Mika in Lebanon - press

[RAK1]

I wish he'd take a photo of himself in it, I love the curves and chrome.

 

 

Not like the pic of him hanging out of the window (ala Dukes Of Hazzard style) in that Ford Capri.

For a pic in this car, as it's so elegant, it would have to be sitting in the car, with his arm resting on the window sill on the door.

God only knows WHAT he was thinking buying the Fiat 500!

I've seen one up close and even I would have trouble sitting comfortably in it, and I'm considerably shorter than Mika!

[katydid1994]

Not like the pic of him hanging out of the window (ala Dukes Of Hazzard style) in that Ford Capri.

For a pic in this car, as it's so elegant, it would have to be sitting in the car, with his arm resting on the window sill on the door.

God only knows WHAT he was thinking buying the Fiat 500!

I've seen one up close and even I would have trouble sitting comfortably in it, and I'm considerably shorter than Mika!

 

 

I know! I can't imagine, where does he put his legs?

 

Yes the Healy has an air of sophistication for sure.

[robertina]

Not like the pic of him hanging out of the window (ala Dukes Of Hazzard style) in that Ford Capri.

For a pic in this car, as it's so elegant, it would have to be sitting in the car, with his arm resting on the window sill on the door.

God only knows WHAT he was thinking buying the Fiat 500!

I've seen one up close and even I would have trouble sitting comfortably in it, and I'm considerably shorter than Mika!

 

oh i need to start a defence of this poor little car.....

you are all wrong...New Fiat500 is more or less like a normal city car...it's quite bigger than a Smart for instance.

 

it recalls the line and shape of the old model (i used to have one as my first car..........memories ) so it's a lovely vintage car, with all modern facilities and comforts.

 

i'm sure Mika can sit comfortably in it...and he can learn driving with it, cause it's small and easy. So come on Mika....

 

now, Mr Elkann...i want my pay!

[Fmbm]

He thinks he has love handles?!

 

Mika, I'm going to smack you.

 

You don't have love handles, you have hips and we love them

 

Your trainer just wants more money.

[robertina]

He thinks he has love handles?!

 

Mika, I'm going to smack you.

 

You don't have love handles, you have hips and we love them

 

Your trainer just wants more money.

 

quoted and agreed

[Mici]

Not like the pic of him hanging out of the window (ala Dukes Of Hazzard style) in that Ford Capri.

For a pic in this car, as it's so elegant, it would have to be sitting in the car, with his arm resting on the window sill on the door.

[SIZE=4]God only knows WHAT he was thinking buying the Fiat 500![/size]

I've seen one up close and even I would have trouble sitting comfortably in it, and I'm considerably shorter than Mika!

 

Maybe he got one for free after preforming at the Fiat 500 event in the london eye few months ago, we shall never know...

[Sivan]

He thinks he has love handles?!

 

Mika, I'm going to smack you.

 

You don't have love handles, you have hips and we love them

 

Your trainer just wants more money.

 

AGREE 100%

[dilek]

He thinks he has love handles?!

 

Mika, I'm going to smack you.

 

You don't have love handles, you have hips and we love them

 

Your trainer just wants more money.

 

wher did he say he has love handles?

 

and about the car, i thought they gave it to him for free:blink:

[Fmbm]

wher did he say he has love handles?

 

and about the car, i thought they gave it to him for free:blink:

 

Page 3....I think

[Mici]

He thinks he has love handles?!

 

Mika, I'm going to smack you.

 

You don't have love handles, you have hips and we love them

 

Your trainer just wants more money.

 

Exactly..

[robertina]

maybe here someone knows better than me

but i think they gave him the fiat 500 as part of his gig payment?

 

this could be the reason why he says he 'bought' it

...he worked to have it!

[dilek]

Page 3....I think

 

i'm lost i can't find it:blink:

 

anyway thanks:bleh:

 

maybe here someone knows better than me

but i think they gave him the fiat 500 as part of his gig payment?

 

this could be the reason why he says he 'bought' it

...he worked to have it!

 

hmm that makes sense:naughty:

[Mici]

maybe here someone knows better than me

but i think they gave him the fiat 500 as part of his gig payment?

 

this could be the reason why he says he 'bought' it

...he worked to have it!

 

Yes, as i mentioned this few posts before, this can be an option too.

[mari62]

what a waste

 

15???

oh dear...turn the number the other way round and you'll get them!

 

i think he takes it double cause it's NOT a real espresso....

come to italy mika...we will get you back on yr feet with a real one!

 

skinny boy ur a lil paranoid

 

it's not 4 how much beer u drink fool, try to wear less strict-on-flanks

 

He thinks he has love handles?!

 

Mika, I'm going to smack you.

 

You don't have love handles, you have hips and we love them

 

Your trainer just wants more money.

 

maybe here someone knows better than me

but i think they gave him the fiat 500 as part of his gig payment?

 

this could be the reason why he says he 'bought' it

...he worked to have it!

Agree with everything!

 

wher did he say he has love handles?

on page 2 exactly here: http://www.mikafanclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1684894&postcount=19

 

<<With plans to spend his birthday on August 18 mountain climbing in France, and endless fat-burning dance routines on stage you'd think Mika would have nothing to worry about when it comes to exercise and his weight. Think again.

 

"If there's one thing the world doesn't know about me it's that I have love handles. The world doesn't know about it because I didn't either. I love a drink or two but my trainer says the handles are appearing so I have to stop." >>

[hotdlp]

maybe here someone knows better than me

but i think they gave him the fiat 500 as part of his gig payment?

 

this could be the reason why he says he 'bought' it

...he worked to have it!

 

Maybe he got one for free after preforming at the Fiat 500 event in the london eye few months ago, we shall never know...

 

 

and about the car, i thought they gave it to him for free:blink:

 

Yup, I'm pretty sure he got it for performing at the Fiat Launch Party. All the 'celebrities' that attended got one.

[dilek]

on page 2 exactly here: http://www.mikafanclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1684894&postcount=19

 

<<With plans to spend his birthday on August 18 mountain climbing in France, and endless fat-burning dance routines on stage you'd think Mika would have nothing to worry about when it comes to exercise and his weight. Think again.

 

"If there's one thing the world doesn't know about me it's that I have love handles. The world doesn't know about it because I didn't either. I love a drink or two but my trainer says the handles are appearing so I have to stop." >>

 

 

mari you are something else:wub2:

 

haha in turkish slang we call it "life buoy" because it's at the same place and avoids you from drowning in the water:roftl:

[mari62]

 

mari you are something else:wub2:

 

haha in turkish slang we call it "life buoy" because it's at the same place and avoids you from drowning in the water:roftl:

 

I find anything.........I know............

[robertina]

ITN online

 

http://itn.co.uk/news/27f14f38ef2f4081f1e29654aca8328b.html

 

with little vid

[A. Clay]

Monkeys, plump ladies, and a four-octave range

Mika pops-up Martyrs Square with a show for all ages

By Eugene Yukin

Special to The Daily Star

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

 

Review

 

BEIRUT: Amid thousands of whispers and cheers of anticipation, a larger-than-life monkey holding a skull slowly steps out from behind the gigantic print of a clown's head and weaves to the front of the stage. Then it starts. Standing adjacent Beirut's Martyrs Square on Sunday night, international pop sensation Mika tries his hand at bringing his debut album "Life in Cartoon Motion" to life.

 

He does it well. In a concert that at times could have been confused with a circus show, Mika amused his fans with dazzling lights, huge multi-colored balloons, clowns and dancers in animal costume. Then, of course, there was the legendary four-octave range of Mika's voice.

 

The sold-out show (its tickets ranging from $33 to $200) lured thousands of people to watch the Lebanese-born pop singer kick off the Baalbek International Festival and with his first-ever Lebanon concert.

 

Starting off with "Relax, Take it Easy," Mika - resplendent in a white long shirt and tight black pants decked in multicolored glitter - works the crowd well, prancing around the stage, waving his hands and jumping up and down, only to run back to the piano to sing. With the first song finished and the crowd evidently pleased, Mika takes a minute to talk.

 

"Hello! I am very happy!" says the singer in accented Arabic, eliciting ecstatic cheers from the crowd.

 

This pop sensation has often been compared to the late-Freddy Mercury, lead singer of the legendary rock band Queen. Others have drawn comparisons between him and Elton John, Robbie Williams and David Bowie.

 

Born to a Lebanese mother and American father in 1983, Mika (aka Mica Penniman) was evacuated to Paris with his family at the age of one to escape the Lebanese Civil war. Though he wasn't raised here, Mika has always expressed pride in his Lebanese heritage. In a press conference a day before this concert, he took the opportunity to emphasize his ethnic roots.

 

"Anyone who is any part Lebanese will always tell you the same thing," Mika said, "that the Lebanese part completely takes over.

 

"I was always very proud of where I came from and who I am, and being Lebanese is a big part of that."

 

After leaving Lebanon, Mika attended Paris' LycŽe Franais Charles de Gaulle, where he says he was often harassed and bullied by other kids. Adding to his hardships was severe dyslexia, which caused a lot of problems with his teachers. By age 11 Mika dropped out of school. It was during this time that he discovered music.

 

In an interview with "OUT" magazine this year, Mika recalled this period. "My life was kind of falling apart," he said. "I was a complete outcast freak. I got into trouble for everything that I said, so I stopped talking. I got pulled out of school [and] didn't go for about seven, eight months, and during that time I started to learn how to sing because I had nothing else to do."

 

Mika's family later moved to England where he enrolled in a music school and was trained by a Russian opera singer. As a teenager, he began to earn money singing a jingle for Orbit chewing gum and writing music for British Airways.

 

Just two years ago Mika was relatively unknown. In 2006 he released his first single, "Relax, Take it Easy" but it was his other single, "Grace Kelly," that earned him international fame. The single reached number one in the UK singles chart in January 2007. Since then, Mika has enjoyed a tremendous following in the United States and Europe, where his concerts draw thousands of music fans.

 

"Are there any big girls in the crowd tonight?!" Mika shouts at his Beirut audience. Then he bursts into a rendition of "Big Girl," a song about obesity and fat women, accompanied by an inflatable twenty-five-foot-tall woman, rising at the back of the stage.

 

The audience looks on as a group of large women in tight, brightly colored short dresses progress towards them, holding a huge inflated balloon in the shape of soda cup with a straw. Next comes the inflated pizza. Thrown down to the fans, the cup and pizza find themselves bouncing up and down across the whole venue for the next thirty minutes of the show.

 

"I don't speak Arabic very well," the performer says in Arabic, "but I'm trying as best I can." His fans cheer their appreciation.

 

Mika then performs some other pieces from his debut album, such as "My interpretation," and "Billy Brown," a song about a married man who has a gay affair, "Stuck in the Middle" and "Grace Kelly."

 

After hugging a tall skeleton figure, Mika stands with a pink umbrella while confetti pours down on top of him giving the stage an other-worldly feel. The crowd is electrified as he begins to sing "Love Today". Towards the end of the song, the performer whips off his shirt and begins a lengthy drum solo with his drummer, banging against various metallic cans.

 

Though the crowd was obviously pleased with the performance - at least if their shouting and jumping and waving of Mika posters is anything to go by - the singer sometimes seemed to struggle to engage the audience. It wasn't that audience members didn't seem to like him, it simply seemed many did not know his lyrics well enough to sing along.

 

For his last tune, Mika performed "Relax, Take it Easy" one more time and bowed with his band members before taking leave of the stage. No one seemed to care that much. Distracted from Mika, the crowd gasped as a flame shot up slowly into the night sky and exploded in a multi-colored display. The grand fireworks display continuing to dazzle the concert-goers for another seven minutes. The dramatic finish left Mika's fans with more than their ticket's worth.

 

The Baalbek International Festival continues on August 2 (in Baalbek) with Astrid Hadad's show "Bizarre."

[robertina]

thanks A.Clay!

[robertina]

BBC news online

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7531444.stm

 

same stuff but still....it's on BBC!

[katydid1994]

Thanks for the Fiat info.

 

I am curious as to why he doesn't try to drive. I would be frustrated to have a car and never drive it.

[RAK1]

Thanks for the Fiat info.

 

I am curious as to why he doesn't try to drive. I would be frustrated to have a car and never drive it.

 

 

I think he prefers to be driven. Lets face it you get to sit back and relax, without the hassle of dealing with the other drivers. Who wouldn't prefer it?

[iadoremika]

Breakfast: Double espresso, hot milk, boiled egg (3 mins and 40 seconds), Ryvita, labneh, hummus and cucumber.

I had that! It's nice. The package said "soft white cheese" said had labneh as well (though I didn't know what that meant...now I do). It's delicious.

[katydid1994]

I had that! It's nice. The package said "soft white cheese" said had labneh as well (though I didn't know what that meant...now I do). It's delicious.

 

Is it like a spread? Does it taste sweet? cheesy?