, you a are great !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenie Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Go to study, Gre!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. Clay Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 A VALENTINE FOR MIKA? This Is A Really Nice Review: http://www.theolympian.com/entertainment/story/351734-p2.html The Reviews Are Getting Better & Better! Mika's Tour Is A Smash Hit! THIS IS A "PRE-VIEW" FOR THE CONCERT IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON ON FEB. 14th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiza Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Thank you once again greta! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louiza Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 A VALENTINE FOR MIKA?This Is A Really Nice Review: http://www.theolympian.com/entertainment/story/351734-p2.html The Reviews Are Getting Better & Better! Mika's Tour Is A Smash Hit! THIS IS A "PRE-VIEW" FOR THE CONCERT IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON ON FEB. 14th. Thaks for posting Alice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elanorelle Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 A VALENTINE FOR MIKA?This Is A Really Nice Review: http://www.theolympian.com/entertainment/story/351734-p2.html The Reviews Are Getting Better & Better! Mika's Tour Is A Smash Hit! THIS IS A "PRE-VIEW" FOR THE CONCERT IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON ON FEB. 14th. THANKYOU!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS CONCERT! WOOT! THANKS GRETA! LOVE YOU! :wub2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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