Interview in German magazine "Jetzt"

[iadoremika]

What the heck? Mika totally just ripped out part of my brain and said it in that interview. I See You is EXACTLY the situation I was in this year- I wasted a perfectly good opportunity.

[silver]

What the heck? Mika totally just ripped out part of my brain and said it in that interview. I See You is EXACTLY the situation I was in this year- I wasted a perfectly good opportunity.

 

I think we've all been there ...

[mikalollipop_karla]

I think we've all been there ...

 

awww

[Neiobi]

Do I have the permission to say what I think about the story of I See You? I mean, how I identify myself with it...

I feel like letting it out even though it's a bit personal for me..

[Fmbm]

Do I have the permission to say what I think about the story of I See You? I mean, how I identify myself with it...

I feel like letting it out even though it's a bit personal for me..

 

I guess it's up to you

[Neiobi]

I guess it's up to you

 

I dunno if it's worth it.. And I think it may get a bit ridiculous... Hm:aah:

[Fmbm]

I dunno if it's worth it.. And I think it may get a bit ridiculous... Hm:aah:

 

You can PM me if it makes you feel better

[Neiobi]

You can PM me if it makes you feel better

 

Can I? Thanks:wub2:

It's just that I see that a lot of people on here identify themselves with this but in my life and circle of friends there's no one who feels like me or admits it so I need to.. Talk:aah:

I'll do so..

[Fmbm]

Can I? Thanks:wub2:

It's just that I see that a lot of people on here identify themselves with this but in my life and circle of friends there's no one who feels like me or admits it so I need to.. Talk:aah:

I'll do so..

 

Of course you can

I'm not very good when it comes to giving advice and stuff, but maybe I could help, if it's needed?

[Neiobi]

Of course you can

I'm not very good when it comes to giving advice and stuff, but maybe I could help, if it's needed?

 

Aw

If you want to:biggrin2: You can say what do you think about being in the situation Mika describes on the song... I'd like to hear that..

[Soaring Simpson]

Thanks Mellody and Harlequeen- that's a lovely interview, though rather sad. I think he's a bit young to conclude he's not good at long term relationships though

Edited August 12, 2009 by Soaring Simpson

[mari62]

Thank you Mellody and Harlequeen!

Interesting interview

[lollipop_monkey]

Is the new song "I see you" about you falling in love?

Yes, but in someone, whom I've never met. It's about how I sit there liking someone at the other end of the room, but do not dare to walk over and say "Hello". This is typical for me. If I‘d tell you now that I fancy you, you would laugh at me or punch me. Thus I protect myself by just staring. That’s how I am.

 

You don’t say?

Erm, yes, that’s how it goes. But I start imagining what could be. In my head I shoot really hot movies. When I meet this person again, it's almost like a second date. But I just stare.

 

Aww, that's so sad. I've got a friend who's just like that - he's a great person, a fantastic "catch" - but almost always single because he's so shy, and so bone terrified of rejection - terrified to the point of being relationship-paralyzed.

 

(Oh and he's a Mika fan, too, if anyone is interested. )

 

Does Mika still truly believe that any given object of his desire would react terribly to his interest? I wonder, and if so, why he still feels that way.

 

In "Blame it on the Girls' you complain about a guy who has everything but is still dissatisfied. Who is it? You yourself? Someone in the music business?

Oh, the other musicians and pop stars are all stupid. You never see who these people really are, they pretend. Also, these people very quickly become your friends, but just as quickly you lose sight of them again. I don’t want to find friends in music business.

 

I've had this theory that Mika might be slow to warm to people, but when he does, he likes to hold onto them long-term. This comment sort of implies that, IMHO.

 

just saw that and it reminded me that i should have commented on the breakfast info. broccoli for brekfast:aah:

 

Eww!

 

I can sort of understand, though. I usually wake up too groggy to cook, yet too ravenous not to forage for something. I'm sure I've eaten fish and broccoli for breakfast before.

 

Reminds me of being in South Korea and we used to have fish and peppers and other totally random stuff for breakfast , takes some getting used to

 

I didn't know you were in South Korea! When was this?

 

I dunno if it's worth it.. And I think it may get a bit ridiculous... Hm:aah:

 

I'm listening, if you'd like to share... and I'm sure others are, too.

[suzie]

I'll give it a try, if my english is strange, feel free to laugh

 

"I'm not a mummy boy!"

Text: steffen-Ruether Photo: Julian Broad

The British singer Mika still lives with his parents. A visit to his room.

 

The meeting place for an interview with Mica Penniman is unusual: Mika's room. The 25-year-old son of a Lebanese and an American occupies the basement of his parents house in London's upmarket/noble/posh? district Kensington (?don’t know what works best). Unusual enough. But that Mama Penniman – still sweating after her gymnastic exercises - makes coffee, the little brother checks whether Mika is finally done showering, and a painter is bustling around painting the skirting on the ground floor in pink, gives sort of a cinematic feel to the scene.

 

Meanwhile, one floor below, Mika has made himself comfortable on the sofa with his fish and broccoli breakfast. The bed is made, he has lots of cartoon characters/figures?, a colorful bike and a piano. "I'm not a mummy boy," he says, "even if people laugh, because I live in my parents basement/cellar." He had simply not had time to look for a home of his own. After the huge success of his debut album "Life in Cartoon Motion" with hits like "Grace Kelly" and "Relax, Take It Easy" Mika toured around the world for one and a half years, then he recorded his new CD "We Are Golden" in Los Angeles (which will be released in September). "I'm now saving for a home of my own," says Mika, "but unfortunately, prices in London are still far too high."

 

 

Two years ago you became one of the biggest pop stars in the world. How much did it get to your head? (durchdrehen usually would be ‚lose it‘ or something like that, but I’m not sure if it would fit here)

The success went to my head, yes. But in other ways than I had expected.

 

Namely?

I became even more solitary, more reserved, more cautious than before. I've been even more closed. The fact that I was touring all the time kept me sane. I just always thought of the next show and the next town. This was what I would concentrate on. It reminded me of the time when I was a child. With 11 years I was out of school for half a year, because I was on tour with theater and operas and song shows. I had to be very disciplined when I sang opera back then. But this discipline has benefited me now. It saved me. (lol this feels like badly translated in the first run and now it becomes even more bad translating it back).

 

The more famous you become, the more reclusive you are?

Yes, it is. I had to do that, to be able to write songs. The more you reveal about yourself, the less will remain as subjects for your songs. Because you want them to be a bit mysterious. Communicating freely and honestly I can best in my songs. That‘s why I protect myself and my energy and my life. If this is taken from me, it would be the end of my creativity.

 

Is the new song "I see you" about you falling in love?

Yes, but in someone, whom I've never met. It's about how I sit there liking someone at the other end of the room, but do not dare to walk over and say "Hello". This is typical for me. If I‘d tell you now that I fancy you, you would laugh at me or punch me. Thus I protect myself by just staring. That’s how I am.

 

You don’t say?

Erm, yes, that’s how it goes. But I start imagining what could be. In my head I shoot really hot movies. When I meet this person again, it's almost like a second date. But I just stare.

 

So you're really shy?

Oh yes, terrible, ich bin ein ganz übler Aufreißer??? (out of context it would be I'm a badass player but I guess he said he was bad at hitting on someone) Completely useless. And you?

 

Me too. I need to be approached in the first place, otherwise nothing happens.

See! Then you know how it is.

 

Does your shyness bug you?

Depends on my mood and time of day.

 

You always seem to be cagey about your love life. Because you have none?

Oh, there is a love life. But not of a sort I‘m proud of. I just don’t manage to build a steady, lasting relationship. Maybe I‘m not made for it, I don‘t know. I just know that I would protect my relationship. There would be no photos in magazines, or Home Stories.

 

Most think you are gay. But you don’t talk about your sexual preferences. Why not?

Because for me there is no difference whether I'm gay or not. May be it’s strange to protect ones life like that. And I don‘t claim that my way is the right one. But it is my way.

 

In "Blame it on the Girls' you complain about a guy who has everything but is still dissatisfied. Who is it? You yourself? Someone in the music business?

Oh, the other musicians and pop stars are all stupid. You never see who these people really are, they pretend. Also, these people very quickly become your friends, but just as quickly you lose sight of them again. I don’t want to find friends in music business.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for the translation

It must have been difficult to translate it back to English but it all makes sense, so well done:thumb_yello:

[FREDDIESDOUBLE]

Thanks for translating ! , a nice quirky interview I likes

 

Lollipop_Monkey .. when I was 25 ... worked for LG and was sent there for training and to learn the "culture" .. quite a time

[Christine]

I'll give it a try, if my english is strange, feel free to laugh

 

Oh thanks for this! I didn't realize the full translation was here until just now.

 

It makes more sense than some of the things in the Observer interview so well done.

 

Thanks Mellody and Harlequeen- that's a lovely interview, though rather sad. I think he's a bit young to conclude he's not good at long term relationships though

 

It didn't sound like a conclusion to me, just speculation. If he's been trying (and failing) for the past 10 years I can see why he'd consider it a possibility.

[mellody]

well some people (especially guys) at his age are just not ready YET for a steady relationship. maybe he thinks he should have one but it just doesn't fit to his current personality?

 

i remembered another thing he once said, "i flirt with everything, no matter if it's a tree or a coffee cup" - it's a bit of a contradiction to the i see you story, isn't it?

[Christine]

i remembered another thing he once said, "i flirt with everything, no matter if it's a tree or a coffee cup" - it's a bit of a contradiction to the i see you story, isn't it?

 

Well I'm sensing a few contradictions with this interview. I wish he'd give video interviews with real substance because I never know how to interpret these written ones. But they seem to be the only ones with any kind of insight into his personality and his thoughts.

[xlindee]

Having a stable relationship while being famous and touring around the whole world is hard anyway. It's a fact. It just puts a lot of pressure on your relationship.

 

Oh and yes, it's a bit of a contradiction to the I see you story. But it can be this is what he was like when he was a teenager, and now he flirts with everyone? Like, that he got more confident with the years?

 

Or maybe he flirts with everyone, but when he's really interested and when it comes to it, he gets shy? I've got a friend who is like that.

[FREDDIESDOUBLE]

Having a stable relationship while being famous and touring around the whole world is hard anyway. It's a fact. It just puts a lot of pressure on your relationship.

 

Oh and yes, it's a bit of a contradiction to the I see you story. But it can be this is what he was like when he was a teenager, and now he flirts with everyone? Like, that he got more confident with the years?

 

Or maybe he flirts with everyone, but when he's really interested and when it comes to it, he gets shy? I've got a friend who is like that.

 

Thats interesting ... I think for sure he has got more confidence

[B!anka]

Having a stable relationship while being famous and touring around the whole world is hard anyway. It's a fact. It just puts a lot of pressure on your relationship.

 

Oh and yes, it's a bit of a contradiction to the I see you story. But it can be this is what he was like when he was a teenager, and now he flirts with everyone? Like, that he got more confident with the years?

 

Or maybe he flirts with everyone, but when he's really interested and when it comes to it, he gets shy? I've got a friend who is like that.

 

He sure does that...I mean...it's sounds like the best explanation for it!

[Gatagordinha]

Thanks for the translation harlequeen (which was very good btw, no need to be apologetic at all!)

 

Does Mika still truly believe that any given object of his desire would react terribly to his interest? I wonder, and if so, why he still feels that way.

 

I wonder if it stems from his experience of being rejected by his peers as a child. That rejection may not have been romantic but it was still rejection. From what he says, it does appear he still has a hard time believing that people like him. I can relate to that, from my own experience of bullying at school. It stays with you your whole life, on some level .

 

It didn't sound like a conclusion to me, just speculation. If he's been trying (and failing) for the past 10 years I can see why he'd consider it a possibility.

 

well some people (especially guys) at his age are just not ready YET for a steady relationship. maybe he thinks he should have one but it just doesn't fit to his current personality?

 

He is still so young! Of course, when you are 26, you don't think you're still young. It's all relative isn't it. But I am 40 now and when I think back to when I was 26, from my perspective now, I see that I still had so much growing up and developing to do, emotionally (some would say you never stop growing up ). So yes, objectively speaking it's too young for Mika to make the conclusion that he isn't made for steady relationships but of course, he will feel differently because he is 26. Nearly .

 

 

i remembered another thing he once said, "i flirt with everything, no matter if it's a tree or a coffee cup" - it's a bit of a contradiction to the i see you story, isn't it?

 

Or maybe he flirts with everyone, but when he's really interested and when it comes to it, he gets shy? I've got a friend who is like that.

 

There is such a world of difference between flirting, and making a serious emotional connnection with someone. SO much difference. So I don't see this as a contradiction at all. And yes, you can be a flirt and yet also deeply shy.

[xlindee]

Some people think they aren't made for stable relationships, but there can always be a person who will change that. It can always change.

 

Personally I also think you never stop growing up. Your mind always keeps on developing I think. Your emotions and thoughts..

 

Ofcourse he thinks he isn't good in stable relationships. He's 26 and considers himself as old and wise enough. Ofcourse he's young. But 40 is also young, compared to 70 or 80. It just depends what you compare it too.

Besides, a lot of teenagers also think they know everything.

[Moonlightchild]

Thanks girls for posting and for the description and for the translation.

 

You know, this is what I always was afraid off.

When I first knew about Mika,I was reading all the interviews or watching them on youtube.

And I was thinking back then"poor guy,he has have a lonely childhood and now he's becoming so famous and that can be lonely as well.

If his success keeps on growing,he will never have a normal life.

Being famous can be the same as;fake friends,few ones to trust,loneliness.

For his dream and talent I was(and still am) hoping he would become a superstar but for his personal life/feelings,I kinda didn't want it.

[Moonlightchild]

well some people (especially guys) at his age are just not ready YET for a steady relationship. maybe he thinks he should have one but it just doesn't fit to his current personality?

 

i remembered another thing he once said, "i flirt with everything, no matter if it's a tree or a coffee cup" - it's a bit of a contradiction to the i see you story, isn't it?

I think it's more like a habit that you do when you like someone but not intended.

But when you really interested in some one(romantically) or totally in love,you can't do it.

I was like that,I used to be a flirt,with my friends and so but it was just flirting but when I had feelings for some one,I didn't even dare to talk to that person