vanessa Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 http://entertainment.xin.msn.com/en/music-reviews/mika-the-origin-of-love After bursting onto the music scene with ‘Grace Kelly’ in 2007, British singer Mika has made a name for himself for his signature ear-popping falsetto and bouncy a-moral-a-song formula. It’s not long before The Origin Of Love gets your feet tapping to the beat. Mika’s music centers around being simple yet catchy, a sure-fire way to get listeners humming even after a quick listen. The 23-track album starts off with the usual electronic sounds and only picks up towards the end of the first disc, with gems such as ‘Popular Song’ and ‘Emily’. The former is a tribute to the acclaimed Broadway musical Wicked; a tongue-in-cheek track that pokes fun at the popular kids in school. ‘Emily’ was originally “Elle Me Dit’. Despite having its lyrics changed considerably, it still maintains its feel-good vibe and remains radio-friendly. The second disc opens with five acoustic versions of songs from the first disc, finally allowing simple guitar riffs to replace the head-throbbing electronic sounds and letting his vocal ability shine through. Mika may have taken some time to release his third studio album, but has definitely stayed true to his signature style while displaying a greater sense of musical maturity. Recommended tracks: ‘Emily’, ‘Origin Of Love’ (Acoustic Version) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzie Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) I really hate to say this but I'm not at all surprised Celebrate hasn't charted. In my opinion, wrong single at the wrong time and not played on the "right" channels all adds up to poor sales. I just HOPE the album sells better. I think it will chart inside the top 10 but it needs to stick around a while and not plummet after the first week. Unfortunately I just don't think Underwater will do anything to boost sales of the album. Stardust would have been a better second single. That would stand a small chance of getting played on Radio 1. To be honest I have given up worrying too much about his chart placings here in the UK but it still frustrates me a little bit, although I wish it didn't. You are absolutely right. What annoys me is that it was predictable. All opinion polls on MFC as well as (most) fan reactions revealed that. I think the time has now arrived to say that whoever made the decision to insist on Celebrate to be the lead single in this form (with that mix and Pharrell) is incompetent (and let me add here that I do think China boy would have been a great song). This was just not thought through but assumed that Pharrel can turn anything into a diamond whilst the opposite happened. To be fair though, the success of EMD last summer must have played a part in that decision: record company seems to believe that Mika's strength lies with simple 'summer hits' so they tried to turn a song into one.However, I think went wrong with the assumption as I think that in reality should he release the phonebook in French in France that would also go to No1. Stardust is the next single in the UK: the sticker names Celebrate and Stardust as singles off the album. So that is a good sign. Should that one not pick up in the UK, nothing will. Then he can release some of the more mature stuff like Underwater and TOOL as singles. Edited October 8, 2012 by suzie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatagordinha Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 You are absolutely right. What annoys me is that it was predictable. All opinion polls on MFC as well as (most) fan reactions revealed that.I think the time has now arrived to say that whoever made the decision to insist on Celebrate to be the lead single in this form (with that mix and Pharrell) is incompetent. To be fair, the success of EMD last summer ust have played a part in that decision though: even record company must believe that Mika is a lightweight popstar, with simple 'summer hits' being his strength,. However, I think that in reality should he release the phonebook in French in France that would also go to No1. Stardust is the next single in the UK: the sticker names Celebrate and Stardust as singles off the album. So that is a good sign. Should that one not pick up in the UK, nothing will. Then he can release some of the more mature stuff like Underwater and TOOL as singles. Is it? I didn't know, I thought it was Underwater. well that's good news. My 13 year old daughter, who kind of likes Mika but isn't a mega fan and has only heard Stardust once, to my knowledge, was singing it this morning. If that isn't instant pop appeal then I don't know what is. And she thinks Underwater is boring. So there you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I don't think anything has been announced re Stardust but to me it seems the only choice. I think the Underwater track on the album is boring too even though I love the song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertina Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 you found a sticker on the UK edition suzie? this would be great news! Stardust as second single in the UK What can we do really, it will be UW in Italy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basicamenteyo Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Have to agree with everything you´ve said. Celebrate wasnt the best decision for a single (sadly not new news in Mika´s world... they seem to be unable to realise which are good songs and which are just ok). Even Ta Dah is better and catchier than Celebrate and it´s just a bonus... I want to think that the point of getting Celebrate on charts was to appeal to Pharrel´s name (God knows who he is, cause I never heard of him before and still hasn´t heard anything apart from this). Let´s hope Stardust does it. Because it doesn´t matter how charming Mika is in our differents countries, or how funny he looks when he is interviewed by ants or when he goes to an interview with Melachi. Songs need to get to charts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I really hate to say this but I'm not at all surprised Celebrate hasn't charted. In my opinion, wrong single at the wrong time and not played on the "right" channels all adds up to poor sales. I just HOPE the album sells better. I think it will chart inside the top 10 but it needs to stick around a while and not plummet after the first week. Unfortunately I just don't think Underwater will do anything to boost sales of the album. Stardust would have been a better second single. That would stand a small chance of getting played on Radio 1. To be honest I have given up worrying too much about his chart placings here in the UK but it still frustrates me a little bit, although I wish it didn't. I agree with you. If, before the single was announced, I had got to hear all the songs on Disc 1, and someone had said to me. Which do you think should be the first single, and which shouldn't even be considered. I would have said. "Origin or Stardust, or perhaps Uw for the first single, and Celebrate would be the absolute worst choice. Because it was chosen as the single, I have tried to get behind it, for Mika's sake, but my heart's never been in the song. It's just not good enough. The only thing I do like a lot, is the China Boy bridge. But that's not on the single or the album (unless it's on the acustic track on disc 2) But all that being said, I don't think Radio One are interested in anything Mika does anymore. Celebrate is better than a lot of stuff they're playing, even though it's not the best from Mika. But R1 are too busy pandering to the X Factor rubbish and are probably getting a big hand out from Simon, to play awful music. We're probably not the only group of fans who have seen their favourite artist being let down by R1. I don't think what's happened to Mika is anything new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathouzouf Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 http://entertainment.xin.msn.com/en/music-reviews/mika-the-origin-of-love After bursting onto the music scene with ‘Grace Kelly’ in 2007, British singer Mika has made a name for himself for his signature ear-popping falsetto and bouncy a-moral-a-song formula. It’s not long before The Origin Of Love gets your feet tapping to the beat. Mika’s music centers around being simple yet catchy, a sure-fire way to get listeners humming even after a quick listen. The 23-track album starts off with the usual electronic sounds and only picks up towards the end of the first disc, with gems such as ‘Popular Song’ and ‘Emily’. The former is a tribute to the acclaimed Broadway musical Wicked; a tongue-in-cheek track that pokes fun at the popular kids in school. ‘Emily’ was originally “Elle Me Dit’. Despite having its lyrics changed considerably, it still maintains its feel-good vibe and remains radio-friendly. The second disc opens with five acoustic versions of songs from the first disc, finally allowing simple guitar riffs to replace the head-throbbing electronic sounds and letting his vocal ability shine through. Mika may have taken some time to release his third studio album, but has definitely stayed true to his signature style while displaying a greater sense of musical maturity. Recommended tracks: ‘Emily’, ‘Origin Of Love’ (Acoustic Version) Fair review for a change! Thanks for sharing :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathouzouf Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Talking about strange choice of singles, some radio stations in Quebec have started to play Karen Don't know who/why/when it was decided because the sticker on the album doesn't mention it and it's a bonus track... Also, releasing the album with zero promo made the album totally unnoticed by many medias. Albums sales are good in Quebec, but I feel a bit taken for granted and not important And this makes me sad because Mika's work deserves more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzie Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 you found a sticker on the UK edition suzie? yes, bought it in the morning in London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzie Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Talking about strange choice of singles, some radio stations in Quebec have started to play Karen Don't know who/why/when it was decided because the sticker on the album doesn't mention it and it's a bonus track... It's in French, I am not surprised about it at all. I bet it will be played on the radio in France, too, whether or not it will ever be a single. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Talking about strange choice of singles, some radio stations in Quebec have started to play Karen Don't know who/why/when it was decided because the sticker on the album doesn't mention it and it's a bonus track... I get the distinct impression that some people at Universal don't even realize Karen is a French track. They were promoting it as having 3 French songs and not 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) You are absolutely right. What annoys me is that it was predictable. All opinion polls on MFC as well as (most) fan reactions revealed that.I think the time has now arrived to say that whoever made the decision to insist on Celebrate to be the lead single in this form (with that mix and Pharrell) is incompetent (and let me add here that I do think China boy would have been a great song). This was just not thought through but assumed that Pharrel can turn anything into a diamond whilst the opposite happened. To be fair though, the success of EMD last summer must have played a part in that decision: record company seems to believe that Mika's strength lies with simple 'summer hits' so they tried to turn a song into one, Stardust is the next single in the UK: the sticker names Celebrate and Stardust as singles off the album. So that is a good sign. Should that one not pick up in the UK, nothing will. Then he can release some of the more mature stuff like Underwater and TOOL as singles. At the moment I'm just clinging onto the hope that, if people know Mika's album is out today, they've decided to buy the album instead of the single. So I hope the album does well. It completely gets on my nerves that, after all Mika's hard work on the album, The Powers That Be, at the record company, didn't posess the brains to work out what would be a good single, and when. I'd have sort-of understood Celebrate if it had been out for the Olympics. But they said they wanted a summer hit, yet released it end of September! I've read the recent comments here about Uw. Though it is a lovely song, I think what's wrong on the album, is that you have the two main verses, which are too similar imo. The 2nd verse could have moved the story on, instead of almost repeating itself. You also don't get the benefit of the "Underwater underwater I can breathe underwater etc, because it's sung partly under the main chorus and doesn't get chance to stand out as it should. We have to hope for the best, but atm I'm wishing Mika would change his record company and sign with someone else, before this stupid shower of idiots sink his career without a trace. Btw, I had never heard of Pharell either, before Mika worked with him. Edited October 8, 2012 by Marilyn Mastin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzie Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) @Marilyn Mastin yes, just like how you feel, my seemingly constant moaning about the choice of lead single is only because I want the album to be a huge success and I want it because it IS a great album. Choosing the first single is a marketing decision and has nothing to do with art, they just made the wrong decision. Anyway, I am not burying the album yet - there are plenty of great songs on it that could promote the album in the coming months. In fact, I think they should release something else much sooner than originally planned Edited October 8, 2012 by suzie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Celebrate is the top downloaded track from the album on iTunes in the UK. And the acoustic version is also up there. I don't think singles choices are the reason he does or doesn't get on radio especially if what Mika says is true about these programmers deciding to play whatever they want (and the single choices following from that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzie Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) Celebrate is the top downloaded track from the album on iTunes in the UK. . yes, it is because most people have not heard the rest of the songs. I don't know if it is the record company or the record company prompted by radio programmers that decide on singles but in the UK Celebrate does not even seem to have been selected for A-list radio airplay and also, there seems to have been a deliberate attempt to turn that song into something 'urban' and 'classy' (which failed ), so I don't think it was just down to radio programmers. It was the wrong strategy, IMO, that could have been changed if found not really working. Edited October 8, 2012 by suzie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 there seems to have been a deliberate attempt to turn that song into something 'urban' and 'classy' (which failed ), so I don't think it was just down to radio programmers. It was the wrong strategy, IMO. Yes but this happened at the production stage and Mika has always claimed to have control over that. I'm not convinced that A radio stations would have necessarily played any of the songs on the album and if they are open to Stardust for example then I guess we'll see what happens. Relax didn't go anywhere at first either so you could have argued in October 2006 it was a bad single choice but it sure didn't hurt the album in the long run. I don't think singles have much value in this day and age. Look at Quebec radio stations playing Karen. WTF is that? The radio stations do whatever they want and people can buy whatever they want whenever they want it. They don't have to wait for singles to be released to listen to them or buy them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzie Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) Yes but this happened at the production stage and Mika has always claimed to have control over that.. yes, I think Mika was 'advised' to work with Pharrell and this collaboration was supported by the label. I don't think singles have much value in this day and age. Look at Quebec radio stations playing Karen. WTF is that? The radio stations do whatever they want and people can buy whatever they want whenever they want it. They don't have to wait for singles to be released to listen to them or buy them. Why did every country in Europe insist on their own choice of singles then with the lead single being the exception, of course? In Europe it may work slightly differently than in Canada. Anyway, I don't think I can figure out what may have happened unless Mika writes it all in his memoirs when he is grey and old. I hope I'll live to see that. Edited October 8, 2012 by suzie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn Mastin Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Yes but this happened at the production stage and Mika has always claimed to have control over that. I'm not convinced that A radio stations would have necessarily played any of the songs on the album and if they are open to Stardust for example then I guess we'll see what happens. Relax didn't go anywhere at first either so you could have argued in October 2006 it was a bad single choice but it sure didn't hurt the album in the long run. I don't think singles have much value in this day and age. Look at Quebec radio stations playing Karen. WTF is that? The radio stations do whatever they want and people can buy whatever they want whenever they want it. They don't have to wait for singles to be released to listen to them or buy them. Actually, Relax was released in 2006, at about this time of year, as a limited release to promote Mika. Not many copies were released at that time, but it did get airplay. They released it again, I think, end of 2007 or beginning of 2008, and it got to about 26 in the charts at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellody Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 more german reviews: http://acousticshock.de/7713mika-the-origin-of-love#more-7713 http://albumcheck.de/2012/10/albumcheck-the-origin-of-love-von-mika/#more-10369 http://alternativenation.de/tontraeger/review/mika-origin-love http://www.cd-bewertungen.de/reviews/dance/kritik-the-origin-of-love-von-mika/ http://www.dreamoutloudmagazin.de/cd-reviews/mika/ http://www.musicheadquarter.de/reviews/cds/mika-verlaesst-seine-comicwelt-und-findet-the-origin-of-love/ http://music-scan.de/Templates/reviews_team.php?id=17306 http://www.telekom-musicwire.net/de/news/mika-legt-nach-prelistening-zum-neuen-album http://www.tribe-online.de/music/musik-reviews/mika-the-origin-of-love/ http://www.jungesportal.de/fun-sport-reise/entertainment/staging-special.php http://www.unicum.de/studienzeit/leben/musik/unicum-hoert-mika-the-origin-of-love/ apart from one or two they're all positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vixenbbw Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Finally got my UK deluxe copy today....going to play it to death then pop back on here to share my opinions! (Whether anyone wants to hear them is another story!) :naughty: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine64 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 more german reviews:http://acousticshock.de/7713mika-the-origin-of-love#more-7713 http://albumcheck.de/2012/10/albumcheck-the-origin-of-love-von-mika/#more-10369 http://alternativenation.de/tontraeger/review/mika-origin-love http://www.cd-bewertungen.de/reviews/dance/kritik-the-origin-of-love-von-mika/ http://www.dreamoutloudmagazin.de/cd-reviews/mika/ http://www.musicheadquarter.de/reviews/cds/mika-verlaesst-seine-comicwelt-und-findet-the-origin-of-love/ http://music-scan.de/Templates/reviews_team.php?id=17306 http://www.telekom-musicwire.net/de/news/mika-legt-nach-prelistening-zum-neuen-album http://www.tribe-online.de/music/musik-reviews/mika-the-origin-of-love/ http://www.jungesportal.de/fun-sport-reise/entertainment/staging-special.php http://www.unicum.de/studienzeit/leben/musik/unicum-hoert-mika-the-origin-of-love/ apart from one or two they're all positive. I´m surprised in a very good way how positiv the German critics are and hopefully it will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurel Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Actually, Relax was released in 2006, at about this time of year, as a limited release to promote Mika. Not many copies were released at that time, but it did get airplay.They released it again, I think, end of 2007 or beginning of 2008, and it got to about 26 in the charts at that time. Completely off topic ... but I just managed to buy the 7" original single of Relax from 2006 ... quite chuffed I must say ... though not by how much I spent on it ... *cough* Morrisons where I work aren't even stocking the album ... they never stocked the second album ever ... I'm not holding out much hope for this one Kind of sad about that as it's the only place I can go where I live to buy music - it's where I bought LICM originally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camille* Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 However, I think went wrong with the assumption as I think that in reality should he release the phonebook in French in France that would also go to No1. That made me laugh I don't think it's true though. Let's look at Celebrate for example, it only went to #33 in the French charts last week and it's down to 45 now. Ok it does get airplay but it doesn't mean this single is a success. I'm not sure that random people in the streets could tell you what Mika's current single is. They would probably answer Elle Me Dit , which by the way still gets a lot of airplay (I wouldn't say as much as Celebrate but not that far..) EMD was very special, I don't think anybody really knows how it became so successful. I mean; nobody ever sells so many singles anymore or it's very rare. And it sold more than Relax 5 years ago when singles used to be still a bit more successful. Anyway, I think Celebrate is probably a good single in terms of radio airplays, I think it fits what's being played in France nowadays, but it's not strong enough to make people want to buy it and it's not the best representative of the album or Mika's work in general. Which is a shame. We are lucky in France that radio stations/TV channels/the media in general support Mika and I'm sure it helped getting him to #1 with TOOL (which is after all much more important than a single). I really wonder what the future will bring us with the release of Underwater. This time it's the other way around. It doesn't fit the radio landscape in my opinion but I hope they will play it so that it can make more people aware of Mika's brilliant work. If it gets radio airplay I think TOOL will be a real success; if not I'm afraid it will sell less than the first 2 albums.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzie Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) That made me laugh I don't think it's true though. Let's look at Celebrate for example, it only went to #33 in the French charts last week and it's down to 45 now. So that supports my theory, actually, as I basically said that the reason EMD had such success in France is becasuse it is sung in French and not necessarily because it is a great ' summer tune' . In other words, Celebrate in French would have gone to No1 in France. Edited October 8, 2012 by suzie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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