Daily Star: Kick Ass review

[dcdeb]

Thank you all for this very interesting discussion! I'm really enjoying hearing so many different viewpoints -- so many of you are touching on things that I've thought myself, so it's good to know I'm not alone. But also you're bringing up counterpoints that I hadn't thought of, so that's quite good, too!

 

Just a few more comments from me:

 

Seriously, Mika's promoters can't take all the blame here. Mika is very good to his hardcore fans who turn up at gigs but he is hot and cold and very inconsistent to his general fanbase. He doesn't utilize the internet the way he could at all. It is the internet where he will reach the millions of people who would buy his albums, not outside a venue signing a few autographs.

 

I can't help but agree with you, Christine. We are here, and we are quite

literally *starved* for some internet-type attention from Mika. And I

don't think he realizes that even a little goes a long way. That night

a few weeks ago when he went on a random tweeting spree made so

many fans happy and excited, and his number of followers went up that

night accordingly. People love that kind of attention, and the excitement

over it is contagious. Granted, number of Twitter followers does not

necessarily equate to record or concert ticket sales, but it doesn't hurt.

It gets the word out.

 

Same with the blogs/vlogs... as I think Sosi pointed out elsewhere,

when Mika's talking and writing about

what he's interested in, those topics come up on other fans' internet

searches, and maybe they get exposed to Mika when they ordinarily

wouldn't. Look at how many Boyzone fans we drew over here

when Gave it All Away came out. I'm hopeful that many of them who

came here stayed because they discovered how great Mika was, too.

I think the same sort of thing happened every time Mika blogged about

a different subject -- we got new members signing up who stumbled upon

us that way. Again, more fans registered here doesn't necessarily mean more

sales, but... it might

 

 

I have almost no idea how promo is arranged, but I'd guess it's partly Team Mika and partly the record label. I suspect that getting the radio interviews and TV appearaces is down to Team Mika (and I think they did quite well), while the label arrange timing of release and videos etc. It has occurred to me that Mika might be paying the price for not producing an album when the label wanted it. I don't doubt it was a good choice- but given that budgets are limited, Universal might be tilting its expenditure towards artists who produce the goods when asked.

 

I really like a lot of what you say here, Sosi. I think Mika has had a lot of

great promo opportunities -- even here in the States, they've gotten him

on some really important shows, including Letterman, Jay Leno, and Ellen.

That's a lot of exposure. I think the problem has been in the follow-up.

I focus on the US because that's what I see first-hand, and it confuses me.

He performed Blame it on the Girls on Letterman and Ellen back in

October 2009, right? When was the single released? Oh, that's right,

it really WASN'T released in the US at all -- at least not as a physical

single, not even as a download, except as part of the album. So that's the

only way people were going to be able buy that awesome new single

they heard that fantastic new pop star singing on Ellen.

That didn't make sense to me.

 

Along with that, I have seen NO print ads for Mika anywhere here, so unless

he happens to catch some reviewer's ear, he gets hardly any press at all.

It seems to me that the only way people hear about him here is by

word of mouth, friends, or often from music bloggers --

Perez Hilton, Arjan Writes, etc. Again, getting back to the internet connection...

 

I just think, as I said earlier, it makes more sense to support an artist's

live performances and even TV performances with the actual release of

a single -- or vice versa, support the single release with TV/live performances.

In Mika's case there seems to be some kind of disconnect

-- they do the video, tell us the single is coming, and then make us wait

6-8 weeks before we can even buy it, IF we can even buy it. The logic

escapes me.

[Christine]

It has occurred to me that Mika might be paying the price for not producing an album when the label wanted it. I don't doubt it was a good choice- but given that budgets are limited, Universal might be tilting its expenditure towards artists who produce the goods when asked.

 

The problem here is that (as far as certain markets are concerned) Mika didn't produce the goods AT ALL. They were expecting an album that was going to fly off the shelves like LICM. It didn't.

 

I only agree to a certain extent about twitter- you have to give a bit of thought to really appreciate mika's albums, so I'm not sure Justin Bieber's a reasonable comparator. (Though I must admit I don't know any of his songs)

 

Yeah Justin Bieber's songs are not high art let me tell you.

 

But IMO neither are a lot of Mika's songs and people do not need to appreciate his albums on that level in order to buy them in any case. And that's what we're talking about here - Mika appealing to the masses and being as popular as someone like Justin Bieber. Not Mika appealing to a tiny segment of the population who analyzes songs before downloading them. As Camille suggested, his songs are popular in non-English speaking countries because people love the melodies and not because they feel a deep connection with the lyrics.

 

I've got a firm grasp on the English language and I feel the same about many of his songs, especially from LICM. It was the melodies and his voice that appealed to me and I used to perceive his voice as another instrument in an instrumental piece more than anything. I remember at the first gig I noticed he was pulling at his braces while singing Big Girl and I thought "Aw, braces!" I had just never even given any thought to the lyrics (and whether he singing about teeth braces or American suspenders) before. It just wasn't important to me when I bought the album.

 

I agree on the internet thing, I mean Mika was mostly discovered by the mass through MySpace, he now has the ability to reach many people with Twitter, his website etc. but he doesn't because he feels that it's invading his privacy and takes away the mystery but it doesn't have to if he is clever and we all know he is.

 

Mika is the only one who jeopardizes his privacy by tweeting things he shouldn't. No one forces him to log in at inappropriate times and post rubbish.

 

Sticking with the JB example, Bieber is not posting about what he's eating for lunch or whatever either. He's telling his fans what he's doing on a professional level and acknowledging them as a group and as individuals constantly. When they moan at him that he doesn't read their tweets, he doesn't shut off Twitter for a month, he retweets and says "I see you :-)"

 

Sure Twitter is a more natural medium for a 16 year old kid than a 26 year old man, but there are other ways that Mika could tell his fans that he literally hears them and appreciates them on a regular basis. He created an entire website, seemingly for that purpose, and yet he doesn't appear to even log into it!

 

Well I had to explain that word quite literaly (first to Christine) just to avoid the misunderstanding of my post. But obviously it couldn't help so much. Of course it has no such dramatic meaning as you put it well, nor I've intended to use it that way, on the contrary.

 

Sorry but I still am not clear on what you were trying to say, regardless of how you want to define the word xenophobic.

 

I can't really speak for any country other than my own:

 

I know why he hasn't done well here, and it's no surprise really. All of the advertising is directed at "larger" countries and areas like the UK and Europe as well as the USA. Because the music trends of the world are largely dictated by those countries/areas (mainly USA) we don't get a lot of advertising here unless they're major artists.

 

When I was living in Joburg (in 1997) SA was getting the MTV feed from the UK so those were the songs I noticed were popular. Is that still the case or do you have your own music TV stations?

[Soaring Simpson]

Yes, he was called Mica from an early age and that is the name he used in secondary school as well and it obviously comes from Michael but there was a good reason he choose to stay with that / the version with K when figuring out what the name he will use as a pop star.

 

I don’t think that the general public finds Mika attractive. People most certainly did not find WAG sexy, but I agree with your point of the live video. It would work with any song, actually. Mika is cute, amazing and irresistable live.

 

Yes, that's what I was trying to say- though incidentally, he's said a few times that he changed the "c" to a "k" to stop people pronouncing it "Mike-ah"- I must admit it didn't work with me- that's how I pronounced it for ages (I'm not a big radio listener)

 

Now the British public DID like the WAG video. They liked the self deprecating humour of it. He did get a sexy pic posted in Heat mag. I realise no-one's agreeing with me, which is fine, but I think Mika's style changed between the that and Rain- in an overstyled way that tends not to go down too well in the UK.

 

The problem here is that (as far as certain markets are concerned) Mika didn't produce the goods AT ALL. They were expecting an album that was going to fly off the shelves like LICM. It didn't.

 

But IMO neither are a lot of Mika's songs and people do not need to appreciate his albums on that level in order to buy them in any case. And that's what we're talking about here - Mika appealing to the masses and being as popular as someone like Justin Bieber. Not Mika appealing to a tiny segment of the population who analyzes songs before downloading them. As Camille suggested, his songs are popular in non-English speaking countries because people love the melodies and not because they feel a deep connection with the lyrics.

 

Sure Twitter is a more natural medium for a 16 year old kid than a 26 year old man, but there are other ways that Mika could tell his fans that he literally hears them and appreciates them on a regular basis. He created an entire website, seemingly for that purpose, and yet he doesn't appear to even log into it!

 

Sorry but I still am not clear on what you were trying to say, regardless of how you want to define the word xenophobic.

 

Agreed- I was just suggesting that the label might be saying "well we told you you needed to release it a year ago" and they might be right. (Though if he wasn't happy with the songs, I think Mika was also right- but it's a shame).

 

I must admit I'm not really talking about people who actually do thoughtfully analyse songs, just people who like to be perceived that way.

 

It seems to me there are two mutually exclusive basic ways of coming accross as cool- either the "I'm young, I'm the latest" Justin Bieber/ boyband way, or the "I'm original creative thoughtful" way. I do believe that part of The Boy's problem is that Mika is going from one to the other. Mika's songs sound cheerful, he's getting a bit old for the tweenie market IMO (sorry, but I think that's life), a lot of the adults in the UK who don't follow celebrity gossip (and Mika is not good tabloid fuel) tend not to like to feel they're buying into something inane- and Mika, in interviews and his blogs, (video and written, but you presumably need a cameraman for a vlog) shows he's far from that.

 

Sort of linked, it seems to me that there are artists whose success depends on producing "more of same" with every album, and others who's success depends on producing something sufficiently different each time (that's an oversimplification, but I think it's helpful). Chatting to people I know, they seem to have not paid much attention to TheBoy, cos they expect it to be more of same. (That probably goes with producing albums soon after each other too) I think Mika needs to get accross the fact that he's not that sort of artist.

 

I'm certainly not suggesting he shouldn't tweet though. To be honest, I think it's more important that he's consistent than what exactly he does. Perhaps consistency is not his number one virtue.

 

Incidentally I tend to get into bands AFTER reading or hearing interviews. I think "wow, interesting person, let's see how they get that into their art" rather than "love that song, lets hear another." Weird maybe

 

All I was trying to say about xenophobia, was that although the dictionary definition Shine quoted is correct, it's misleading, as the word is (correctly) used in England the way Bab used it.

 

I'm really enjoying this discussion though- there's intelligent disagreement but no-one's taking offense.

[IngievV]

Mika is the only one who jeopardizes his privacy by tweeting things he shouldn't. No one forces him to log in at inappropriate times and post rubbish.

 

Sticking with the JB example, Bieber is not posting about what he's eating for lunch or whatever either. He's telling his fans what he's doing on a professional level and acknowledging them as a group and as individuals constantly. When they moan at him that he doesn't read their tweets, he doesn't shut off Twitter for a month, he retweets and says "I see you :-)"

 

Sure Twitter is a more natural medium for a 16 year old kid than a 26 year old man, but there are other ways that Mika could tell his fans that he literally hears them and appreciates them on a regular basis. He created an entire website, seemingly for that purpose, and yet he doesn't appear to even log into it!

 

True, I mean, Mika didn't quite make us all very happy with those "I took pills and feel so weird" tweets. But not only Justin Bieber is good at it, Lady Gaga also knows how to work it on Twitter, constantly mentioning how much she loves her Little Monsters and replying to videos made by fans. Mika doesn't ever do that, he barely speaks about his fans, when he does do it, he says something like: "Some of my fans are not so nice, but most of my fans are amazing" That's, however true, not a particular smart way of saying it. And I know that Mika does love his fans, the fans that not sleep on his doorstep that is, because when I asked him for a shout out for my site, I only asked if he could say something like: Hi this is Mika and you're visiting Mikafans.net and he just went on about how he appreciated it and stuff and that is amazing for me, amazing for the fans who visit, but it doesn't reach the general public.

 

Mika needs to get more in touch with the fans and I'm not saying he should start posting here as it would go mental, I mean Katy Perry has an account on Katyperryforum.com and we had to shut down her PM box because everyone goes mental whenever she posts, but just more in touch. More blogs, more vlogs. I know that Lady Gaga often visits her own fansites, tweets about them, sends the owners emails about how much she loves the sites and she's much more involved. And ofcourse, Mika is a bit distant for his own reasons, maybe even because he can be a bit shy, but it wouldn't hurt if he keeps us updated some more.

 

And about the sexy thing, I don't think that will work for Mika. Yeah we all think he's a sexah biatch, but he's not really your typical stud is he? And seriously, when he starts using video ho's for his next single, I'm outta here:roftl:

[IngievV]

I think that one of the biggest mistakes Mika could make this time, is going away for ANOTHER 2 years. And yeah I know he released Songs For Sorrow, but it wasn't for the general public as well, as only the real fans really knew about it. So if I were Mika, I'd do something like Gaga, releasing a new cd in the meantime, with say 8 new songs, maybe like the Fame Monster a double disc with also the Boy and then he'd have enough material until he's ready to release the real third album.

[CazGirl]

I like Rain, but I never understood that video. There was no story in it. If the break up story was so important for him, then he should have made the vid. about it.

 

And I agree about the live videos - I loved the vids for "Love today" and GKelly and even Relax...

 

Of course there was a story to Rain! It's a symbolic one, just not obvious. As for stories, care to explain the story for Love Today, Grace Kelly and Relax then please???

[IngievV]

I like Rain, but I never understood that video. There was no story in it. If the break up story was so important for him, then he should have made the vid. about it.

 

Nooo! On the contrary, that would make it all too obvious and too Justin Bieber:mf_rosetinted:

[CazGirl]

ZOMG, an actual discussion. LOVE IT.

 

Okay well I've read this page and the previous one I think...I don't know...lots of posts...words kinda blend together now But I think a lot of people have good points!

 

Of course Mika doesn't always necessarily help himself and it's frustrating, because we all know he's a really talented artist (or are we biased?) but Music is a lot like Fashion (I don't think Mika will like that comparison lol) but I think it is. In the 70's you had flower power, long hair, flared trousers and The Beatles. If you saw someone walking down the street in flared trousers or if The Beatles were a new band about to come you'd think the world had gone crazy. Things come in and things go out. That's just how it goes.

 

As for TV shows, Mika sung "Rain", "BIOTG" and "Pick Up" on Jools Holland...I'd have thought he'd sing WAG since it came out in September (Jools was November) but I thought he'd leave out "Pick Up" (didn't even occur to me that he'd sing it) but still sing Rain and BIOTG since we all predicted that these would be the next singles. Which they were. But what were the release dates for these songs?

 

When Mika performed his songs on TV no-one - as far as I can remember - even said that it was his new single or when it was even coming out. I remember when I went to see him on Alan Carr it was me who told the audience that it was coming out February 15th! No, it's not my job...but again, no-one else was doing it. Shame Mika wasn't there to hear it to be honest

[southeast]

Of course there was a story to Rain! It's a symbolic one, just not obvious. As for stories, care to explain the story for Love Today, Grace Kelly and Relax then please???

 

Oh, I never was good at symbolic stuff really.

That is why I don't understand the big shows of Mika either.

I am too lazy to stop & try to think what he means by all this.

I enjoy the music.

 

And the vids for Grace Kelly and Love Today are fun to watch - I like the partys that are going on there and the parts where everybody is dancing. Would like to jump in the vid and dance around with them.

 

As for Relax: this is such a cool song, I never ever managed to watch the vid to the end - always dancing after few seconds!

 

So you see: I am a complete failure... can't explain anything to you.

[Marilyn Mastin]

This is turning into the most amazing thread ever on MFC. I think we're all getting things of our chests. Things we've probably thought for a good while, and I agree with a lot that's been said.

I agree that Mika is sometimes his own worst enemy when it comes to his comercial success. He's also too selective.

Songs For Sorrow was a case in point. It started out as a really great idea. The world had been starved of Mika for quite a while and we wanted new music. Then he goes and releases the four track EP as a limited edition that you could only buy in certain places! He could have released the disc with the artbook as a limited edition, but released the disc to the general population. At the time, Radio 2 began to play Blue Eyes and he was on a couple of interviews where Toy Boy was played, but neither was actually released as a single! My question is... Why didn't he release Blue Eyes then, as a proper single. It's a great song and could have done well!

I also think he should use the internet more. Maybe the occasional vlog, certainly more tweeting about what he's doing and what he plans to do.

As for Justin Beiber, he's cute, but that's all he has going for him really. He won't last long. But Mika has many talents and I hope he does other things like writing for other artists (the Boyzone song had the knock-on effect of getting him in the Irish charts with KA imo) I'd love to see him producing other artist's music too. I really hope he has a great and varied career ahead, and that this is just a glitch.

I too would love him to put out some new music as Gaga has done. Maybe he should make her his PR person! She has great ideas!

[IngievV]

This is turning into the most amazing thread ever on MFC. I think we're all getting things of our chests. Things we've probably thought for a good while, and I agree with a lot that's been said.

I agree that Mika is sometimes his own worst enemy when it comes to his comercial success. He's also too selective.

Songs For Sorrow was a case in point. It started out as a really great idea. The world had been starved of Mika for quite a while and we wanted new music. Then he goes and releases the four track EP as a limited edition that you could only buy in certain places! He could have released the disc with the artbook as a limited edition, but released the disc to the general population. At the time, Radio 2 began to play Blue Eyes and he was on a couple of interviews where Toy Boy was played, but neither was actually released as a single! My question is... Why didn't he release Blue Eyes then, as a proper single. It's a great song and could have done well!

I also think he should use the internet more. Maybe the occasional vlog, certainly more tweeting about what he's doing and what he plans to do.

As for Justin Beiber, he's cute, but that's all he has going for him really. He won't last long. But Mika has many talents and I hope he does other things like writing for other artists (the Boyzone song had the knock-on effect of getting him in the Irish charts with KA imo) I'd love to see him producing other artist's music too. I really hope he has a great and varied career ahead, and that this is just a glitch.

I too would love him to put out some new music as Gaga has done. Maybe he should make her his PR person! She has great ideas!

 

I don't think hiring Gaga as a PR person is such a good idea....I'm not ready for Mika in leather pants yet:roftl:

 

But he should take some of her advice.

[southeast]

Nooo! On the contrary, that would make it all too obvious and too Justin Bieber:mf_rosetinted:

 

Yeah, but it would have been very interesting to see who plays the person he breaks up with.

 

I thought there were a few other musicians out there between the two poles Justin Bieber and Mika, who make music vids...

[CazGirl]

Oh, I never was good at symbolic stuff really.

That is why I don't understand the big shows of Mika either.

I am too lazy to stop & try to think what he means by all this.

I enjoy the music.

 

And the vids for Grace Kelly and Love Today are fun to watch - I like the partys that are going on there and the parts where everybody is dancing. Would like to jump in the vid and dance around with them.

 

As for Relax: this is such a cool song, I never ever managed to watch the vid to the end - always dancing after few seconds!

 

So you see: I am a complete failure... can't explain anything to you.

 

I just found it funny because you said you wanted a video that had a story to it but then said you wanted him to do more videos like GK, LT and Relax, which appear to have no real story to them at all Just seemed a bit contradictory I'm not attacking you, though! I love Grace Kelly purely because of his performance. I think it's one of my favourite Mika Music Videos.

 

As for Rain...well, Mika has run away to get away from the problem, and the weird dancers symbolise the madness inside his head. He tries to run away from the problem only to realise at the end, when they've all stopped running and he stands there breathless, with the weird dancers right behind him as the camera tracks backwards away from them...he sees the way out but...doesn't go for it...bit of a cliffhanger IMO, but other people have different interpretations.

 

This is turning into the most amazing thread ever on MFC. I think we're all getting things of our chests. Things we've probably thought for a good while, and I agree with a lot that's been said.

I agree that Mika is sometimes his own worst enemy when it comes to his comercial success. He's also too selective.

Songs For Sorrow was a case in point. It started out as a really great idea. The world had been starved of Mika for quite a while and we wanted new music. Then he goes and releases the four track EP as a limited edition that you could only buy in certain places! He could have released the disc with the artbook as a limited edition, but released the disc to the general population. At the time, Radio 2 began to play Blue Eyes and he was on a couple of interviews where Toy Boy was played, but neither was actually released as a single! My question is... Why didn't he release Blue Eyes then, as a proper single. It's a great song and could have done well!

I also think he should use the internet more. Maybe the occasional vlog, certainly more tweeting about what he's doing and what he plans to do.

As for Justin Beiber, he's cute, but that's all he has going for him really. He won't last long. But Mika has many talents and I hope he does other things like writing for other artists (the Boyzone song had the knock-on effect of getting him in the Irish charts with KA imo) I'd love to see him producing other artist's music too. I really hope he has a great and varied career ahead, and that this is just a glitch.

I too would love him to put out some new music as Gaga has done. Maybe he should make her his PR person! She has great ideas!

 

As for V-Logs, I'd just like to say that the video where he first showcases the new music it's the video with the most views.

[IngievV]

Yeah, but it would have been very interesting to see who plays the person he breaks up with.

 

I thought there were a few other musicians out there between the two poles Justin Bieber and Mika, who make music vids...

 

Won't ever happen...we'll never see a video of Mika with any kind of love interest.

[CazGirl]

Won't ever happen...we'll never see a video of Mika with any kind of love interest.

 

Nnnnnnope. I agree.

[suzie]

ZOMG, an actual discussion. LOVE IT.

yes, it feels great to see how long discussions are back on MFC:thumb_yello:

I love reading how many fans have completely different views from me on certain things while I fully agree with them on their key conclusions.

for example:

Now the British public DID like the WAG video. They liked the self deprecating humour of it. He did get a sexy pic posted in Heat mag. I realise no-one's agreeing with me, which is fine, but I think Mika's style changed between the that and Rain- in an overstyled way that tends not to go down too well in the UK.

 

I actually think that WAG was much more overstyled than Rain, with all that imagery he was using. It was like 'so you say I am hiding? Then take a look at this and shut up'.

 

OK, I accept that the British public liked the video and its humour (perhaps the Union Jack also helped it), but I am pretty sure most of Europe did not get it, and, in fact, found it inappropriate. It must have been the case in some big markets like Germany, for example. It is simply because for those who do not speak the language, sugary music combined with a young skinny lad in his underwear simply makes people frown and brand him as a desperate attention seeker which he is not, of course. You can't blame the public for not understanding what message he wanted to eventually convey and you cannot rely on the artist explaining the actual meaning in interviews as most people would switch off before giving him a chance.

 

I think Rain video was great but by the time it was out, the new album was basically written off and it was just Robbie all over the place.

 

That's a lot of exposure. I think the problem has been in the follow-up.

I just think, as I said earlier, it makes more sense to support an artist's

live performances and even TV performances with the actual release of

a single -- or vice versa, support the single release with TV/live performances.

In Mika's case there seems to be some kind of disconnect

-- they do the video, tell us the single is coming, and then make us wait

6-8 weeks before we can even buy it, IF we can even buy it. The logic

escapes me.

 

There seemed to be no strategy they were following with TBWKTM, starting with the SFS EP and the acoustic tour, actually. The last two might have been considered as a warm up excercise before the 'big bang' (i.e.the album release) but I believe that so much energy was wasted on those two that there remained little energy to execute the abum launch in a proper way and at the right time.

[southeast]

As for Rain...well, Mika has run away to get away from the problem, and the weird dancers symbolise the madness inside his head. He tries to run away from the problem only to realise at the end, when they've all stopped running and he stands there breathless, with the weird dancers right behind him as the camera tracks backwards away from them...he sees the way out but...doesn't go for it...bit of a cliffhanger IMO, but other people have different interpretations.

 

Oh, now I see... Will watch it again. Thank you!

[CazGirl]

 

I think Rain video was great but by the time it was out, the new album was basically written off and it was just Robbie all over the place.

 

Buuuuurrrrrn.

[CazGirl]

Oh, now I see... Will watch it again. Thank you!

 

No worries!

[southeast]

Nnnnnnope. I agree.

 

Yes, I never thought that either. I was just joking.

 

A pity actually, this would sure be a big seller and definitely something new.

[CazGirl]

Yes, I never thought that either. I was just joking.

 

A pity actually, this would sure be a big seller and definitely something new.

 

Something new from Mika perhaps, but nothing new in general. It's what most videos are about to be honest Mika singing in his bedroom in his underwear is totally Mika and totally unique

[southeast]

Something new from Mika perhaps, but nothing new in general. It's what most videos are about to be honest Mika singing in his bedroom in his underwear is totally Mika and totally unique

 

It is all about the gender, you know...

[toy_girl_mika96]

Why have I just read this..

 

I think they're just jealous.

[dcdeb]

And seriously, when he starts using video ho's for his next single, I'm outta here:roftl:

 

I think there would be a LOOOOONG line behind you, as well!

 

 

I think Rain video was great but by the time it was out, the new album was basically written off and it was just Robbie all over the place.

 

Ugh. And that was such a shame.

 

There seemed to be no strategy they were following with TBWKTM, starting with the SFS EP and the acoustic tour, actually. The last two might have been considered as a warm up excercise before the 'big bang' (i.e.the album release) but I believe that so much energy was wasted on those two that there remained little energy to execute the abum launch in a proper way and at the right time.

 

There must have been a strategy, but the timing was really bad, IMO

-- I felt the EP release was just too

close to the album release. And again, we had the WAG video and single

on the air weeks in advance of when we could actually buy it. Which to

me was a pity, since I think WAG would have been a terrific summer

anthem and could have been even more popular than it ultimately was.

[Soaring Simpson]

I just found it funny because you said you wanted a video that had a story to it but then said you wanted him to do more videos like GK, LT and Relax, which appear to have no real story to them at all Just seemed a bit contradictory I'm not attacking you, though! I love Grace Kelly purely because of his performance. I think it's one of my favourite Mika Music Videos

 

As for V-Logs, I'd just like to say that the video where he first showcases the new music it's the video with the most views.

 

He does explain the GK vid concept in an early podcast though. How it was all about people creating a fantasy world from the ordinary things around you. And though I couldn't have articulated that before I heard the podcast, I think the vibe came across well and is very Mika

 

Mika is loosening up a bit on saying where his music comes from, but I think that's where he most guards his privacy- which is a shame.

 

Something new from Mika perhaps, but nothing new in general. It's what most videos are about to be honest Mika singing in his bedroom in his underwear is totally Mika and totally unique

 

Won't ever happen...we'll never see a video of Mika with any kind of love interest.

 

Wouldn't put money on it. Not all love interest vids need be cheesy. Nor are they proof of someone's sexual orientation

 

yes, it feels great to see how long discussions are back on MFC:thumb_yello:

 

I actually think that WAG was much more overstyled than Rain, with all that imagery he was using. It was like 'so you say I am hiding? Then take a look at this and shut up'. OK, I accept that the British public liked the video and its humour (perhaps the Union Jack also helped it), but I am pretty sure most of Europe did not get it, and, in fact, found it inappropriate. It must have been the case in some big markets like Germany, for example. It is simply because for those who do not speak the language, sugary music combined with a young skinny lad in his underwear simply makes people frown and brand him as a desperate attention seeker which he is not, of course.

 

I think Rain video was great but by the time it was out, the new album was basically written off and it was just Robbie all over the place.

 

There seemed to be no strategy they were following with TBWKTM, starting with the SFS EP and the acoustic tour, actually. The last two might have been considered as a warm up excercise before the 'big bang' (i.e.the album release) but I believe that so much energy was wasted on those two that there remained little energy to execute the abum launch in a proper way and at the right time.

 

It's the style of Mika's hair and dancing that I was referring to, rather than the video concept. (To be fair to me, when I posted, this thread was on "why is TheBoy so much less successful in the UK than LICM"- and the huge difference in success of the two albums in the UK is what interests me most (and the Daily Star even more). Besides, I wouldn't presume to comment on other countries. Quite a few of my colleagues saw Mika on the various shows he performed Rain on- they certainly would 't know that the album was written off- and I'm not at all sure it was, as WAG got to number four and people found the vid funny- but they were actively put off by his appearance to the extent that they barely heard the song. And by appearence, I mean mostly his unmoving hair and artificially showy dancing (and while he was probably genuinely self conscious rather than arrogant, he danced perfectly well in the GK and Love Today vids, as well as on stage.

 

I'm aware there were all sorts of subtle touches to the WAG vid- and I loved hearing about and discussing them- but I'm pretty confident that its main appeal in the UK was that guys in their underpants are basically funny- especially if they're dancing like a nutter. The whole vid screamed (again in our culture) "Me- sexy- what a joke"- and that's a message we like to hear. And if it was less well received in other parts of Europe, it doesn't seem to have done too much harm- he's gettting good album sales accross lots of Europe, and filled arenas.

 

I thought the Rain vid concept was great, but winced at Mika's hair and dancing. Ditto the latter part of the Kick Ass video. And while I'm wary of assuming my own preferences are those of a whole culture/country/generation, I'm willing to bet a high percentage of British non-Mika fans would agree.

 

Now those pics of him with Ida in the Mika Entertains a Lady thread- that's what we call conventionally sexy. (I guess this is a variation of the "granny curls/natural look" discussion we've so often had, except I'm distinguishing between his dressed up looks)