greta Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Freddie Mercury-influenced falsetto says his operatic dance music shares nothing in common with the pop R & B sound http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastlife/story.html?id=65c3a4d3-8353-4b8b-b3ea-0e1314349771 On a plane back to London at the end of his world tour last year, Mika was sitting next to Miss Cayman Islands, a beauty queen, and the two got to practising for the interview part of her pageant program. "I started making up questions for her and, ... I asked if she could be any kitchen appliance, what would she be," the 24-year-old musician recalls. The beauty queen became flummoxed, before a light bulb went off. "It was as if she had discovered the theory of relativity. She shouted, 'I would be a blender because I'm accepting of different cultures!' She looked so proud of herself that I just started to laugh. I don't want to take this all too seriously. Sometimes I feel like that pageant queen." Mika Penniman is a flamboyant British singer-songwriter and showman, and his debut album, Life in Cartoon Motion, sold four million records. The Freddie Mercury-influenced falsetto, who was born in Beirut, says his optimistic, operatic dance music shares nothing in common with Justin Timberlake's or Amy Winehouse's pop R & B sound. "I've only managed to do well because I don't fit into any preconceived category or pigeonhole," he says. "I created my own world and my own marketplace and, really, do my own thing because it's all I've ever known how to do." Growing up, Mika evacuated Lebanon for Paris with his family. His dad was on business in Kuwait during the Gulf War and became trapped in the American Embassy for almost a year. The family then moved to London, where the dyslexic middle child was relentlessly bullied at school. "I think going through all that had to inform what I do," he says, adding that it was music that helped him break out of his shell. He got his first job at the Royal Opera House at 11 and has been performing ever since. "I put all of that into my album, which is a schoolyard album, really -- it's about finding your feet and growing up." The album, which Mika wrote, produced, played keyboards on and commissioned his sister to draw the bubblegum artwork for, becomes a celebration when performed on-stage. The singer, who plays the Orpheum Friday, is happy to be playing for a Canadian audience. "A lot of the elements of the show began in Canada," he says, referring specifically to the evening's climax, in which musicians take the stage in animal costumes à la the Flaming Lips. "I was in a shop in Toronto in these overpriced designer clothes and, looking around at the costumes, decided I really preferred the furry suits." But even if the singer's disco inferno borders on kitsch, he's also quick to point out that his entire operation, like a Cayman Islands beauty queen, amounts to little more than a kitchen blender held together by quality songs. "I stretch things as far as I can, but if the music isn't good, everything seems stupid," he says. "If you're not playing great and you're dressed as a chicken, you look like a real s---head, you know?" - - - AT A GLANCE Mika The Orpheum Friday, 7 p.m. $39.50 © The Vancouver Sun 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaaloverr Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 "If you're not playing great and you're dressed as a chicken, you look like a real s---head, you know?" :roftl: Great article, thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenie Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Thanks for posting, gre! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcdeb Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Great article but it was already posted a few weeks ago: http://www.mikafanclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12409 dcdeb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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