2015 - Adelphi Theatre, London 18 October - REPORTS/PICS/VIDS

[Christine]

b.b.but..hang on a bit -  you live in Quebec - how do you manage to avoid French songs in Quebec?

 

Sorry to bang on about it - it's well  I know - but I'd never thought about it before

 

Sorry I've only got a minute here so will answer more later, but I just want to make clear that when I'm talking about "Canada" in my post I am only talking about English speaking Canada. No one is avoiding French songs in Quebec I am sure Cath is far more informed about what is going on inside Quebec so I'll let her explain that to you and I'll follow up later to give you my perspective on what is happening in areas that are almost exclusively anglophone.

[dcdeb]

Let me explain why I stuck with Christine back then for these phrases. For a lot English words/phrases they can be interpreted more than one way. And by the first time of reading we would not know we misunderstand. You may or may not noticed here that but a lot times non-native speakers saying some posts are rude/mean and some find they're obvious not.  As I have pointed out before, one reason for this is because we can not hear the tougue of speaking, another reason is that these phrases can really easy to be misinterpreted in another way.

 

I've lived in US for three years, I can speak relatively fluent English with an Asian accent, because I also need to teach marketing in English. Besides communicating with my students I also talk with my colleges, friends, advisors everyday in English. I do not know the language difference between the places we live, because during the past three years I can't recall one time there're some words/phrases spoken by others are something like these phrases. It's not that they do not use similar words, but normally they use these words to describe the people they really dislike ( trust me, I hear "s**k up" a lot from my advisor when he describe someone in a really "I dont like that guy" tongue, Drump for example,we talked about politics a lot every Tuesday when he bought us pizza, he kept saying someone "s**k up" Drump, and he despised both sides in that phrase). I remember hearing people around me use "yapping" too, to describe someone ( let's call him A) talking too much or talking in an annoying way, again in that case the speaker really dislike the A, otherwise he would just say A talk too much instead of using the word "yapping" . Yet I remember one ( I dont remember who he/she is) MFCer here saying mika is "yapping" at the UK gig.

 

I hope you see the points here, a lot phrases used here are not neutral to me, these phrases in my understanding are normally used on people you dislike. The reason I picked these words to Christine, in the begining was to explain her why I was in a defensive mode for mika, since she said she did not know why the fans felt protective and defensive for mika.

 

I also believe these phrases mean bad things to a lot non-native speaker and even some native speakers. They asked me why some MFCers here talked about MIKA like he was our enemy, we discussed and we did not know why. Because obiviously these MFCers are also fans, they like MIKA, don't they?

 

The reason I showed these pics, which to you seemed ridiculous, is because the definition of "suck up" in dictionary is neutral, yet you can tell from these pics some people consider this phrase to really despisable behavior and only use this word to people they dislike. I do not think all of these people are non-native speakers.

Yang, I really appreciate this post from you, because it reminds me that as a native English speaker, I do take it for granted that everyone speaking English here is going to understand every nuance of what I say, and that's  obviously not true. It takes years to learn all the idioms and double-entendres, and I'm sure that's true for ANY language.

 

Because I really love language and words in general, and because I'd really rather not go over and over the original topic again here, I just wanted to take a minute and say to you that you're right, calling someone a "suck-up" isn't exactly a compliment. Usually it's used when someone is rather obviously manipulating someone to try to get ahead. As someone else said, "sucking up" could be substituted for "brown-nosing" or "ass-kissing," meaning you're doing or saying things for another person in the hope that you will get something back in return -- a good grade, a better job, whatever. "He's such a suck-up -- he washes the boss's car every week! He's bound to get that promotion." But it's also not the worst insult you can make, and often friends will joke with one another using this term. Someone might say, "You're sucking up to the teacher to get a good grade," if their friend compliments the teacher on their clothes or hairstyle, for example. And you need to differentiate between "sucking up" and "sucks". If I say "he sucks," that's really not a compliment. It's short for a more vulgar phrase, really, and it means that you don't like the person, and pretty much have no respect for him. For example, saying "Mika is sucking up to the fans," just means he's doing what they want him to do and he's hoping to get something back in return. You may not like that he's doing it, but it's really not a terrible insult. (Just a mild one. ) Saying "Mika sucks," means you don't like Mika at all.

 

As for "yapping," you're right, it is often used to mean that someone is chattering away in an annoying fashion, like a yappy little dog. But it can also mean simply "talking". I yap away on the telephone, I yap in email. It can have a negative meaning, but it can also be, as you say, "neutral." 

 

Thanks again for explaining your thoughts further.

 

[Christine]

Let me explain why I stuck with Christine back then for these phrases. For a lot English words/phrases they can be interpreted more than one way. And by the first time of reading we would not know we misunderstand. You may or may not noticed here that but a lot times non-native speakers saying some posts are rude/mean and some find they're obvious not. As I have pointed out before, one reason for this is because we can not hear the tougue of speaking, another reason is that these phrases can really easy to be misinterpreted in another way.

You have asked me why I automatically assume the worst of Mika's intentions but you are doing the exact same thing to me. If, as you say, something can be interpreted in more than one way, why keep jumping to the conclusion that I am being mean and insulting? If the dictionary definition of sucking up is neutral why did you insist over and over that I meant it in the worst possible way?

 

I like to really consider my wording before I write it down, because I know people can not hear my tougue and all the motions in the words would be exaggerated. But this is only my habit. It's completely your freedom to do similar thing or not.

I do really consider my wording when I'm writing. But you have to understand it is impossible for me to imagine it from the perspective of someone who is not a native English speaker. Of course I could use extremely simple and bland language but I love the English language and want to use it to express my personality and my thoughts in a nuanced way. I am sorry if my online persona rubs some people the wrong way but it has also lead me to bond with people who share my sense of humour, etc. I would rather annoy some people than never make any genuine friends because of self censorship. The thing I don't like about the endless "Mika is so amazing" commentary is not that I want people to hate on Mika, but that it is so lacking in stimulation and uninformative. All of the so-called "fights" that put some people off of MFC I find very useful for getting to know people and really understanding what they think and what kind of person they are.

 

Don't we all do that? When was the last time you did something because someone told you to, when it didn't match your own "thoughts, tastes, interests and worldview" Unless it was your boss or your mother doing the telling 

 

Well, that's a general human quality IMO. Don't we all do that usually? It's rather difficult to step out of your own worldview.

When I say "respect", I do not mean "doing what I say", I mean respect. If Mika respected the fact that some English fans do not share his taste in French music he would not accuse them of intolerance. That doesn't mean he has to take the French songs off the setlist to show respect, just stop being judgemental about it and accept that their perspective is different from his for very good reasons.

 

My parents are not Lebanese. I did not spend my childhood in France. My family are not wealthy globetrotters who summer in Spain and Italy and Portugal and Greece and Bahrain every year. I am not trilingual. I have tried to learn a second language, but through no fault of my own I started too late in my childhood and I find it extremely difficult. I can never hope to be fluent at Mika's level because I did not learn a romance language when I was 3 years old and I have no opportunity to completely immerse myself in another language. I do not have untold millions and a European passport in order to buy a flat in Italy and hire a private tutor to accompany me everywhere I go. I work in an office and do not have the time or incentive of a lucrative TV job to study the past 40 years of Italian music in order to understand and appreciate it. He should respect the fact that his worldview and my worldview have arisen from our extremely different life circumstances and not judge it as some sort of character flaw or hateful attitude that I don't share his interest in foreign music. It's like me going to Egypt and calling people xenophobes because they don't want to eat poutine and spend their Saturday nights watching Hockey Night in Canada.

 

I am a bit surprised that you don't hear French songs in Canada? or aren't the French Canadians allowed out of Quebec?

 

Are you culturally segregated? I ask only because I don't know  Is Canada so big that you can have separate industries with their own charts and for things never to cross over?

Quebec has its own star system and music industry and generally it does not cross over into English Canada in a big way unless the artists themselves do. Celine Dion used to be a francophone artist but of course she started recording in English eventually. There are smaller French regions outside of Quebec and in Ontario you'll find many people who grew up in Montreal and have ties. They usually have a pretty good understanding of French and are likely far more aware of what is going on in French Canadian culture than I am. But as you move farther away from Quebec the French influence is virtually non-existent. In Ontario we had some mandatory French in school but in western provinces they don't even do that.

 

The US is a cultural behemoth and because of the climate in Canada most of the population lives very close to the US border. Even back in the days before cable, we would watch American TV because we are close enough to receive signals through an antenna. The US has far, far more impact on English Canadian culture than the French region of Canada does. And our cultural ties with Britain were very tight up until the last generation or so. When I was growing up virtually everyone I knew was either born in the UK or their parents were.

 

But why don’t give it a try if you already really like the other songs of an artist?

I have given it a try and actually I really like Elle Me Dit. But generally I think Mika's French music is terrible. It doesn't sound like his other music. It doesn't sound like modern pop music at all. (Sadly neither do most of the English songs on his new album but that is another story.)

 

I like Christine and the Queens and have seen Yelle several times.

 

But I really just can't be arsed with Italian pop and am not crazy about Spanish, German, etc. If I was going to listen to anything it would be French, but not Mika's music. Not unless he starts collaborating with someone who is successful at proper contemporary pop.

 

But I’ll tell you a funny thing: I made my parents listen to Mika last album (the double one with the symphonic concert) and they loved the songs! Especially Any other world, Grace Kelly, Promiseland and Ordinary Man. They obviously can’t sing them, but my mother even went to google to find an Italian translation of the lyrics (and that’s never happened for another English artist). It’s really true that Mika can be liked by every generation, from kids to older people…

Yes for sure!

 

 

As for "yapping," you're right, it is often used to mean that someone is chattering away in an annoying fashion, like a yappy little dog. But it can also mean simply "talking". I yap away on the telephone, I yap in email. It can have a negative meaning, but it can also be, as you say, "neutral."

Yes, I promise you I would use it to describe my own behaviour (especially re talking on the phone), so it is not a dig at Mika. Remember that cartoon that described Twitter chatter as yippity yap yap? That cracked me up.

[cathouzouf]

b.b.but..hang on a bit - you live in Quebec - how do you manage to avoid French songs in Quebec?

 

Sorry to bang on about it - it's well I know - but I'd never thought about it before

 

Edit: In my excitement I confused you with Christine so maybe it's English songs you have to seek out?

I meant English Canada and French Canada are very different.

 

Quebec has a lot of artists that are well-known and top itunes charts but are total strangers outside the province. Which is sad because there are many great ones.

[yang]

You have asked me why I automatically assume the worst of Mika's intentions but you are doing the exact same thing to me. If, as you say, something can be interpreted in more than one way, why keep jumping to the conclusion that I am being mean and insulting? If the dictionary definition of sucking up is neutral why did you insist over and over that I meant it in the worst possible way?

 

 

I do really consider my wording when I'm writing. But you have to understand it is impossible for me to imagine it from the perspective of someone who is not a native English speaker. Of course I could use extremely simple and bland language but I love the English language and want to use it to express my personality and my thoughts in a nuanced way. I am sorry if my online persona rubs some people the wrong way but it has also lead me to bond with people who share my sense of humour, etc. I would rather annoy some people than never make any genuine friends because of self censorship. The thing I don't like about the endless "Mika is so amazing" commentary is not that I want people to hate on Mika, but that it is so lacking in stimulation and uninformative. All of the so-called "fights" that put some people off of MFC I find very useful for getting to know people and really understanding what they think and what kind of person they are.

 

Oh nononononono I never consider you are a mean and insulting person, you are a nice person and I like your soft and smooth skin ( forgive me for being a little creepy here , but your skin looked so good in NYC! I am bi, my compliment here is very sincere) , if I assume you're a mean person I would not bother to ask for the real meaning, and to know why the online character here I feel is so different from my memory. I already know my misunderstanding long time ago, that post is only for explaination to Suzie about my past emotion and why everything happened in the first place.

 

The problem is, a lot arguments here seem a little off each other, it's like A is saying one thing and B is saying another thing and no one seem to really understand each other. And the cycle goes on and on and on... At least you do not want to chase people away, right?

 

Another interesting thing is, I was asked to leave this topic four times yesterday, and why was that? If all the criticize are for the two sides of the story.

Edited March 11, 2016 by yang

[Naectegale]

Quebec has its own star system and music industry and generally it does not cross over into English Canada in a big way unless the artists themselves do. Celine Dion used to be a francophone artist but of course she started recording in English eventually. There are smaller French regions outside of Quebec and in Ontario you'll find many people who grew up in Montreal and have ties. They usually have a pretty good understanding of French and are likely far more aware of what is going on in French Canadian culture than I am. But as you move farther away from Quebec the French influence is virtually non-existent. In Ontario we had some mandatory French in school but in western provinces they don't even do that.The US is a cultural behemoth and because of the climate in Canada most of the population lives very close to the US border. Even back in the days before cable, we would watch American TV because we are close enough to receive signals through an antenna. The US has far, far more impact on English Canadian culture than the French region of Canada does. And our cultural ties with Britain were very tight up until the last generation or so. When I was growing up virtually everyone I knew was either born in the UK or their parents were. I have given it a try and actually I really like Elle Me Dit. But generally I think Mika's French music is terrible. It doesn't sound like his other music. It doesn't sound like modern pop music at all. (Sadly neither do most of the English songs on his new album but that is another story.)

Thanks for explaining

 

I like EMD & BBB but I agree the other French songs sound derivative and a bit dull. And I haven't listened to the latest album much - it just misses for me, apart from Last Party.

[Pascale]

I like EMD & BBB but I agree the other French songs sound derivative and a bit dull.

And again, i'm with you in this, although I like the beginning of Les baisers perdus.  And I like this version of L'Amour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yTbgPniDvM

[Sonelle]

Hello, I'm new here. I joined MFC some months ago but, as I am a rather shy person, I just observed (and enjoyed all the materials, interviews and music from live concerts) without never posting…

It’s probably not a good idea to enter in this discussion, especially since it’s my first post, but in the last few days I kept coming here because I was a bit upset by this “war” that happened after a comment in an interview and that I think many non-English mother tongue fans can’t truly understand. You see, I’m Italian and I really don’t get the problem with listening to a song in another language. I obviously listen to more Italian music, but I usually listen - and like - songs in English, French, Spanish and other languages too. For me, the first and most important thing is the melody. I can’t understand the words in a different language without looking up the written lyrics before. Yes, it’s a bit more difficult, but I think that, if I really like a song or a musician, it’s an effort that I have to do (and can enrich me very much, helping me to learn new languages and discovering new cultures).

About the French songs, I really like them, even the ones not in the album, like “J’ai pas envie”. And I think it’s the same for many Italian fans, and fans all around the world (see the recent Asian tour). Especially I like that Mika seems so happy when he performs them and put so much effort to make them funny and to take down the barrier of language and make all the people dance. He said many times that he is not only British, but also Lebanese, French and American. It’s natural that there could be songs that we don’t like (for example, I’m not crazy about some songs of the second album), but I think we have to accept all parts of his identity, if we like him as a person and as a musician. And I think that’s why he was so hurt (that he felt “refused” somehow) and talked about it in the interview after such a long time. He should probably let it go, but we are all humans and, when something touches us deeply, it’s difficult to forget (especially if in the past you have been harshly criticized, you tend to put up your defences). By the way, in the interview, he put the accent on the touching moment of the flags (that I think all fans participated in, probably even the fan that criticized him) to tell that he shouldn’t have judged the situation so quickly… And he didn’t make the name of the person. Are you sure she’s really the one? That said, I think it’s horrible that someone has written so many bad comments about this person. It’s not in any way justified, but even me, like I said, don’t understand her point of view about listening songs in French or any foreign language… I even think it would be interesting if Mika did a song in Korean, Japanese, Mandarin or another difficult language (I certainly would want to hear that!).

On the other hand, reading your comments I think the issue is perhaps more about Mika not doing shows in UK for a long time and the old fans feeling kind of abandoned. But I don’t know if that’s really his fault or what he wants. I think that his last two albums didn’t sell that well there and he received a lot of bad press and comments too. Perhaps, at the time he accepted X Factor in Italy, he was just trying to find a new market (if it went bad, the consequences wouldn’t have been so horrible). Then it went well and I can’t really fault him for going for the new opportunities that came from it and from The Voice (more freedom for his music and concerts). Perhaps his popularity would return if he did a radio or television show in UK, but I don’t kno

 

 

 He said many times that he is not only British, but also Lebanese, French and American. It’s natural that there could be songs that we don’t like (for example, I’m not crazy about some songs of the second album), but I think we have to accept all parts of his identity, if we like him as a person and as a musician. And I think that’s why he was so hurt (that he felt “refused” somehow) and talked about it in the interview after such a long time. He should probably let it go, but we are all humans and, when something touches us deeply, it’s difficult to forget (especially if in the past you have been harshly criticized, you tend to put up your defences). 

 

I agree so much!   Especially about how it's hard to forget, and he should let it go, but it's hard as we are all humans. And it's hard to erase what hurt you. This is also evident in his talks of his bullying experiences - as much as he says he moved on, you can't completely move on from what hurt you (like as he wrote the song hurts).    I'll also say something:

 

France is a part of his identity and he understandably would've felt hurt to be deprecated whilst he was performing. And yeah, he may have said something slighty rude (it was a joke not meant to be taken so seriously), but he's also human and we ALL make mistakes. Including him.

 

I would've thought fans of his would be used to his way of speaking and he sometimes may speak before thinking (out of defense for his identity which people are disregarding for their own wishes) - but he made one mistake, and now everyone is making it a point to state their beliefs - and this caused this whole incident to be blown up. It is more of everyone's fault rather than his. Yes, he didn't deal with it in the best way, but aren't we all human?

 

I thought I wouldn't say anything on this thread, but I want to just say this. 

[KiwiMikaFreak]

I agree so much!   Especially about how it's hard to forget, and he should let it go, but it's hard as we are all humans. And it's hard to erase what hurt you. This is also evident in his talks of his bullying experiences - as much as he says he moved on, you can't completely move on from what hurt you (like as he wrote the song hurts).    I'll also say something:

 

France is a part of his identity and he understandably would've felt hurt to be deprecated whilst he was performing. And yeah, he may have said something slighty rude (it was a joke not meant to be taken so seriously), but he's also human and we ALL make mistakes. Including him.

 

I would've thought fans of his would be used to his way of speaking and he sometimes may speak before thinking (out of defense for his identity which people are disregarding for their own wishes) - but he made one mistake, and now everyone is making it a point to state their beliefs - and this caused this whole incident to be blown up. It is more of everyone's fault rather than his. Yes, he didn't deal with it in the best way, but aren't we all human?

 

I thought I wouldn't say anything on this thread, but I want to just say this. 

I've gone past my quota of likes, but I agree 

[RAK1]

I agree so much!   Especially about how it's hard to forget, and he should let it go, but it's hard as we are all humans. And it's hard to erase what hurt you. This is also evident in his talks of his bullying experiences - as much as he says he moved on, you can't completely move on from what hurt you (like as he wrote the song hurts).    I'll also say something:

 

France is a part of his identity and he understandably would've felt hurt to be deprecated whilst he was performing. And yeah, he may have said something slighty rude (it was a joke not meant to be taken so seriously), but he's also human and we ALL make mistakes. Including him.

 

I would've thought fans of his would be used to his way of speaking and he sometimes may speak before thinking (out of defense for his identity which people are disregarding for their own wishes) - but he made one mistake, and now everyone is making it a point to state their beliefs - and this caused this whole incident to be blown up. It is more of everyone's fault rather than his. Yes, he didn't deal with it in the best way, but aren't we all human?

 

I thought I wouldn't say anything on this thread, but I want to just say this. 

If he had said it on the night in response to Jemmas comment, to her, it might have not come to any of this.

But saying it at another show, where she wasn't there to respond, I think that was not smart of him. 

[krysady]

If he had said it on the night in response to Jemmas comment, to her, it might have not come to any of this.

But saying it at another show, where she wasn't there to respond, I think that was not smart of him. 

 

I'm starting to doubt it was about Jemma,as others said,he didn't say any name. Maybe it was someone else more vocal in a different part of the venue,and you couldn't hear it,the same as many fans didn't hear Jemma either   It is possible....

[RAK1]

I'm starting to doubt it was about Jemma,as others said,he didn't say any name. Maybe it was someone else more vocal in a different part of the venue,and you couldn't hear it,the same as many fans didn't hear Jemma either   It is possible....

Even so, the time to address it would have been at that show, not another one weeks later.

[mamiam]

Even so, the time to address it would have been at that show, not another one weeks later.

 

Imo, MIKAs job,  on stage, is to give his best show and performance - and not to comment, or try to correct,  rude behaviour among his audience He might have been both shocked and confused,  about what happened - and was just trying to "save" the rest of the show,  as best he could?   I don't know, but at least I know that I would have felt very uncomfortable, with such a response, from fans   And,  the fact that he remembered it, and talked about it later, shows it really had hurt him.  We have a say here that:  what you send out, you get in return...  That said, I'm very sorry that this happened, and for the consequences it has created,  afterwards...

 

Love, love

me     

[Christine]

Oh nononononono I never consider you are a mean and insulting person, you are a nice person and I like your soft and smooth skin ( forgive me for being a little creepy here , but your skin looked so good in NYC! I am bi, my compliment here is very sincere) ,

I am starting to wonder if you are confusing me with someone else If a genie granted me 3 wishes one of them would be to have better skin.

 

if I assume you're a mean person I would not bother to ask for the real meaning, and to know why the online character here I feel is so different from my memory.

Yes but you think I (and others) are saying mean things about Mika, non?

 

Another interesting thing is, I was asked to leave this topic four times yesterday, and why was that? If all the criticize are for the two sides of the story.

I am not sure what you mean.

 

And yeah, he may have said something slighty rude (it was a joke not meant to be taken so seriously), but he's also human and we ALL make mistakes. Including him.

 

Clearly it wasn't a joke, given how he really felt about the incident. I agree he is allowed to make mistakes and be human, but if people would stop trying to minimize how much he hurt Jemma then we wouldn't have to keep pointing out how cruel it was.

 

I'm starting to doubt it was about Jemma,as others said,he didn't say any name. Maybe it was someone else more vocal in a different part of the venue,and you couldn't hear it,the same as many fans didn't hear Jemma either It is possible....

Yes it is possible. But I think it is far more likely he is just making up the "insult". This was a seated gig, MFCers were all in the front rows and would have been able to hear anything Mika heard. Jemma was in the very front, she was being vocal and I am sure he heard it. You can hear her laughing distinctly during the Sadlers Wells recording as we were also in the front for that. It is very telling to me that he describes this person as a fan and not simply "a woman in the audience". He knows who it was and wasn't just reacting to some random shout from the theatre.

[krysady]

Even so, the time to address it would have been at that show, not another one weeks later.

 

It's not the first time. In Luxembourg he started to talk  before BBB about the gig he did one day before in Bruxelles,and he told us how complicated it was for him to manage the situation about the language's politics,and how a girl from Netherlands yelled at him after the show her complaint. It was just a random story,you can see it here around 0:40   

 

Edited March 12, 2016 by krysady

[krysady]

Yes it is possible. But I think it is far more likely he is just making up the "insult". This was a seated gig, MFCers were all in the front rows and would have been able to hear anything Mika heard. Jemma was in the very front, she was being vocal and I am sure he heard it. You can hear her laughing distinctly during the Sadlers Wells recording as we were also in the front for that. It is very telling to me that he describes this person as a fan and not simply "a woman in the audience". He knows who it was and wasn't just reacting to some random shout from the theatre.

 

Yes,probably we'll never know what was in his head....

 

A good reason to go now and listen to that record again 

[Christine]

We have a say here that: what you send out, you get in return...

Indeed. The problem here is that someone threw a pebble at him and he has responded over and over with a bazooka.

[Christine]

Sorry for all the posts, it's difficult to edit multiquotes on my tablet.

 

And again, i'm with you in this, although I like the beginning of Les baisers perdus. And I like this version of L'Amour

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yTbgPniDvM

Obviously this is just a matter of individual tastes but this is exactly what I do not want to hear from Mika. Christine and the Queens, great. Stromae, great. Coeur de Pirate, great. But this sounds like 1970s lounge music. This is where "British Mika" is missing in more ways than just the language he has chosen to sing. When the Brits fell in love with him and bought hundreds of thousands of his albums and sold out his extensive UK tours, he was the second coming of Freddie Mercury, not a lounge singer. If people like this music, that is great for them. His voice is really pretty of course and maybe the lyrics are meaningful if your French is better than mine. But this is not an example of great pop music in 2016 no matter what country you live in or what language you speak.

Edited March 12, 2016 by Christine

[RAK1]

It's not the first time. In Luxembourg he started to talk  before BBB about the gig he did one day before in Bruxelles,and he told us how complicated it was for him to manage the situation about the language's politics,and how a girl from Netherlands yelled at him after the show her complaint. It was just a random story,you can see it here around 0:40   

 

Hardly the same as saying to an audience in another country that someone isn't getting enough 'Boum Boum Boum'. That is going over the line for me. I wouldn't say that about anybody!

[RAK1]

Imo, MIKAs job,  on stage, is to give his best show and performance - and not to comment, or try to correct,  rude behaviour among his audience He might have been both shocked and confused,  about what happened - and was just trying to "save" the rest of the show,  as best he could?   I don't know, but at least I know that I would have felt very uncomfortable, with such a response, from fans   And,  the fact that he remembered it, and talked about it later, shows it really had hurt him.  We have a say here that:  what you send out, you get in return...  That said, I'm very sorry that this happened, and for the consequences it has created,  afterwards...

 

Love, love

me     

Someone shouting from the audience has never stopped him reply to them before. Why now?

And the rest of the show went fine from my perspective. He chatted as much as he did from before singing BBB.

Edited March 12, 2016 by RAK1

[yang]

I am starting to wonder if you are confusing me with someone else If a genie granted me 3 wishes one of them would be to have better skin.

 

 

Yes but you think I (and others) are saying mean things about Mika, non?

 

 

I guess it's overall environment in that small club gave you a good glow, cuz your skin looked very shiny and silky~

 

Yeah maybe, I did think you liked to be really harsh to him, and tended to mildly insult him on MFC. But I thought wrong, and I need to appologize for it, sorry.

Edited March 13, 2016 by yang

[mamiam]

Someone shouting from the audience has never stopped him reply to them before. Why now?

And the rest of the show went fine from my perspective. He chatted as much as he did from before singing BBB.

 

I don't know    Maybe MIKA is a bit nervous, for playing "home-gigs" - and wants it to be perfect, when he finally gets there.  I wasn't at Adelphi, but I was in Hyde Park four months earlier  And even it was a nice and great little gig, I was surprised that he wasn't more chatty, at home!   He didn't even use the opportunity to advertise for his upcoming alb. NPIH, when he performed TAY and LP - something I was very surprised about!  As far as I can understand, Adelphi theatre is also a place with style, which might not be the right place to shout at the artist on stage, at least not about his choosen setlist  But I'm probably not the right person to judge this, because I don't know what's the rule, or culture, for the UK gigs, neither in halls/theatres - nor at big arenas...  

 

Love, love

me   

[RAK1]

I don't know    Maybe MIKA is a bit nervous, for playing "home-gigs" - and wants it to be perfect, when he finally gets there.  I wasn't at Adelphi, but I was in Hyde Park four months earlier  And even it was a nice and great little gig, I was surprised that he wasn't more chatty, at home!   He didn't even use the opportunity to advertise for his upcoming alb. NPIH, when he performed TAY and LP - something I was very surprised about!  As far as I can understand, Adelphi theatre is also a place with style, which might not be the right place to shout at the artist on stage, at least not about his choosen setlist  But I'm probably not the right person to judge this, because I don't know what's the rule, or culture, for the UK gigs, neither in halls/theatres - nor at big arenas...

 

Love, love

me   

At Hyde Park, the first 10 rows of the crowd were pretty much Kylie fans, so he probably felt a little unsure about them. I know I felt a bit awkward standing there among them at first, but they seemed like a pretty good bunch as the day went on.

[Tinsel]

Christine: you said the French songs weren't good modern pop. I think you're right, Les baisers is "chanson française", and quite great in that style imo. The lyrics are indeed very poetic and full of references to french culture, but it isn't one of my favorites.

In fact the only french song I really like is Elle me dit, because I find it original and a great feel good song. The live intro of BBB is nice too!

[Pascale]

Sorry for all the posts, it's difficult to edit multiquotes on my tablet.

 

Obviously this is just a matter of individual tastes but this is exactly what I do not want to hear from Mika. Christine and the Queens, great. Stromae, great. Coeur de Pirate, great. But this sounds like 1970s lounge music. This is where "British Mika" is missing in more ways than just the language he has chosen to sing. When the Brits fell in love with him and bought hundreds of thousands of his albums and sold out his extensive UK tours, he was the second coming of Freddie Mercury, not a lounge singer. If people like this music, that is great for them. His voice is really pretty of course and maybe the lyrics are meaningful if your French is better than mine. But this is not an example of great pop music in 2016 no matter what country you live in or what language you speak.

Oh but I agree that L'Amour isn't great pop music. It ís kind of dated especially in the album version. But in this piano version it's a sweet simple song and I like the soft quiet way he performs it here (more rythmical than on the album) and I like his voice.

 

Funny thing with Mika' music is that even if at first I didn't really like some of his songs I got used to almost all of them and I don't mind hearing any of them now. There's something about his timbre and intonation and his way of pronouncing words that I really love. It's sort of soothing and comforting. It's even like that when he talks. And he is great in writing melodies that stick with you.

Having said that I find a lot of his songs rather cheesy but strangely enough I don't mind that at all and it doesn't stop me from listening to them. For example the song Gave it all away (sung with Boyzone) or Good guys are the kind of songs that I usually never listen to or find interesting. But if Mika sings them, I'm fine with it, I keep repeating them and I even like them after a while.

 

I'm not saying his recent music is very good. Stromae's Formidable (love love love that song and clip) is much more relevant and stronger (IMO) than any of Mika's recent songs. I'm definitely missing something in the NPIH-songs that used to be there in older songs, so I understand you very well when you say you miss "British Mika" . I miss him mostly in the combination of the songs with the clips or in most tv performances. There's nothing new or interesting happening there (again IMO). He was so much more intense in earlier performances for example Pick up off the floor at Jools Holland than in performing L' amour in the clip above.

 

But there's still enough in his songs and performances for me to like, so I'm still a fan (although presumably not a good fan in the eyes of many here). Listening to NPIH gives me very good energy and a very good mood. I prefer his first second albums to TOOL and NPIH, I find them much more energetic. However I'm glad there is new material and there are some songs that I love on those two later records as well. In a different way but I still love them.

 

About the difference between the French and the English songs to get back on topic, i think TAY and Staring at the sun are just as dated as L'Amour and Je Chante. And on stage I prefer the rythmical and energetic BBB a million times to the sentimental Good guys. But since French and English are both foreign languages to me and I like them both just as much, I 'm not in the same position as you so I get it that you feel different about that.

Edited March 12, 2016 by Pascale