Mika in Belgian Press - 2019

[crazyaboutmika]

56 minutes ago, Just_Me said:

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much Alba

[krysady]

3 hours ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

Stories from Radio Nostalgie. Belgique

 

 

 

 

The best song 

[crazyaboutmika]

7 minutes ago, krysady said:

 

The best song 

Yes my absolute fav

[krysady]

1 hour ago, Just_Me said:

 

The first video is not working for me 

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

2 hours ago, krysady said:

The first video is not working for me 

I think you have to register yourself. I did it using my FB ID.

[krysady]

42 minutes ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

I think you have to register yourself. I did it using my FB ID.

It's funny, now I can see the first video and the second one not   Thank you, Anna, in the end I managed to watch both, I love it! 

[Kumazzz]

RTBF.be

Viva Cité Bruxelles

https://www.rtbf.be/vivacite/emissions/detail_le-8-9/article_mika-devoile-sa-veritable-identite-dans-son-nouvel-album-my-name-is-michael-holbrook?id=10328506&programId=4003

Mika dévoile sa véritable identité dans son nouvel album My name is Michael Holbrook

• Olivier HARTIEL

Menu secondaire

Le 8/9

• Publié le lundi 30 septembre 2019 à 09h28

 

Le chanteur Mika était l'invité du 8/9 pour son nouvel album My name is Michael Holbrook qui sort ce vendredi.

 

Absent de la scène depuis 2015 pour assurer entre autres son rôle de coach dans The Voice France, Mika revient avec de nouvelles chansons !

Dans ce nouvel album, Mika nous dévoile sa véritable identité : My name is Michael Holbrook qui est donc... son vrai nom!

Annoncé avant l'été avec le single suggestif Ice Cream, Mika nous propose dès à présent un 2e extrait de l'album: Dear jealousy.

En concert le 14 décembre à Bruxelles à Forest National.

 

Mika se dévoile dans son nouvel album...

 

Pourquoi aviez-vous besoin maintenant de dire qui vous êtes ?

J'avais besoin de faire un reset sur ma propre vie, j'avais besoin de m'éloigner de Mika et me reconnecter avec mes racines

La jalousie, vous connaissez cela dans votre boulot ?

 

Mika dévoile sa véritable identité dans son nouvel album My name is Michael Holbrook - © Tous droits réservés

Le business rentre principalement en ligne de compte. 

On peut perdre conscience de la différence de ce que l'on vie en tournée et de ce que je vie à la maison, mais c'est est souvent moi qui suis jaloux de ce qui se passe chez moi

Vous êtes jaloux de quoi ?

 

"littéralement des petites choses simples de la vie" 

"La jalousie est la plus anti-créative de tout"

Ma Mère au quotidien dans ma carrière...Tiny love

Elle m'a formé, je me retrouve à l'âge de 7 ans, je peux ni lire pas écrire et j'ai arrêté de communiquer. J'ai été viré de l"école et ma mère m'a dit tu dois aller travailler et gagner de l'argent et elle m"a trouvé un professeur de chant russe, ou je chantais  4 heures de chant et je ne comprenais pas et elle me disait ou tu vas faire du chant ou va tu terminer en prison et 6 mois plus tard je chantais à l'opéra royal de Londres. 

"Ma mère avait remis en moi le concept qu'il y avait une autre manière de se sentir comme si on a de la valeur" 

"Avec ma mère, j'ai un rapport professionnel, et aussi personnel qui est extrêmement fort et dure "

Google translator

Spoiler

 

Mika reveals his true identity in his new album My name is Michael Holbrook

•     Olivier HARTIEL

Le 8/9

•     Posted on Monday September 30th, 2019 at 09h28

Singer Mika was the guest of 8/9 for his new album My name is Michael Holbrook coming out this Friday.

Missing the scene since 2015 to ensure inter alia his role as coach in The Voice France, Mika returns with new songs!

In this new album, Mika reveals his true identity: My name is Michael Holbrook who is ... his real name!

Announced before the summer with the suggestive single Ice Cream, Mika now offers a second extract from the album: Dear jealousy.

In concert December 14 in Brussels at Forest National.

 

Mika unveils in his new album ...

 

Why did you need to tell who you are now?

    I needed to reset on my own life, I needed to get away from Mika and reconnect with my roots

Jealousy, do you know that in your job?

Mika unveils his true identity in his new album My name is Michael Holbrook - © All rights reserved

The business comes mainly into account.

You can lose awareness of the difference of what you live on tour and what I live at home, but it is often me who is jealous of what is happening at home.

You are jealous of what?

"literally simple little things in life"

    "Jealousy is the most anti-creative of all"

 

My Mother everyday in my career ... Tiny love

 

She trained me, I find myself at the age of 7, I can neither read nor write and I stopped communicating. I was fired from school and my mother told me you have to go to work and earn money and she found me a Russian singing teacher, or I sang 4 hours of singing and I did not understand and she was telling me where you're going to sing or you're going to end up in jail and six months later I was singing at the Royal Opera House in London.

"My mother put me in the concept that there was another way to feel like you have value"

    "With my mother, I have a professional relationship, and also a personal one that is extremely strong and hard"

 

 

Here is a MP4 files ( only Mika appearance / LOW quality )

 

ORIGINAL video https://www.rtbf.be/auvio/detail_le-8-9?id=2547774

 

 

 

21 hours ago, mellody said:

Here's the replay of Mika's interview from this morning on Radio Viva Cité Bruxelles - he posted an IG story about it:

http://www.rtbfradioplayer.be/radio/liveradio/vivacite?rpAodUrl=http://rtbf-pod.l3.freecaster.net/rod/rtbf/geo/open/o/okgTJHtLn5.mp3&rpSt=12&rpSrp=3.0 

 

16 hours ago, dcdeb said:

A photo to go along with the RTBF interview

 

 

 

14 hours ago, Kumazzz said:

T4P

Radio Viva Cité Bruxelles

Le 8/9

http://www.rtbfradioplayer.be/radio/liveradio/vivacite?rpAodUrl=http://rtbf-pod.l3.freecaster.net/rod/rtbf/geo/open/Y/YgouuZX764.mp3&rpSt=12&rpSrp=10.0

L'INVITÉ : Le chanteur Mika pour son nouvel album My name is Michael Holbrook qui sort ce vendredi. Absent de la scène depuis 2015 pour assurer entre autres son rôle de coach dans The Voice France, Mika revient avec de nouvelles chansons ! Dans ce nouvel album, Mika nous dévoile sa véritable identité : My name is Michael Holbrook qui est donc... son vrai nom! Annoncé avant l'été avec le single suggestif Ice Cream, Mika nous propose dès à présent un 2e extrait de l'album: Dear jealousy. En concert le 14 décembre à Bruxelles à Forest National.

 

🔻 a whole program : MP3 file ( 1:3:16 / 57.9MB ) 2019.09.30_Belgian_RADIO_Viva Bruxelles_Le 8-9.mp3

L'invité du 8-9 - Le 8-9: l'invité

30 septembre 2019 15:40

 

🔻 MP3 file ( 10min / 9.2MB ) 2019.09.30_Belgian_RADIO_Viva Bruxelles.mp3

 

 

14 hours ago, Just_Me said:

 

 

 

 

 

INSTAGRAM

 

mikainstagram story

 

ORIGINAL MP4 files

Spoiler

 1-

2-

 

 

Edited October 1, 2019 by Kumazzz

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

The stories from Radio Nostalgie Belgique. 

Very important moment with ....

A chainsaw!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

 

[mellody]

39 minutes ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

The stories from Radio Nostalgie Belgique. 

Very important moment with ....

A chainsaw!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

 

 

That's not a chainsaw though but a hedge trimmer.  Did Mika accept it as a chainsaw? 

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

3 hours ago, mellody said:

 

That's not a chainsaw though but a hedge trimmer.  Did Mika accept it as a chainsaw? 

Mika knew that it was not a chainsaw - it's for trimming. He has one as well.

"But I have real chainsaws. Making this wrrrrrrrr With chains" - he sais. - "They are small, medium , medium ex, medium ex.... (I don't understand what he sais here - "medium ex pas large"???)... and the large ones". 

 

I suppose "medium ex" means "medium expert"  

[Just_Me]

I hope the translation team or someone else will do the whole interview some time, but I couldn't resist translating the part about Andy being mad about the photo. 

 

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

7 hours ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

Mika knew that it was not a chainsaw - it's for trimming. He has one as well.

"But I have real chainsaws. Making this wrrrrrrrr With chains" - he sais. - "They are small, medium , medium ex, medium ex.... (I don't understand what he sais here - "medium ex pas large"???)... and the large ones". 

 

I suppose "medium ex" means "medium expert"  

 

A t-shirt for an expert 

 

[mellody]

25 minutes ago, Just_Me said:

I hope the translation team or someone else will do the whole interview some time, but I couldn't resist translating the part about Andy being mad about the photo. 

 

 

 

Thanks!

It seems weird to me... Andy is wearing the same trousers in the family picture.  Although he's right, the dog in the back (I can't tell if it's Mel or Amira) looks a bit like "wtf am I doing here?!"

[maggie112]

Now I would be just too curious too see all the pictures that they shot that day, but we won’t 😂

[Kumazzz]

HLN

https://www.hln.be/showbizz/muziek/mika-is-na-4-jaar-terug-met-nieuw-album-ik-ben-opnieuw-verliefd-geworden-op-de-popmuziek~a514f4ef/

 

08 oktober 2019

 

Mika is na 4 jaar terug met nieuw album: “Ik ben opnieuw verliefd geworden op de popmuziek”

 

Op 4 oktober bracht de Brits-Libanese zanger Michael Holbrook Penniman, beter gekend als Mika (36) zijn eerste album uit in vier jaar tijd. ‘My Name Is Michael Holbrook’ doet nog steeds denken aan de hits die de zanger in ons land groot maakten, maar heeft tegelijkertijd een donkerder glamrock-kantje.

 

In 2015 bracht hij nog het album ‘No Place in Heaven’ uit, maar wij kennen Mika nog vooral van zijn eerste werk, dat ook bij ons op de radio werd grijsgedraaid: ‘Life in Cartoon Motion’ (2007), ‘The Boy Who Knew Too Much’ (2009) en ‘The Origin of Love’ (2012).  Van die albums herinneren we ons zonder twijfel nog zijn debuutplaat ’Grace Kelly, maar ook andere pareltjes zoals ‘Relax, Take It Easy’, ‘Big Girls (You Are Beautiful)’, ‘We Are Golden’ en ‘Happy Ending’.

Op ‘No Place In Heaven’ pakte hij nochtans uit met enkele interessante nummers in het Frans. Met zijn rijke culturele achtergrond was dat voor Mika geen probleem: hij werd geboren in Beirut, groeide op in Parijs en verhuisde daarna naar Londen. Hij heeft dus verschillende talen volledig onder de gordel.

 

TV-carrière

 

Het is intussen al een hele poos geleden dat we nog van Mika gehoord hebben. Dat lag niet aan een gebrek aan talent of creativiteit, maar het komt volgens de zanger zelf omdat hij “zijn liefde voor het vak een beetje verloren was”. De laatste jaren was hij vooral aan het werk als jurylid voor de Franse en Italiaanse versie van ‘The Voice’.

“Toen ik eindelijk weer zin kreeg om zelf muziek te maken ging ik  terug naar de basics”, klinkt het. “Ik bouwde thuis een studio en nam twee jaar de tijd om een nieuw album te schrijven, met een volledig nieuw productieteam.” De thuis waar hij het over heeft bevindt zich in Miami, waar hij een huis bezit dat hij jaren geleden gekocht heeft. “Ja, ik ben een beetje een jetsetter.”

 

“Ik wilde opnieuw contact leggen met dat ‘jongentje dat te veel wist’, zoals op mijn eerdere album. Contact leggen met mij, met Mika. Ik wilde al die vreemde tv-ervaringen vergeten. Maar ook de tours en de commerciële verrassingen, de successen en de flops. Ik wilde terugkeren naar die 18-jarige muziekliefhebber die voor zijn piano zat, die liedjes wilde schrijven, die dacht in kleuren en beelden... Die jongen was Michael Holbrook. Vandaar de  titel van mijn nieuwe album.”

 

Liefde, hitte en seks

 

De eerste single van het album ‘Ice Cream’, verscheen al in mei dit jaar. Een vrolijk liedje dat ode brengt aan de zomer. “De geur van felgekleurd plastic in de brandende zon”: Mika schildert een zintuigelijk herkenbaar plaatje. “Ik wist niet goed waar ik over moest schrijven op dit album, maar ik had de nood om er weer mee te beginnen. De deur naar mijn creativiteit is jarenlang gesloten geweest, en ik moest ze weer openmaken. Ik ging op zoek naar mijn roots, en naar de simpele dingen in het leven. ‘Ice Cream’ gaat over

liefde, hitte en seks. Langs de andere kant leggen we in de clip ook focus op de klimaatcrisis. In mijn kindertijd zag ik de hitte gewoon als iets glorieus, nu is het bijna een Margaret Atwoord-roman geworden, iets waar we bang voor moeten zijn. Ik zocht naar die balans tussen plezier en angst. En dat wil ik in al mijn songs: dat onderliggende contrast met de dreigende rampspoed.”

 

Nieuw materiaal, nieuwe tour

 

“Dat donkere kantje is grappig, ik weet het, want ik schrijf danspop. Zeker in Noord-Amerika gaat dat vooral over nonsens. Ik hou van het genre, maar ik wil dat het meer is dan dat.”

 

Mika gaat binnenkort weer de baan op met zijn Tiny Love Tiny Tour. Hij trekt eerst door Noord-Amerika, maar gaat daarna verder naar de grote Europese arena’s. “Ik wil bij mijn show niet alleen muziek betrekken, maar ook kunst. Een ervaring waarbij je ondergedompeld wordt in beeld, kleur en geluid”, droomt hij luidop. “Dat is wat ik op korte termijn wil bereiken.”

Mika staat op 14 december in Vorst Nationaal, Brussel. Tickets zijn beschikbaar via LiveNation.

 

Goge translator

Spoiler

 

Mika is back with a new album after 4 years: "I fell in love with pop music again"

 

On October 4, British-Lebanese singer Michael Holbrook Penniman, better known as Mika (36), released his first album in four years. "My Name Is Michael Holbrook" is still reminiscent of the hits that made the singer great in our country, but at the same time has a darker glamrock edge.

 

In 2015 he released the album 'No Place in Heaven', but we are mostly familiar with Mika from his first work, which was also turned down on our radio: 'Life in Cartoon Motion' (2007), 'The Boy Who Knew Too Much '(2009) and' The Origin of Love '(2012). From those albums we undoubtedly remember his debut album "Grace Kelly, but also other gems such as" Relax, Take It Easy "," Big Girls (You Are Beautiful) "," We Are Golden "and" Happy Ending ".

On ‘No Place In Heaven’, however, he released some interesting songs in French. With his rich cultural background, that was no problem for Mika: he was born in Beirut, grew up in Paris and then moved to London. He therefore has several languages under his belt.

TV career

It has been a while since we have heard of Mika. That was not due to a lack of talent or creativity, but according to the singer himself, it was because he "had lost a little love for the profession". In recent years, he has mainly been working as a jury member for the French and Italian versions of "The Voice".

"When I finally felt like making music myself again, I went back to the basics," it sounds. "I built a studio at home and took two years to write a new album with a completely new production team." The home he is talking about is in Miami, where he owns a house he bought years ago. "Yes, I am a bit of a jetsetter."

"I wanted to make contact again with that" little boy who knew too much ", like on my earlier album. Make contact with me, with Mika. I wanted to forget all those strange TV experiences. But also the tours and the commercial surprises, the successes and the flops. I wanted to return to that 18-year-old music lover who sat in front of his piano, who wanted to write songs, who thought in colors and images ... That boy was Michael Holbrook. Hence the title of my new album. "

Love, heat and sex

The first single from the album "Ice Cream" was released in May this year. A cheerful song that pays tribute to the summer. "The smell of brightly colored plastic in the burning sun": Mika paints a sensibly recognizable image. “I wasn't sure what to write about on this album, but I felt the need to start again. The door to my creativity has been closed for years, and I had to open it again. I started looking for my roots and for the simple things in life. "Ice Cream" is about love, heat and sex. On the other hand, we also focus on the climate crisis in the clip. In my childhood I just saw the heat as something glorious, now it has almost become a Margaret Atword novel, something we should be afraid of. I searched for that balance between pleasure and fear. And that's what I want in all my songs: that underlying contrast with the imminent disaster. ”

New material, new tour

“That dark side is funny, I know, because I write dance doll. Certainly in North America that is mainly about nonsense. I love the genre, but I want it to be more than that. "

Mika will soon be back on track with his Tiny Love Tiny Tour. He first travels through North America, but then continues to the major European arenas. “I don't just want to involve music in my show, but also art. An experience in which you are immersed in image, color and sound, "he dreams aloud. "That is what I want to achieve in the short term."

 

Mika is on December 14 in Forest National, Brussels. Tickets are available through LiveNation.

 

 

 

[Kumazzz]

Radio Contact

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kumazzz]

On 10/9/2019 at 10:23 AM, Kumazzz said:

Radio Contact

 

Radio Contact

 

 

[Kumazzz]

Sorry to say, I couldn't D/L video file.

RTBF / Viva Cité : Tip Top

https://www.rtbf.be/vivacite/emissions/detail_tip-top/accueil/article_michael-holbrook-ou-plutot-mika-a-l-honneur-dans-le-tip-top?id=10334977&programId=5903

Michael Holbrook, ou plutôt Mika, à l'honneur dans le Tip Top!

 

Bruno Tummers

Publié le samedi 12 octobre 2019 à 10h30

 

Le chanteur français Mika est de retour avec son nouvel album My name is Michael Holbrook.

 

Absent de la scène depuis 2015 pour assurer entre autres son rôle de coach dans The Voice France, Mika revient avec de nouvelles chansons!

Dans ce nouvel album, Mika nous dévoile sa véritable identité : My name is Michael Holbrook qui est donc... son vrai nom!

Retrouvez-le en interview dans le Tip Top ce samedi 12 octobre dès 10h30 et en vidéo ci-dessus!

 

Annoncé avant l'été avec le single suggestif Ice Cream, ce 5e album est une mise à nu pour le chanteur. 

J'avais besoin de la musique pour mettre en ordre ma vie. Ca m'a aidé à me protéger mais aussi à me confronter à mes peurs. Il y a ce contraste entre textes intimes et musique vives. Il y a une légèreté d'esprit. Cet album est au service de l'émotion. Le partage de l'émotion est fondamental dans l'écriture pop. J'aime la pop qui raconte des histoires et qui n'est pas "que" le son du moment.

Mika nous propose pour cette rentrée un 2e extrait de l'album: Dear jealousy.

Cette chanson a un côté cathartique. La jalousie est la chose la plus anti créative qu'on puisse ressentir. La jalousie m'a bouffé la vie parfois. Dans notre monde, la jalousie est sans cesse provoquée. Quand on regarde Instagram ou la pub, ça diminue parfois notre valeur. Ca provoque du déséquilibre. C'est un gaspillage d'énergie et de temps. 

 

On épingle aussi dans cet album le titre Paloma, dédié à sa soeur, comme l'explique Mika avec pudeur:

Ca raconte une histoire douloureuse. Le soir de sa crémaillère, elle a eu un accident à quatre heures de matin. Je l'ai vue tomber du 4e étage. J'ai dû appeler la famille et c'était le jour de l'anniversaire de mon père. Il avait 60 ans. Elle s'en est sortie miraculeusement. Elle s'en est relevée avec des conséquences. Avec l'écriture de cet album, j'ai eu besoin de revisiter, de me rapprocher de cette histoire. Au lieu de me blinder et de perdre l'émotion, j'ai transformé ce traumatisme en beauté.

 

Mika sera en concert à Bruxelles, à Forest National, le 14 décembre.

 

Google translator

Spoiler

 

French singer Mika is back with his new album My name is Michael Holbrook.

 

Missing the scene since 2015 to ensure inter alia his role as coach in The Voice France, Mika returns with new songs!

In this new album, Mika reveals his true identity: My name is Michael Holbrook who is ... his real name!

Find him in an interview in the Tip Top this Saturday, October 12 from 10:30 and video above!

Announced before the summer with the suggestive single Ice Cream, this 5th album is a baring for the singer.

I needed the music to put my life in order. It helped me to protect myself but also to confront my fears. There is this contrast between intimate texts and lively music. There is a lightness of spirit. This album is at the service of emotion. The sharing of emotion is fundamental in pop writing. I like pop that tells stories and is not "that" the sound of the moment.

Mika offers us for this season a second extract from the album: Dear jealousy.

This song has a cathartic side. Jealousy is the most anti-creative thing you can feel. Jealousy has eaten my life sometimes. In our world, jealousy is constantly provoked. When we look at Instagram or advertising, it sometimes diminishes our value. It causes imbalance. It is a waste of energy and time.

This album also features the title Paloma, dedicated to his sister, as explained by Mika with modesty:

It tells a painful story. The night of her housewarming, she had an accident at four o'clock in the morning. I saw her fall from the 4th floor. I had to call the family and it was my father's birthday. He was 60 years old. She came out miraculously. She recovered from it with consequences. With the writing of this album, I needed to revisit, to get closer to this story. Instead of shielding myself and losing emotion, I turned this trauma into beauty.

Mika will be performing in Brussels at Forest National on December 14th.

 

 

 

[mellody]

8 hours ago, Kumazzz said:

Sorry to say, I couldn't D/L video file.

RTBF / Viva Cité : Tip Top

https://www.rtbf.be/vivacite/emissions/detail_tip-top/accueil/article_michael-holbrook-ou-plutot-mika-a-l-honneur-dans-le-tip-top?id=10334977&programId=5903

Michael Holbrook, ou plutôt Mika, à l'honneur dans le Tip Top!

 

Bruno Tummers

Publié le samedi 12 octobre 2019 à 10h30

 

Le chanteur français Mika est de retour avec son nouvel album My name is Michael Holbrook.

 

Absent de la scène depuis 2015 pour assurer entre autres son rôle de coach dans The Voice France, Mika revient avec de nouvelles chansons!

Dans ce nouvel album, Mika nous dévoile sa véritable identité : My name is Michael Holbrook qui est donc... son vrai nom!

Retrouvez-le en interview dans le Tip Top ce samedi 12 octobre dès 10h30 et en vidéo ci-dessus!

 

Annoncé avant l'été avec le single suggestif Ice Cream, ce 5e album est une mise à nu pour le chanteur. 

J'avais besoin de la musique pour mettre en ordre ma vie. Ca m'a aidé à me protéger mais aussi à me confronter à mes peurs. Il y a ce contraste entre textes intimes et musique vives. Il y a une légèreté d'esprit. Cet album est au service de l'émotion. Le partage de l'émotion est fondamental dans l'écriture pop. J'aime la pop qui raconte des histoires et qui n'est pas "que" le son du moment.

Mika nous propose pour cette rentrée un 2e extrait de l'album: Dear jealousy.

Cette chanson a un côté cathartique. La jalousie est la chose la plus anti créative qu'on puisse ressentir. La jalousie m'a bouffé la vie parfois. Dans notre monde, la jalousie est sans cesse provoquée. Quand on regarde Instagram ou la pub, ça diminue parfois notre valeur. Ca provoque du déséquilibre. C'est un gaspillage d'énergie et de temps. 

 

On épingle aussi dans cet album le titre Paloma, dédié à sa soeur, comme l'explique Mika avec pudeur:

Ca raconte une histoire douloureuse. Le soir de sa crémaillère, elle a eu un accident à quatre heures de matin. Je l'ai vue tomber du 4e étage. J'ai dû appeler la famille et c'était le jour de l'anniversaire de mon père. Il avait 60 ans. Elle s'en est sortie miraculeusement. Elle s'en est relevée avec des conséquences. Avec l'écriture de cet album, j'ai eu besoin de revisiter, de me rapprocher de cette histoire. Au lieu de me blinder et de perdre l'émotion, j'ai transformé ce traumatisme en beauté.

 

Mika sera en concert à Bruxelles, à Forest National, le 14 décembre.

 

Google translator

  Hide contents

 

French singer Mika is back with his new album My name is Michael Holbrook.

 

Missing the scene since 2015 to ensure inter alia his role as coach in The Voice France, Mika returns with new songs!

In this new album, Mika reveals his true identity: My name is Michael Holbrook who is ... his real name!

Find him in an interview in the Tip Top this Saturday, October 12 from 10:30 and video above!

Announced before the summer with the suggestive single Ice Cream, this 5th album is a baring for the singer.

I needed the music to put my life in order. It helped me to protect myself but also to confront my fears. There is this contrast between intimate texts and lively music. There is a lightness of spirit. This album is at the service of emotion. The sharing of emotion is fundamental in pop writing. I like pop that tells stories and is not "that" the sound of the moment.

Mika offers us for this season a second extract from the album: Dear jealousy.

This song has a cathartic side. Jealousy is the most anti-creative thing you can feel. Jealousy has eaten my life sometimes. In our world, jealousy is constantly provoked. When we look at Instagram or advertising, it sometimes diminishes our value. It causes imbalance. It is a waste of energy and time.

This album also features the title Paloma, dedicated to his sister, as explained by Mika with modesty:

It tells a painful story. The night of her housewarming, she had an accident at four o'clock in the morning. I saw her fall from the 4th floor. I had to call the family and it was my father's birthday. He was 60 years old. She came out miraculously. She recovered from it with consequences. With the writing of this album, I needed to revisit, to get closer to this story. Instead of shielding myself and losing emotion, I turned this trauma into beauty.

Mika will be performing in Brussels at Forest National on December 14th.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks. It seems an interesting interview, he tells a lot of details about some of the songs (Tomorrow, Dear Jealousy, Sanremo, Paloma, and he also mentions Tiny Love). He also says something about having different singles in different countries... I hope at some point the @Subtitling Team will have time again to catch up with all that's been published lately...

[krysady]

13 hours ago, mellody said:

He also says something about having different singles in different countries..

 

Yes, he said that nowadays each country is choosing their single from the album, not the artist, as it happened in the past. So Italy required Tomorrow as the single for them and for UK it was San Remo.   Also an interesting fact, the video for San Remo it was very well received in the USA and UK, but he has problems to be accepted by his record label in Italy. 

He wanted to sum up this album in one word, and that word it is "desire".

 

[mellody]

Interview on 7sur7.be:

https://www.7sur7.be/musique/mika-a-eu-peur-pour-sa-carriere-je-sentais-que-c-etait-le-debut-de-la-fin~aeeca437/?fbclid=IwAR37DJa_iA56rsmUv6eWePt5cPwML2FJPdFsqgz9BRFFC0IlpA3N1T2IPPQ

 

Mika a eu peur pour sa carrière: “Je sentais que c'était le début de la fin”

On a l’impression qu’il n’a jamais vraiment quitté la scène médiatique, sans doute parce qu’il a été coach dans la version française de “The Voice” pendant six saisons. Pourtant, Mika (36 ans) n’avait plus sorti d’album de chansons originales depuis cinq ans. Son dernier opus, “My name is Michael Holbrook”, crée la surprise. Rencontre avec le maître de la pop acidulée...

 

Vous avez donné votre nom civil à l’album parce qu’il parle de vous?

Je voulais me mettre au défi de renouer avec le vrai moi. Ces dernières années, je n’étais plus en phase avec moi-même. C’est comme si plusieurs Mika existaient mais qu’aucun d’entre eux ne se comprenait vraiment. L’artiste, qui ne savait plus quoi écrire, l’homme qui traversait une période douloureuse, le personnage public. Pour sauver ma carrière, il fallait que je parvienne à réunir toutes ces facettes de ma personnalité. Je jouais au guignol. Il fallait que je le fasse. Je sentais que c’était le début de la fin. J’ai longtemps écrit sur le passé, il fallait que j’affronte le présent.

C’est plus difficile d’écrire sur ce qu’on vit? On a moins de recul sur les choses?

J’ai perdu quatre personnes durant l’écriture de cet album. Ma mère, la femme qui m’a construit, qui m’a élevé est tombée malade (elle est atteinte d’une tumeur au cerveau, ndlr). Avant, je cachais ce genre de choses. Je n’en parlais pas. Par pudeur. Parce que je croyais, à tort, que les gens bien éduqués ne s’épanchent pas sur ce qu’ils traversent. Peut-être aussi parce que je ne voulais pas y penser.

Faire cet album, ça a remué des choses?

J’ai été très triste. J’ai pleuré comme un enfant. Mais, ces choses avaient besoin de sortir pour que je m’adoucisse, que je revienne à des choses plus pures, plus colorées. J’ai arrêté d’être dans le contrôle, de chercher à tout prix à créer la mélodie qui allait plaire aux gens. J’ai lâché prise.

Sur “Tiny Love”, vous chantez que l’amour, le vrai, n’a rien à voir avec celui qu’on nous vend dans les contes de fées. Il vous a fallu du temps pour vous défaire de cette vision idéalisée?

Je n’y ai jamais vraiment cru. Quoique... Je suis en couple avec la même personne depuis douze ans. Et, c’est vrai que, parfois, j’ai envie qu’il se passe un truc incroyable, que nos regards se croisent, qu’il y ait cette étincelle. C’est horrible ce que je dis (rires). Je crois qu’on peut rêver tout en sachant que ce n’est pas la réalité. Puis, cette chanson ne parle pas vraiment d’amour...

Elle parle de quoi alors?

Elle ne parle pas de ma mère, elle ne parle pas d’Andy, mon compagnon, comme j’ai pu le lire, mais de l’estime que l’on a de soi dans un monde où l’on essaye sans cesse de nous dévaloriser. Le seul antidote, c’est de reconnaître que, ce qui est important pour soi ne doit pas l’être pour quelqu’un d’autre.

Sur un autre morceau, vous évoquez la jalousie. Vous l’êtes, jaloux?

De temps en temps. Et je déteste ce sentiment. Je suis jaloux de moi-même aussi, de la personne qui se présentait sur scène il y a cinq ans. Et si je ne pouvais plus être cette personne? Et si je n’étais pas à la hauteur de celui que j’étais avant?

Vous dédiez un titre à Paloma, votre sœur, qui a failli perdre la vie en 2010 à la suite d’un accident. Qu’est-ce qu’elle en a pensé?

Elle était horrifiée à l’idée que j’évoque quelque chose d’aussi personnel. Elle est née avec un handicap. Et, toute sa vie, elle a essayé de faire comme si elle était comme tout le monde. Elle cachait cette douleur avec laquelle elle vivait en permanence. Elle n’a jamais voulu admettre qu’elle avait du mal à se lever alors qu’à 30 ans, elle avait les hanches d’une personne de 87 ans. Puis, elle a eu cet accident (elle s’est empalée sur des grilles en chutant du quatrième étage, ndlr). Les choses ont encore empiré. J’étais auprès d’elle quand c’est arrivé. J’ai cru voir ma sœur en train de mourir. Je n’en avais jamais parlé. Puis, les paroles de “Paloma” sont venues naturellement quand j’étais en studio. Je ne lui ai pas demandé sa permission. Quand elle a entendu la chanson, elle était déstabilisée, elle ne comprenait pas comment j’avais pu m’approprier ce moment qui était le sien. Elle m’a dit: “C’est moi qui ai passé deux ans et demi à l’hôpital, c’est moi qui paie encore les conséquences de cet accident. Comment peux-tu croire que ce moment t’appartient?” Elle m’en a voulu mais aujourd’hui elle a compris que même si, évidemment, le poids de cet accident est plus lourd à porter pour elle que pour moi, en parler m’a permis de me libérer et de la libérer elle aussi.

On entend chanter votre maman sur ce disque. Elle était plus enthousiaste que votre sœur à l’idée que cet album lui soit en partie dédié?

Elle m’a dit un truc très dur: “Si tu parles de moi avec tristesse, je ne te pardonnerai jamais. Je n’ai pas envie que tu fasses un album en ma mémoire.” Oui, mes chansons sont douces, mais je ne fais pas dans le sentimentalisme non plus. Je ne suis pas dans le pathos, c’est un album joyeux. Si je voulais qu’on l’entende sur la reprise de “Tiny Love”, qui clôture l’album, c’est parce que j’ai réalisé que les gens sur qui les artistes écrivent n’ont jamais le droit de leur répondre. J’aime la fragilité de sa voix, son intonation qui n’est pas parfaite et ce vibrato un peu large.

Vous n’avez la même relation avec votre père?

Non. Ma mère, c’est la chaleur du Sud. Mon père a plus de pudeur. Notre relation a toujours été délicatement complexe. Nous n’avons jamais été en conflit mais il y a toujours eu une forme de distance entre nous. Il a toujours été présent. Il est présent et je le respecte énormément.

Vous parlez aussi de l’enfer et du paradis. Vous y croyez?

Je ne crois pas à l’enfer tel qu’il est représenté sur les tableaux. C’est une folie. J’ai suivi des cours de catéchisme durant toute mon enfance et je ne crois pas aux clichés, aux illustrations de la religion mais je pense que les idées transmises sont extrêmement importantes. Le risque, c’est de mélanger la spiritualité et la politique. Ca ne mène qu’à des problèmes comme l’exploitation, la manipulation, la guerre. L’enfer existe-t-il? Oui, mais pas dans une autre dimension, il est sur Terre. Et nous avons le privilège de ne pas y vivre. Le paradis existe aussi... mais il n’est pas aux Maldives, il est partout, à chaque coin de rue.

C’est vrai que vous avez enregistré une partie de l’album chez nous, à Bruxelles?

Oui. Aux studios ICP, qui sont très prisés par les anglophones. Et, si vous allez boire un verre dans le bar d’en face, vous risquez de voir des artistes... plus ou moins ivres (sourire). J’adore Bruxelles. On y mange très bien. Moi, j’aime manger tout seul. Je m’assieds sur la banquette d’une brasserie et je regarde le monde autour, j’observe.

“My name is Michael Holbrook”, disponible dès ce vendredi 4 octobre (Universal Music). En concert le samedi 14 décembre à Forest National.

 

Google translate:

 

Spoiler

 

Mika was scared for her career: "I felt it was the beginning of the end"

It seems that he never really left the media scene, probably because he was coach in the French version of "The Voice" for six seasons. However, Mika (36) had not released an album of original songs for five years. His latest album, "My name is Michael Holbrook", is a surprise. Meet the master of the tangy pop ...

 

Did you give your name to the album because it's about you?

I wanted to challenge myself to reconnect with the true self. In recent years, I was no longer in tune with myself. It is as if several Mika existed but none of them really understood each other. The artist, who did not know what to write, the man who was going through a painful period, the public figure. To save my career, I had to be able to combine all these facets of my personality. I was playing the puppet. I had to do it. I felt it was the beginning of the end. I have long written about the past, I had to face the present.

It's harder to write about what we live? We have less perspective on things?

I lost four people while writing this album. My mother, the woman who built me, who brought me up, got sick (she has a brain tumor, editor's note). Before, I hid things like that. I did not talk about it. By modesty. Because I mistakenly believed that well-educated people do not get over what they are going through. Maybe because I did not want to think about it.

Make this album, it stirred things?

I was very sad. I cried like a child. But, these things needed to come out so that I soften, that I come back to purer, more colorful things. I stopped being in control, trying at all costs to create the melody that would please people. I let go.

On "Tiny Love", you sing that love, the real one, has nothing to do with the one we sell in fairy tales. It took you time to get rid of this idealized vision?

I never really believed. Although ... I am in a relationship with the same person for twelve years. And, it's true that sometimes, I want something incredible happening, that our eyes meet, that there is this spark. It's horrible what I say (laughs). I think we can dream knowing that this is not the reality. Then, this song does not really talk about love ...

What is she talking about?

She does not talk about my mother, she does not talk about Andy, my companion, as I read it, but the esteem that we have of ourselves in a world where we try constantly we devalue. The only antidote is to recognize that what is important to you should not be for someone else.

On another piece, you mention jealousy. Are you, jealous?

Sometimes. And I hate this feeling. I am jealous of myself too, of the person who appeared on stage five years ago. What if I could not be that person anymore? What if I was not up to the one I was before?

You dedicate a title to Paloma, your sister, who nearly died in 2010 following an accident. What did she think?

She was horrified at the thought of something so personal. She was born with a disability. And, all her life, she tried to act as if she were like everyone else. She was hiding the pain she lived with all the time. She never wanted to admit that she was struggling to get up while at 30, she had the hips of an 87 year old. Then she had this accident (she impaled on grates falling from the fourth floor, ed). Things have gotten worse. I was with her when it happened. I thought I saw my sister dying. I had never spoken about it. Then, the lyrics of "Paloma" came naturally when I was in the studio. I did not ask him for his permission. When she heard the song, she was destabilized, she did not understand how I had appropriated this moment that was his. She told me: "I spent two and a half years in the hospital, it is me who still pays the consequences of this accident. How can you believe that this moment belongs to you? "She was mad at me but today she understood that even if, obviously, the weight of this accident is heavier to carry for her than for me, to speak about it allowed me to free myself and release her too.

We hear your mom sing on this record. She was more enthusiastic than your sister at the idea that this album is partly dedicated to her?

She told me something very hard: "If you talk about me with sadness, I will never forgive you. I do not want you to make an album in my memory. "Yes, my songs are sweet, but I do not do sentimentalism either. I'm not in the pathos, it's a happy album. If I wanted to hear about the cover of "Tiny Love", which closes the album, it's because I realized that the people that artists write never have the right to answer them . I like the fragility of his voice, his intonation is not perfect and this vibrato a bit wide.

Do you have the same relationship with your father?

No. My mother is the heat of the South. My father has more modesty. Our relationship has always been delicately complex. We have never been in conflict but there has always been some form of distance between us. He has always been present. He is present and I respect him enormously.

You also talk about hell and paradise. You believe in it?

I do not believe in hell as it is represented on the charts. It's crazy. I have taken catechism lessons throughout my childhood and I do not believe in clichés, illustrations of religion but I think that the ideas transmitted are extremely important. The risk is to mix spirituality and politics. It only leads to problems like exploitation, manipulation, war. Does hell exist? Yes, but not in another dimension, he is on Earth. And we have the privilege of not living there. Paradise exists too ... but it's not in the Maldives, it's everywhere, on every street corner.

Is it true that you recorded part of the album at home in Brussels?

Yes. ICP studios, which are very popular with anglophones. And, if you go for a drink in the bar opposite, you may see artists ... more or less drunk (smile). I love Brussels. The food is very tasty there. I like to eat alone. I sit on the bench of a brewery and I look at the world around, I observe.

"My name is Michael Holbrook", available this Friday, October 4 (Universal Music). In concert on Saturday, December 14 at Forest National.

 

 

 

 

 

[ellie]

On 10/14/2019 at 2:33 PM, krysady said:

but he has problems to be accepted by his record label in Italy. 

 

Haha I wonder if it is because Federico Aldrovandi is the name of a guy who was was killed by cops and there is an anti-police message in the video ( the ACAB graffity). I would have been offended if I were italian tbh, I dont think its his place to comment on italian society, or well not on this issue which is more of an american problem anyway

Edited October 23, 2019 by ellie

[krysady]

2 hours ago, ellie said:

 

Haha I wonder if it is because Federico Aldrovandi is the name of a guy who was was killed by cops and there is an anti-police message in the video ( the ACAB graffity). I would have been offended if I were italian tbh, I dont think its his place to comment on italian society, or well not on this issue which is more of an american problem anyway

I would rather tend to believe that the topic of the video it is a sensible one for Italy in general ( and not only Italy ), especially for some political authorities...after all, Vatican it's there.  But your theory it's possible as well. I don't know, probably Italians understand better this issue from inside, the reasons might be far from our guesses  

[ellie]

33 minutes ago, krysady said:

I would rather tend to believe that the topic of the video it is a sensible one for Italy in general ( and not only Italy ), especially for some political authorities...after all, Vatican it's there.  But your theory it's possible as well. I don't know, probably Italians understand better this issue from inside, the reasons might be far from our guesses  

 

Yeah who knows, his UK label comissioned the video though and the official version is slightly censored actually ( the scene with that guy sucking off Mika's ring finger is longer and there arent those odd cuts to his hand in the directors cut ), thats why I thought his italian label had a different issue.

 

Maybe they were just mad he didnt filmed a music video for Tomorrow and Im overthinking

[mellody]

22 hours ago, mellody said:

Interview on 7sur7.be:

https://www.7sur7.be/musique/mika-a-eu-peur-pour-sa-carriere-je-sentais-que-c-etait-le-debut-de-la-fin~aeeca437/?fbclid=IwAR37DJa_iA56rsmUv6eWePt5cPwML2FJPdFsqgz9BRFFC0IlpA3N1T2IPPQ

 

 

Google translate:

 

  Hide contents

 

Mika was scared for her career: "I felt it was the beginning of the end"

It seems that he never really left the media scene, probably because he was coach in the French version of "The Voice" for six seasons. However, Mika (36) had not released an album of original songs for five years. His latest album, "My name is Michael Holbrook", is a surprise. Meet the master of the tangy pop ...

 

Did you give your name to the album because it's about you?

I wanted to challenge myself to reconnect with the true self. In recent years, I was no longer in tune with myself. It is as if several Mika existed but none of them really understood each other. The artist, who did not know what to write, the man who was going through a painful period, the public figure. To save my career, I had to be able to combine all these facets of my personality. I was playing the puppet. I had to do it. I felt it was the beginning of the end. I have long written about the past, I had to face the present.

It's harder to write about what we live? We have less perspective on things?

I lost four people while writing this album. My mother, the woman who built me, who brought me up, got sick (she has a brain tumor, editor's note). Before, I hid things like that. I did not talk about it. By modesty. Because I mistakenly believed that well-educated people do not get over what they are going through. Maybe because I did not want to think about it.

Make this album, it stirred things?

I was very sad. I cried like a child. But, these things needed to come out so that I soften, that I come back to purer, more colorful things. I stopped being in control, trying at all costs to create the melody that would please people. I let go.

On "Tiny Love", you sing that love, the real one, has nothing to do with the one we sell in fairy tales. It took you time to get rid of this idealized vision?

I never really believed. Although ... I am in a relationship with the same person for twelve years. And, it's true that sometimes, I want something incredible happening, that our eyes meet, that there is this spark. It's horrible what I say (laughs). I think we can dream knowing that this is not the reality. Then, this song does not really talk about love ...

What is she talking about?

She does not talk about my mother, she does not talk about Andy, my companion, as I read it, but the esteem that we have of ourselves in a world where we try constantly we devalue. The only antidote is to recognize that what is important to you should not be for someone else.

On another piece, you mention jealousy. Are you, jealous?

Sometimes. And I hate this feeling. I am jealous of myself too, of the person who appeared on stage five years ago. What if I could not be that person anymore? What if I was not up to the one I was before?

You dedicate a title to Paloma, your sister, who nearly died in 2010 following an accident. What did she think?

She was horrified at the thought of something so personal. She was born with a disability. And, all her life, she tried to act as if she were like everyone else. She was hiding the pain she lived with all the time. She never wanted to admit that she was struggling to get up while at 30, she had the hips of an 87 year old. Then she had this accident (she impaled on grates falling from the fourth floor, ed). Things have gotten worse. I was with her when it happened. I thought I saw my sister dying. I had never spoken about it. Then, the lyrics of "Paloma" came naturally when I was in the studio. I did not ask him for his permission. When she heard the song, she was destabilized, she did not understand how I had appropriated this moment that was his. She told me: "I spent two and a half years in the hospital, it is me who still pays the consequences of this accident. How can you believe that this moment belongs to you? "She was mad at me but today she understood that even if, obviously, the weight of this accident is heavier to carry for her than for me, to speak about it allowed me to free myself and release her too.

We hear your mom sing on this record. She was more enthusiastic than your sister at the idea that this album is partly dedicated to her?

She told me something very hard: "If you talk about me with sadness, I will never forgive you. I do not want you to make an album in my memory. "Yes, my songs are sweet, but I do not do sentimentalism either. I'm not in the pathos, it's a happy album. If I wanted to hear about the cover of "Tiny Love", which closes the album, it's because I realized that the people that artists write never have the right to answer them . I like the fragility of his voice, his intonation is not perfect and this vibrato a bit wide.

Do you have the same relationship with your father?

No. My mother is the heat of the South. My father has more modesty. Our relationship has always been delicately complex. We have never been in conflict but there has always been some form of distance between us. He has always been present. He is present and I respect him enormously.

You also talk about hell and paradise. You believe in it?

I do not believe in hell as it is represented on the charts. It's crazy. I have taken catechism lessons throughout my childhood and I do not believe in clichés, illustrations of religion but I think that the ideas transmitted are extremely important. The risk is to mix spirituality and politics. It only leads to problems like exploitation, manipulation, war. Does hell exist? Yes, but not in another dimension, he is on Earth. And we have the privilege of not living there. Paradise exists too ... but it's not in the Maldives, it's everywhere, on every street corner.

Is it true that you recorded part of the album at home in Brussels?

Yes. ICP studios, which are very popular with anglophones. And, if you go for a drink in the bar opposite, you may see artists ... more or less drunk (smile). I love Brussels. The food is very tasty there. I like to eat alone. I sit on the bench of a brewery and I look at the world around, I observe.

"My name is Michael Holbrook", available this Friday, October 4 (Universal Music). In concert on Saturday, December 14 at Forest National.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've added the Google translation to my post.