Kumazzz Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 (edited) Mika in US press 2019 Mika in US Press 2017 / 2018 Mika in US press 2016 Mika in US Press 2015 Mika in US & Canadian Press - 2013/2014 2020 will be a great year !! Edited January 23, 2021 by Kumazzz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted January 7, 2020 Author Share Posted January 7, 2020 Out In Jersey Making New Year's bright | Out In Jersey Michael Cook January 1, 2020 Mika For his first full length in five years, My Name is Michael Holbrook, MIKA explores his American heritage. Recording in places like Miami and in Tuscany, Mika has crafted an album that is true to his signature musical style, but indescribably a heightened sound. Opening the album with the production heavy opus “Tiny Love” is a stroke of brilliance, at it sets the tone for the remainder of the album. “My Name is Michael Holbrook” album cover from MIKA The tracks range from dance heavy (“Dear Jealousy”, “Platform Ballerinas”) to understated anthems (“Ready To Call This Love”). “This album has been a rich and intense journey. Inspired by life in all its glory and all its dark challenges. It’s also inspired by love. Starting with an idea that was born in a cemetery in Savannah Georgia and ending the writing in a 650 year old farm house in Italy. My intention was to write about life as it happened. A sort of album made in ‘real time,’” MIKA says. His signature falsettos are featured throughout, with the ballads being heavy on strings. The down tempo “I Went To Hell Last Night” is an album standout, making Mika’s sound both new, yet very much his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krysady Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Mika nominee at the GLAAD Media Awards : The Nominees for the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards https://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/31/nominees 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krysady Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted January 21, 2020 Author Share Posted January 21, 2020 Billboard 1/21/2020 by Stephen Daw Mika Teases Just-Announced North American Tour With 'Dear Jealousy' Live Video In 2019, pop artist Mika gave some of his fans in North America the long-awaited live return they'd been waiting for with his Tiny Love Tiny Tour, during which he visited New York, Canada and Los Angeles to deliver a series of intimate shows. But in 2020, the star is finally coming back to tour North America in full force. On Tuesday (Jan. 21), Mika announced the upcoming North American leg of his Revelation Tour. Starting April 11 with his first Coachella set, the star is set to travel throughout the U.S. and Canada with his new show, stopping in major cities like San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Nashville, Atlanta and New York City, before closing his run in Quebec at the Videotron Centre on May 16. To accompany his newly announced tour, Mika also announced the release of his new live album MIKA Live From Brooklyn Steel. Recorded during his sold-out return to Williamsburg's Brooklyn Steel in September, the album is set to release on Jan. 31. For those fans who are anxious to hear a taste of the star's live vocals, he also shared a live video of himself performing "Dear Jealousy" during the show (below). Tickets for Mika's Revelation Tour go on pre-sale Wednesday at 10 a.m. local time, with the general sale to follow Friday. Click here to get your tickets, and check out the singer's live performance of "Dear Jealousy" and the full list of North American tour dates below: Revelations Tour North American dates: 4/11 — Indio, CA —Coachella 4/13 — San Francisco, CA — The Masonic 4/18 — Indio, CA — Coachella 4/20 — Seattle, WA — The ShowBox 4/21 — Portland, OR — Roseland Theatre 4/24 — Denver, CO — Fillmore Auditorium 4/26 — Saint Paul, MN — Palace Theatre 4/27 — Chicago, IL — Riviera Theatre 4/30 — Miami Beach, FL — Fillmore Miami Beach 5/2 — Nashville, TN — Cannery Ballroom 5/3 — Atlanta, GA — Tabernacle 5/5 — Washington, DC — Lincoln Theatre 5/6 — Philadelphia, PA — Franklin Music Hall 5/7 — New York City, NY — Terminal 5 5/11 — Boston, MA — House of Blues 5/13 — Toronto, ON — Meridian Hall 5/15 — Montreal, QC — Bell Centre 5/16 — Quebec, QC — Videotron Centre 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellody Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 From an US ticket website, https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mika-tickets-89152362115 : MIKA – Revelation Tour North America 2020 “Leave your troubles outside. Here, life is beautiful, everyone is beautiful, the girls are beautiful, the boys are beautiful,” a line from ‘Cabaret,’ international pop sensation MIKA begins every show with this invitation. It is on such philosophy that MIKA has built an unshakable career and catalogue. With his fifth studio album My Name Is Michael Holbrook out this October, MIKA has crafted a world of gritty romance amidst the joy and playfulness of technicolored alternative pop. He’s a renaissance artist of impeccable intention who’s name has rightfully found its way alongside legendary acts such as Elton John, Freddie Mercury and Prince. Born Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr. in 1983 as the third of five children, MIKA and his family were forced to leave war-torn Lebanon and relocate to Paris before settling in London after his father was held hostage at the American embassy in Kuwait. The tumultuous experience left a then seven-year-old MIKA disoriented and struggling with dyslexia in school where he was bullied relentlessly. In response, his mother put him in vocal lessons with a Russian opera teacher and a Scottish piano teacher practicing four hours daily. Learning to play piano and write songs while showing otherworldly vocal range, MIKA was quickly becoming a young virtuoso. He began recording with the Royal Opera House and was on the stage of a Richard Strauss opera by age 11. During rehearsals, MIKA caught glimpse of David Hockney designing the set, orchestrating a scene that captured young MIKA’s imagination, “It was a magical world that you could live in. A parallel universe for people that is illusory and enchanting.” The infatuation ultimately inspired MIKA’s calling card ability to create such effect through his music. Starting with his 2007 debut album Life In Cartoon Motion featuring mega-hit single “Grace Kelly,” MIKA presents a timeless atmosphere of vibrant sonic and visual allure. He is Grammy nominated, won a Brit Award and went on to release three additional platinum selling albums The Boy Who Knew Too Much, The Origin of Love, and No Place In Heaven. Throughout his career he’s toured the world, curated and hosted primetime variety and radio shows across Europe, won prestigious awards, served as the judge on France’s The Voice for the past six years, and has spearheaded a myriad of creative projects spanning from work as an illustrator, to a columnist and fashion designer. He speaks five languages, has sold over 10 million records, and is a certified Gold and Platinum artist in 32 countries worldwide. He now presents his fifth studio album My Name Is Michael Holbrook. “I hadn’t put out a record in four years. I didn’t know what to do when it came time to start the process and was honestly kind of at a loss,” MIKA admits. “I felt a little disappointed by the commercial side of the industry. I didn’t want to make a record by numbers or by committee. I wanted to make an uncontaminated, homemade pop record.” With a clear intention in need of inspiration, MIKA got in his car and started driving. “I needed a point of departure,” says MIKA. “So I physically looked for it.” What he found was the Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia where lie the Penniman plot, the gravestones where his father’s ancestors rest. “I wanted to find out where I came from and why my legal name is Michael Penniman Holbrook Junior,” says MIKA. Seeking to uncover the identity of MIKA before “Grace Kelly,” he found a profound sense of joy at his discovery. “I had the title of the album before I had the album. It was a manifesto. It was a challenge for me,” says MIKA. “And it was quite liberating.” When he returned to his home in Miami, he immediately wrote what would become the first song on the album, “Tiny Love.” “I went home, sat down at the piano and wrote the lyrics, ‘My name is Michael Holbrook, I was born in 1983. No I’m not losing my mind, it’s just this thing that you do to me. I feel high, I’m high with just a tiny love.’” The line unlocked the album’s directive. “Without realizing it, I was doing a kind of audit of my life and of my family and of the man I’ve become. I freed myself of the idea of MIKA.” Energized by his vision, MIKA was riding the high only to be jerked back down to earth at the abrupt and sobering news that his mother was going into emergency surgery. Putting the project on pause, MIKA went to Dubai to be with his mother and family. Destabilized, he nearly scrapped the album but instead came to a redemptive conclusion. “I decided to use it as a way to confront issues that I’ve never been brave enough to confront. I wanted to talk to my family with as much transparency and openness as possible.” Rooted in his father’s heritage, the album made a calculated turn back towards his mother - the woman who trained him, made his wardrobe for years on the road, and most importantly taught him never to follow and always to express himself fearlessly. One track on the album “Paloma” is named for his sister and recounts the traumatic memory of her near death experience after she fell from a window. And so it became much more than an album, but a healing process. “I had a sense of urgency to transform pain into something beautiful and more hopeful,” says MIKA. “A brazen sense of poetry where color’s ok, emotion is ok, melody is ok.” The sound took shape in the space of tension between the color and the pain creating friction and heat. MIKA embraced it. “The temperature is ok. You don’t have to just be cool. You can speak from the heart.” As the writing went on, MIKA began feeling lighter and freer. During this period he wrote “Ice Cream,” a 90s inspired pop anthem shimmering with the heat of summer and a poised sense of playfulness. After writing the album in home studios in Miami and Tuscany over the course of two years, MIKA went to Brussels to record with producers Marc Crew and Dan Priddy. Together they crafted soundscapes spanning different decades of pop tracking the entire album live using vintage synths and enlisting all star players from around the world. With the album completed MIKA prepares for a world tour where he’ll once again invite his audience to leave their troubles at the door. Like that of ‘Cabaret’s’ Kit Kat Klub, MIKA creates a “weird bubble of joy and dirtiness and possibility and music” tucked away from trouble, judgement or fear. Through the attitude, energy and movement of MIKA’s studied pop performance he provokes this sense of magic. “It’s the sort of dangerous energy where anything is possible,” he says. "If the temperature is high enough, if the energy is wicked enough, you can tell any story and defend it in the right way. Universality is in the pop music we love the most,” he says. “Pop is not just bubblegum. It can be dirty. It can be playful. It’s not just disposable. It does have a reason.” With My Name Is Michael Holbrook MIKA intimately shares his whole self with his audience. All he asks now is for us to do the same. “We don’t need perfection. We need character, we need emotion. To feel free to express yourself,” says MIKA. “Express yourself, you won’t be judged here.” 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 WWD.com January 23, 2020 Mika Learned to Speak Italian in Two Months 7 hours ago, Kumazzz said: WWD https://wwd.com/eye/people/mika-viktor-and-rolf-couture-1203450359/ Front Row at Viktor & Rolf Couture Spring 2020 Mika Learned To Speak Italian In Two Months PRIVATE LESSONS: Mika is a bit of a polyglot. The French-Lebanese singer and former jury member on The Voice France is fluent in both French and English, and can also speak Spanish and Italian. “When I’m happy, the language that comes to me naturally is French,” he said, sitting front row at the Viktor & Rolf couture show on Tuesday. “When I’m mad or extremely concentrated, I speak English. And I always write songs in English.” The singer, who is currently on a world tour and will be releasing a new E.P. this spring, reminisced about his one-of-a-kind Italian lessons. “I held this sort of audition where I went looking for the best Italian teachers around, and a Sicilian woman turned up on my doorstep,” he recalled. “It was her first day in Britain and she had never left Italy. She didn’t speak a word of English. I hired her in thirty minutes.” His new teacher then joined him on his world tour, during which they spoke Italian together “from the morning coffee to the evening whisky,” he said. What’s the first word he remembers learning? “‘Orologio,’ which means clock,” said Mika. “As a Lebanese person, it’s my greatest enemy.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted March 5, 2020 Author Share Posted March 5, 2020 Billboard.com 3/5/2020 Mika to Perform, Fortune Feimster to Host GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles Stephen Daw Hailee Steinfeld, Olivia Wilde, "Schitt’s Creek" cast, Elvis Duran, Ryan O’Connell, Amandla Stenberg, Shangela, Bob the Drag Queen & Eureka O’Hara also confirmed for April 16 ceremony. Even with an already star-studded lineup, the 31st GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles are ready to bring even more queer stars to the stage. On Thursday (March 5), GLAAD announced exclusively to Billboard that pop singer Mika, who is nominated for outstanding music artist at the event, will take the stage during the ceremony to deliver a special performance. Joining Mika is comedian Fortune Feimster, who will serve as the evening's host. The Los Angeles ceremony is also boasting appearances from stars including Lil Nas X, Hailee Steinfeld, Olivia Wilde, the cast of Schitt’s Creek, Elvis Duran, Ryan O’Connell, Amandla Stenberg, Shangela, Bob the Drag Queen and Eureka O’Hara. Also at the LA ceremony, pop superstar Taylor Swift is set to receive the Vanguard Award for her activism on behalf of the LGBTQ community, while director, producer and writer Janet Mock will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award for her continued work in representing the LGBTQ community onscreen. The 31st annual GLAAD Media Awards will take place at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles on April 16. Check out tickets here. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/31st-annual-glaad-media-awards-los-angeles-tickets-78053968521 The 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards - Los Angeles Date and Time Thu, April 16, 2020 5:30 PM – 11:59 PM PDT Add to Calendar Location The Beverly Hilton 9876 Wilshire Boulevard Beverly Hills, CA 90210 United States View Map @GLAAD https://www.instagram.com/p/B9XGWPdgK4B/ mikainstagram On 1/9/2020 at 12:55 AM, krysady said: Mika nominee at the GLAAD Media Awards : The Nominees for the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards https://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/31/nominees On 1/9/2020 at 12:56 AM, krysady said: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted May 1, 2020 Author Share Posted May 1, 2020 The Odyssey theodysseyonline.com by Rocco Papa Apr 30, 2020 The Top 5 Albums By Gay Men That Excel At Representation Sign in to comment to your favorite stories, participate in your community and interact with your friends LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK One of the many stereotypes gay men face is that we love pop music. However, it's interesting how most of the icons we worship in pop music are women. Very rarely is there an openly gay male artist with the ability to put his sexuality front and center. If they do, chances of them gaining mainstream recognition are slim at best. All the while, women can be just as sexual as they want. It's an unfair double standard, but that doesn't mean we don't have artists who defy these societal norms. Here are the top five albums by gay men who put their sexuality front and center. 5. RA - Simon Curtis Clearly inspired by the dark vibe of Britney Spears' "Blackout," Simon Curtis left his mark with this album. A dark, dance-pop record, "RA" deals with themes of heartbreak and sex. The track "Flesh," has been described as a "bottoming anthem." 4. For Your Entertainment - Adam Lambert After his explosive success on "American Idol," Adam Lambert released his first solo album in the fall of 2009. The album features tracks like "Fever" and the title track, the latter of which was the center of controversy. The song was performed at the American Music Awards, where Lambert was criticized for his overtly sexual performance. Lambert offered no apologies, pointing out the double standard gay men face compared to women. 3. That's So Gay - Pansy Division Pop-punk legends Pansy Division released their "That's So Gay" album in 2009. The record, like most of their discography, touches on issues real gay men face. Topics on the album range from sex to bullying to closeted politicians. 2. No Place In Heaven - Mika Mika's "No Place In Heaven" album is arguably his gayest album. He tackles religion on tracks like "Oh Girl You're The Devil" and the title track. He also laments over a straight friend that he can't have on "Good Wife." "Last Party" feels like a tribute to those lost during the AIDS epidemic. Mika has always incorporated LGBTQ themes in his work and this album continues that tradition. 1. Bloom - Troye Sivan Troye Sivan has set a blueprint for a whole new generation of openly gay male artists. With his sophomore effort, "Bloom," he is unapologetically gay throughout. The album touches on a number of gay experiences. From bottoming on the title track to hooking up with an older man on "Seventeen," this album is a celebration of being a gay man. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted May 2, 2020 Author Share Posted May 2, 2020 Out Smart Magazine outsmartmagazine.com Houston's award-winning LGBTQ magazine. 16 LGBTQ Music Videos You’ll Love April 30, 2020 Alys Garcia Carrera Have all those hours on TikTok finally taken a toll on your attention span? Maybe it’s time to take in a new form of media. This week, OutSmart has compiled our picks of the queerest videos you should watch. As always, we invite our readers to check out something new and unexpected, in hopes that you’ll find your new favorite musician among our recommendations. At the very least, you’ll have some new songs to spice up (or start creating) your Pride playlist. 1. Flutua by Johnny Hooker feat. Liniker Brazilian queer pop sensation Johnny Hooker teams up with the frontwoman of Liniker e os Caramelows for this track. The funky, soulful beat paired with an intimate depiction of intersectional love in Brazil makes this video an unforgettable watch. Filled to the brim with raw emotion and ‘70s disco-era camp, little is lost in translation from song to music video. Trigger Warning: depictions of non-graphic violence. 2. I’m Not Afraid by Holland Known as the first openly gay K-pop star, Holland personally financed and produced his debut single and music video Neverland, which earnt a 19+ rating in South Korea for featuring two men kissing. After the release, he was able to find more mainstream success and became even bolder in his second single, I’m Not Afraid. Aptly named, this video brings more diversity and queer love to the forefront of K-pop. 3. Amor Libre by Esteman and Javiera Mena International queer icons Esteman and Javiera Mena unite in Mexico City for this pop Pride anthem, which celebrates love and expression. Dance-filled and colorfully enthusiastic, this music video is perfect for when you need a little more positive energy and queer love in your life. 4. Les Filles Désir by Vendredi sur Mer This hypnotic, techno-beat French music video is equal parts style and substance. Depicting the turbulent love between two young women, its visuals consist of carefully staged scenes with superb aesthetics that tell this story as if it was a film made for the big screen. 5. Sanremo by MIKA In the new single from his latest album, My Name is Michale Holbrook, out singer MIKA blends the nostalgic longing for a childhood memory with the desire longing to be able to live and love freely. While the video is set in 1960s Italy, it was filmed in present-day Croatia by local LGBTQ activists, in the hopes of bringing more representation and incite tolerance within their country. 6. What’s It Gonna Be? By Shura This music video is probably better than most 80s teen films, as it depicts two parallel high school love stories to the beat of out singer Shura’s magnetic lyrics and techno-pop rhythms. Subverting expectations at every turn, this video is as entertaining as it is heartwarming, whether you’re watching it for the first time or the hundredth. 7. Unholy by Hollie Col This music video tells the story of the tale as old as time: a queer girl has a crush on her straight best friend—only here, she turns out to be not-so-straight. Reminiscent of an early alternative rock sound, this music video is funny and endearing to all those who’ve been in the situation, and relatable to even those who haven’t. 8. Genghis Khan by Miike Snow By far the most cinematic entry on our list, this indietronica hit borrows concepts from classic spy films to make an unexpectedly queer rhomp of a music video. Complete with a dance duet at the halfway mark, there’s virtually nothing wrong about it. 9. Man to Man by Dorian Electra Houston-native and genderfluid style icon, Dorian Electra brings their signature retromodern ‘80s synth-pop sound to this unique music video. Colorful and theatrically styled, this video and song provide commentary on the contradictory homoeroticism of hypermasculine confrontations, while not taking itself too seriously and camping it up left and right. 10. Alone Together by Anna Akana This slow techno ballad captures the aimless emotion that pervades a life post-breakup. While depicting the lonely adjusting period for two newly single people, this music video manages to avoid morose and melancholic tones, and instead showcases both the ups and downs of having loved and lost. 11. Kiss Me At Midnight by Pansy Division The quintessential queercore band Pansy Division has been making LGBTQ rock classics for three decades. This music video might have a smaller production value than some of the others on our list, but this only serves to render it more intimate. 12. Masquerade by Mila Jam What can only be dubbed as a trans Pride pop anthem, this song is sweet and uplifting, while the music video is part protest and part empowerment. 13. Flowerbomb by Sienna Liggins Mixing Latin reggaeton inspired beats with a soft pop ballad melody, this summer love song is the perfect morning pick-me-up. The music video expertly captures the tender romance of the song’s lyrics with the bright colors of nature in summer, unique within the often flashy glam and hypersexual styles found in many other queer music videos. 14. I Am Her by Shea Diamond Written while she was incarcerated and housed with male inmates, transgender singer-songwriter Shea Diamond’s lyrical story is as inspirational as her soulful R&B beats. Filmed almost like a documentary around New York City, this song and video double as a gospel monologue you won’t be able to stop watching. 15. Elegance by Drebae Bringing a queer femme twist to the rap scene, Drebae seamlessly enters the luxury-in-excess lifestyle the genre is well known for. Killer beats and catchy rhymes make for an earworm song and rewatchable video you’ll keep coming back to. 16. Bi by Living in Color This bold ‘90s punk rock song isn’t exactly a family friendly watch. But what it lacks in subtlety, it makes up in catchiness. With a great video that exudes sexuality, we guarantee that after checking out this pick you’ll find yourself feeling a little more badass, regardless of your identity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted January 23, 2021 Author Share Posted January 23, 2021 French Quarter Magazine 23/01/ 2021 https://www.facebook.com/frenchquartermagazine/posts/2102596743210866 Did you miss the new year's fireworks at the Château de Versailles? It is never too late to enjoy this wonderful show! Watch it online for free : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo7c43zDoos > The singer Mika was the special guest of the evening. This exceptional fireworks display was set off by Groupe F; Their upcoming pyrotechnic shows will soon be found as part of the program of Château de Versailles Spectacles. Vous avez manqué le magnifique feu d’artifice du Nouvel An au Château de Versailles ? Il est encore temps d’admirer le spectacle en ligne : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo7c43zDoos > Le chanteur Mika était l’invité d’honneur de la soirée. Le feu d'artifice exceptionnel a été tiré par le Groupe F, leurs spectacles pyrotechniques sont à retrouver prochainement dans le cadre de la programmation de Château de Versailles Spectacles. #paris #france #french #parisian #versailles #chateaudeversailles #eiffeltour #music #musique #concert #mika #piano #pianiste #pianist #singer #chanteur #chateau #castel #fireworks #feudartifices #groupeF #france3 #stephanebern INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/p/CKXBigfMmXR/ Twitter 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 (edited) Glaad 17 Mar 2021 Our Head of Talent, Anthony Ramos catches up with global popstar MIKA who just released a new live album MIKA at the Royal Opera of Versailles. MIKA talks about what it meant to him to be invited to perform at the illustrious venue and how much he is looking forward to being able to tour again and connect with his fans once it is safe to do so. During the conversation, Ramos also shares a personal experience with the singer and explains that he actually came out in 2007 after seeing one of MIKA's first shows in Los Angeles. Check out MIKA's reaction in the video above. "MIKA at the Royal Opera of Versailles" is available now. Edited March 16, 2021 by Kumazzz 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Ko Kolkowska Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 9 minutes ago, Kumazzz said: Glaad 17 Mar 2021 Our Head of Talent, Anthony Ramos catches up with global popstar MIKA who just released a new live album MIKA at the Royal Opera of Versailles. MIKA talks about what it meant to him to be invited to perform at the illustrious venue and how much he is looking forward to being able to tour again and connect with his fans once it is safe to do so. During the conversation, Ramos also shares a personal experience with the singer and explains that he actually came out in 2007 after seeing one of MIKA's first shows in Los Angeles. Check out MIKA's reaction in the video above. "MIKA at the Royal Opera of Versailles" is available now. Wow!!!!! I've just watched it. And I have to rewatch it!!!!!! Right now!!!!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giraffeandy Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 Great interview, I missed him speaking in English... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Ko Kolkowska Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 I like this part GLAAD about desires.mp4 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holdingyourdrink Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 Loved the interview. I also loved Anthony’s coming out story and Mika’s reaction to it. But you know what I loved most? I understood the entire interview!!! Without having to wait for the @Subtitling Team! I almost could not believe it 🤣 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paoletta Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 💗💗💗 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 Esquire.com May 21, 2021 Kickstart Your Pride Playlist with These 35 Songs 2020 has likely changed the way that the world looks at Pride. With the global pandemic and protests for racial equity shaping last June, many of us are entering this June with a much-needed reminder of the true meaning of the month, as well as the events that kicked it off over 50 years ago. Of course, Pride month is for celebrating. And truly celebrating Pride means finding ways to embody the radical roots of the Stonewall riots and Queer Liberation Movement throughout history. After all, there’s no better way to stand up and cherish our community than by making direct steps to ensure that all members of the LGBTQ+ community feel affirmed, protected, and supported, socially and systematically. Another great way to celebrate this June is uniting with our fellow LGBTQ+ friends and allies in spaces that feel safe, fun, and freeing. Often looks like a good old fashioned dance party. And sometimes that means blasting “MONTERO” and making your best attempt to pole dance your way down to hell. Lucky for you, we’ve got you covered with a playlist that is sure to keep the celebration pumping all month long - or, at least until the minutes on your Zoom dance party run out. From the classics to new school, the baby gay bops and the ally-friendly anthems, here is a Pride playlist that is sure to get you grooving however you choose to celebrate. Lil Nas X - “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Every hour on the hour, if not more. Bonus points for incorporating any pole dancing or lap dances on Satan. SOPHIE - “Immaterial” This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: There will likely be (and should be) plenty of SOPHIE tributes in Pride playlists this year. This transcendent track feels especially meaningful, as the hyperpop pioneer sings, “And, no matter where I go, you’ll always be here in my heart.” Princess Nokia - “Tomboy” This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: When you or any friend feeling like a tomboy wants an introductory walk-in anthem. Remi Wolf - “Photo ID” This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: When you’re going through your phone-wallet-keys check before heading to the venue. (Seriously, don’t forget your ID.) Hayley Kiyoko - “Girls Like Girls” This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: When you need a way to “tell the neighbors you’re not sorry if you’re breaking walls down.” Hopefully in, like, a subversive, metaphorical way, though … Not literally. Steve Lacy — "Like Me" This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Whenever you want to lament about your pre-coming out angst without spoiling the mood. This grooving track is a celebration of solidarity in queerness and in stanning Steve Lacey. (The song is nine-minutes long, but the transitions are worth it.) Mitski — "Nobody" This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Even the queen of yearning needs a bop in her discography, and you need one in your rotation, too. You yearner, you. (Bonus points if you use this one to soothe any single friend sorrows into a desperation dance party.) Frank Ocean — "Chanel" This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: When you’re looking for an R&B track that keeps up the stamina, “Chanel” is sure to set it off from its opening line. Rostam — “Bike Dream" This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: When you want to debate whether Rostam’s lyrics are actually an artistic exploration of duality in one’s identity, or just your fantasy love triangle. Hey, all dreams are up for interpretation. The Psychedelic Furs —"Love My Way" This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Ideally, at an Italian rave in the 1980s, dancing your heart out while your admirer, Timothée Chalamet, looks on in awe. Otherwise, when you need a New Wave kick to get things weird. Whitney Houston — “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: At the start of the party. No one gets the party started like Whitney. Lady Gaga — “Born This Way” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Anytime, really. If an attendee doesn't at least admit that the Gaga song is a defining Pride song, then you can usher them out of your function. Elton John — “The Bitch Is Back” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: "Bitch" is a great throwback. It's also a really great way to troll someone by turning it on when they re-enter a room. DJ'ing is a sport. Betty Who — “All Things” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: When someone in the room mentions that they're an ally and loves to watch Queer Eye. Dolly Parton — “Baby I’m Burnin’” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Dolly's short-lived disco period was a strange one, but it produced "Baby I'm Burnin'" which is practically designed to liven up a room. David Bowie — “Rebel Rebel” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: When you want to remind everyone that the best of the '70s didn't just belong to disco. Queen — “Radio Ga Ga” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Pull this out when you need to remind the room that one of the best rock bands to exist was fronted by a wildly talented vocalist who happened to be a gay icon. Kacey Musgraves — “High Horse” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Anytime you want a bit of a country influence. "Rainbow" is a bit too slow for a Pride dance jam and "Follow Your Arrow" has been worn out. Give this a try. Madonna — “Vogue” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: This is a Pride playlist staple. Play it whenever you want. Lizzo — “Phone” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: When you've lost your phone. AKA, the end of the night. RuPaul — “Sissy That Walk” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: When the same person who mentioned being an ally announces to the room that they also watch RuPaul's Drag Race. Carly Rae Jensen — “Julien” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Play this when someone is reminded of their ex, but you don't want to bring the room down with those emotions. Scissor Sisters — “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Turn to this one when someone mentions that they wish there were still good glam rock bands putting out music today. Janelle Monae — “Make Me Feel” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Play this when you want to amp up the sex appeal of the party without losing any of the upbeat vibes. Cher — “If I Could Turn Back Time” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Like Madonna, Cher is a Pride playlist staple. Play this at any time. Trixie Mattel — “Break Your Heart” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Set this one up when you want to infuse some country music into the list, but also want to shock half the room when you reveal the singer is actually a drag queen. Mika — “Grace Kelly” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Like the Scissor Sisters, Mika is excellent glam rock. When you're inundated with the same synth pop vibe that's dominating radio right now, set the room up with some Mika. George Michael — “Freedom! ‘90” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Listen. "Freedom! '90" is a nearly seven minute song. That's a lot of auditory real estate, so don't be afraid to play this between two solid jams when you need a come down period. The Village People — “YMCA” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: When an unnamed construction worker shows up to your event. Prince — “Kiss” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: If a few songs have gone by without a dead ringer, put "Kiss" on. Everyone loves Prince. Kylie Minogue — “Love at First Sight” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Have this at the ready when your token English/Australian attendee grabs their third vodka soda and asks "Where's Kylie?" Todrick Hall — “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: If the party is missing a strong beat, whip this one out. It's also an instruction song, so everyone can get involved. There might be some education needed though. Lady Gaga ft. Bradley Cooper — “Shallow” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: This is a newly minted crowd pleaser. If the party hits a lull, whip this out. Everyone wants to scream with Gaga. Troye Sivan — “Bloom” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: Google the meaning of the song. That should answer the question. Tegan and Sara — “Closer” This content is imported from Third party. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. When You Should Play It: When the night is coming to a close. It's the most upbeat way to start winding the evening down. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted October 1, 2021 Author Share Posted October 1, 2021 Campaign US https://www.campaignlive.com/article/indeeds-pride-campaign-mika-encouraged-authenticity-work/1729263 How Indeed’s Pride campaign with Mika encouraged authenticity at work by Mariah Cooper Added 3 hours ago The ‘#SoundtrackOfEmpathy’ campaign raised $40,000 for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. Bringing your authentic self to work can be more than a challenge for the LGBTQ community. But Indeed wants everyone to find the support to safely share their stories and their identities at the office. In June, the job listings site launched a campaign for Pride month called #SoundtrackOfEmpathy, featuring pop singer Mika, which encouraged people to use music to express themselves. The campaign included a Spotify playlist challenge, where people shared their own Soundtracks of Empathy, and a live streamed benefit concert, which raised $40,000 for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation. There was also an influencer roundtable featuring artists selected by Mika, who spoke about the shared language of music and how it naturally encourages empathy and sparks vulnerability. Mika was an ideal influencer for the campaign because of his own authenticity, said Jennifer Warren, VP, global brand marketing at Indeed. The singer’s hit song “Grace Kelly” has recently gone viral on TikTok with the “Grace Kelly Challenge.” “He’s been a strong advocate of inclusivity throughout his career, and his greatest songs are purely authentic to him, even if they weren't on trend,” said Warren. “It really aligns with our values and desire for a world of work, where everyone brings their whole selves. Mika talks about music being a lifeline for him growing up. We felt like we could draw correlations between how music can unite us as a global community.” The impact was effective. Mika’s YouTube concert received more than 170,000 views. Influencers created 85 pieces of content inspired by the global campaign, which received 173,000 engagements and 7 million impressions. There were 1,400 mentions of #SoundTrackOfEmpathy on social media, leading to 6.3 million impressions. For Mika, it was important that Indeed gave him the “freedom” to artistically contribute to the campaign instead of “imposing the way that they wanted it.” “[Indeed asked], ‘What would you as an artist do to provoke empathy around this subject?’, which is one very close to my heart,” Mika said. “And that was very empowering. I was able to think about it from a really artistic approach. It wasn’t just a concert. I really wanted it to be something that you wanted to watch, dive into and I could touch your heart.” When partnering with brands, Mika looks for collaborations that make him and other members of the LGBTQ community feel like “normal people” — something he struggled with early in his career. “I remember auditioning for one of the biggest labels, and the head of that label said in front of my face, ‘It's all just a little bit too gay,’” Mika recalled. “In that moment is that humiliation that you feel when you're on the top floor of some fancy building in New York City and you're trying to get a record deal. You never forget, and it’s still quite an urgent subject.” “We've become quite numb to basic endorsements,” he added “We need more of a deeper partnership in order to engage as an audience nowadays.” Indeed has delivered with its overall #EmpathyatWork program, which provides resources about underrepresented groups in the workplace for employers and job seekers. As part of the program, Indeed launched “A New Beginning” in June. The spot, starring actor River Gallo, showed the importance of using proper pronouns during job interviews. Indeed | A New Beginning 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikasister Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikasister Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 I think it hasn't been posted Out In Jersey Cathartic new LP from Mika, duet double standards, and the consequences of being out By Chris Azzopardi - February 5, 2020 Mika came out in 2012. He says it may have affected his career. Mika—born in a graveyard It’s 8:30 in Italy, and maybe if Mika didn’t feel so deeply connected to his new album he’d just want to go to bed. But the sparky glam-pop performer doesn’t mind my before-bed call; in fact, he’s thrilled to be talking about My Name Is Michael Holbrook, because “this phase is actually more engaging and interesting, and generally I am enjoying it way more than any other album I’ve had to promote.” Mika the 36-year-old Beirut-born performer, whose birth name is Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr. Mika’s past work, of course, famously includes his 2007 debut, Life in Cartoon Motion, wherein he emerged an exuberant-sounding human cartoon, with songs like “Grace Kelly” and “Lollipop.” This album, his first in more than four years, is different in that its core was created after discovering his family’s history. And though it’s been exhilarating to promote, it’s also “ironic considering it’s not the simplest time in my life,” the 36-year-old Beirut-born performer, whose birth name is Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr., says. Mika spoke about how coming out in 2012 may have affected his career, the “s**tty” white piano he wrote My Name Is Michael Holbrook on and why he won’t be singing with his romantic partner anytime soon. What is not simple about life for you right now? Mika: Well, it all started when I had this premonition about three-and-a-half years ago: I felt like I thought I had grown up 10, 11 years ago and I was like, “You know, I’m an adult.” And nothing appeared to change. Sure enough, as I started writing the record so much change happened in my private life and my personal life, losing five people close to me, including my grandmother. I’m sorry to hear that. M: Well, it’s OK. Thank you. But it happens to all of us. But then on the day I wrote “Tiny Love,” the same day, I get a phone call saying, “You gotta get on a plane ’cause your mom’s sick,” and then that became this running thing throughout the writing of this record. My mom got more and more and more sick with different diseases that got worse and worse, and you know my mom and I have this very strong link. I was thrown out of school at the age of 8 and she looked at me and instead of being nice to me she just said, “People like you end up in prison or they end up successful, and over my dead body will I have a son who ends up in prison.” (Laughs.) You definitely chose the right path, didn’t you? M: I didn’t really have a choice, trust me, if you knew my mom. (Laughs.) And she trained me three to four hours a day at the age of 8, and I cried every day ’cause I didn’t want to do it. Then, within four months, I was singing at the Royal Opera House in London, and within six months I was a soloist at the Royal Opera House. So, from that point on, my life changed. You know, she worked with me up until this record. So this album was kind of made in the midst of a lot of that, and instead of retreating and taking a step back—it interfaced with that darkness from multiple sides—I actually went toward life. I said, “I’m gonna go toward what makes me, me. I’m gonna take my colors—the ones from when I was 17—and make them shine even brighter. I’m not gonna care about commercial circumstances or the climate of the music industry or that all storytelling seems to be happening mostly in R&B and hip-hop, which is something I just can’t do because it’s not my musical culture. I’m just gonna go for it. “I’m half Lebanese, I grew up in lots of different countries, I’m an immigrant. A homosexual! So I’m the furthest thing from a person from Atlanta, Georgia,” said Mika Has this album been cathartic for you? M: It’s an extremely cathartic piece of work for me. And it’s also a kind of provocation to myself where I realize that this idea that we spend most of our lives building our foundations on people that we love and we rely on, there comes a point when that version of your foundation starts to change or shift or disappear, and you have to do it in a different way and the only way you can do it is by knowing where you come from, by being at peace with yourself and celebrating, also, all the people around you who you love. Feeling that sense of self-worth is the only way you can have a chance of figuring out where the hell you’re going to end up. We don’t really know who we are, and anyone who says, “I know who I am” … you’re never gonna ####ing know really who you are. Then we fall in love, we get our heart broken, and we start again. It’s a lot of distractions. M: A lot. But that’s OK. I don’t mind that. That’s also one of the main motivations for writing for me, so I’ll take it. Which motivation are you referring to? M: Trying to figure out who we are, and that changing all the time. Can you tell me about the first song that you wrote for the album and why you decided to start there? M: It was born in a graveyard. (Laughs.) In a place that I had never been to, that I had completely disassociated from my identity, and that was Atlanta, Georgia. Right, you went to see your family plot. M: Yeah, exactly. I went to see my family plot, and you know I’ve always said, “I’m half Lebanese, I grew up in lots of different countries, I’m an immigrant. A homosexual!” So I’m the furthest thing from a person from Atlanta, Georgia, whose family had cotton fields. I mean, that is the weirdest part. I just don’t know what that is. Mika But you knew about this family history? M: Hardly. In discovering this part of your family history, were new parts of yourself revealed? M: I didn’t know about it that much, I really didn’t. My legal name is my father’s name, and he actually had his own crazy journey because he was born in Jerusalem and then grew up in Cairo, and then grew up in Washington, then grew up in Italy, then grew up in London, then grew up in Rome. So during my entire life, it was so hard to understand who he was or where he came from, so it’s just so strange for me to have delved into that, but I just felt like I knew so much about my mom’s side of the family, and I wanted to know everything he hadn’t told me about his family’s family. And you bought a white piano because that’s what you were playing when you were 16. M: Yeah. Superstition. (Laughs.) You were being superstitious? M: I don’t think it’s superstition. I don’t like looking at a black piano, and I don’t know why I don’t like looking at a brown piano. For some reason this idea of a white piano I got used to when I was a kid and so that’s all I really want to see. What does the white represent to you? M: Non-institutional education. (Laughs.) I was going to Music College, I was going to rehearsal. Even when I was at conservatory at the Royal College of Music, as an adult I was studying as a baritone and all of the pianos were black pianos—academic, institutional lessons on black pianos—and then the white piano was something you’d see on the cover of a Barry Gibb album. I had a white piano and actually, to tell the full story, I had a black piano when I was a child and that piano I decided, with a friend of mine, to paint it white when I was 6 years old. Ever since then it stayed white, and it’s this kind of really tacky house paint. Terrible finish. It’s a piece of crap kind of paint job. But I’ve used that. So for me I was going to write on a white piano all the stuff I wanted to do—all of my music—and then I would go and sing, like, (John) Braham and Italian songs that were written 100 years ago on the black piano, so I associated the two with that. So when it came to actually coming back to writing in my home studio I wanted to write on a white piano. So I went out and bought a white piano and it turned out to be the worst piano that they had in the entire piano warehouse. I was like, “Why don’t you have a better piano?” He was like, “’Cause no one wants a ####ing white piano, so we give them to people who don’t give a s**t about piano playing.” He was such an asshole. People who work at music stores are famously rude. So anyway, I bought the s**tty white piano that sounds like a piece of crap and I wrote the entire album on it. You’ve acknowledged disappointment in the commercial aspects of the industry. Do you think coming out ever had any effect on your career? M: I don’t know. I’d like to think no. I think that the commercial consequences of my sexuality were more to do with what was indelibly written into my music, by me, and inevitably immiscible when you listen to it from before I was even signed. That aspect did have consequences, especially in the United States. But it’s OK. It’s not OK now, but back then I made peace with the fact that I was considered a little bit less than and when I asked why they’d be like, “Well… .” I would never get a clear answer. But I always felt like it kind of was there. Times have changed. That’s not the case anymore, and thank god. But I do think, if anything, that kind of frustration that I felt, and some of the limitations, some of the commercial consequences of my sexuality, actually provoked me to come out. If I think about it honestly, that frustration actually riled me so much that it encouraged me to come out publicly. You’re like, “What’s the point of being in a pigeonhole? What is wrong with you?” There’s no difference. Music is music. It exists beyond anything. And in the end, I was just quite roused, so it encouraged me to come out. I think that’s a good reaction to have, rather than going the other way. As much progress as we’ve made, your song with Italian singer Jack Savoretti, called “Ready to Call This Love,” is still a rare thing. M: Well, let me tell you: He’s a really good looking guy. (Laughs.) He’s charming. He’s like an old-fashioned movie star, but in a 30-something-year-old body. Is that what appealed to you about him when you chose your male duet partner? M: His voice. Firstly, the fact that he didn’t even bat an eyelid at the fact that it was a love song, and it didn’t even come up in conversation. He was just like, “It’s really beautiful.” That was it. “I’d love to do this, it’s really beautiful, full stop.” And then the fact that his voice is such a contrast to mine and all that, and when you consider that he’s a married guy and he’s got a kid, it was just a no-brainer for him. People are gonna say, “Why didn’t Mika pick a gay duet partner?” M: And I’m gonna say, “Well, why not?” That’s it. That’s really all I can say. Because it’s beautiful. And I was asked this, actually, in an interview a week ago for a major gay website in Europe and I said, “Have you done interviews with heterosexual couples who have done duets? Girl and guy?” He said, “Yeah.” I said, “Did you ever ask them if they were ever actually in a relationship or if they actually wanted to be in a relationship with each other? If they actually found each other attractive?” So I said, “What’s the difference between two guys?” He said, “Oh yeah, you’ve got a good point.” I said, “Considering you’re coming from a gay website, don’t you think you should’ve thought about that beforehand?” There’s a real push for LGBTQ roles to go to LGBTQ actors, and some people feel the same when it comes to music, especially since duets between two men happen so infrequently. M: And I completely respect that. If anything, I really like and I respect that opinion, and I love the fact that a song like this can even provoke a question like that. I think that’s a good thing. It’s a good conversation to have. It’s not like, “Oh, is the song cool or not?” It’s nothing to do with that. It’s, “Should I have had a gay guy or not with me?” I think that’s a really good dialogue to provoke. Could you have even released a song like this at the beginning of your career? Would that have been allowed? M: Allowed? I don’t know. I would like to say that it would’ve been allowed. But it’s hard to imagine it would’ve happened. That’s the most diplomatic answer I can come up with. And you know what, besides, I would’ve given songs to my partner to sing, but the truth is that Andy sings like a donkey so it would’ve sounded like s**t. The only thing he knows how to sing are Morrissey songs because there’s only one or two notes in them! (Wickedly, playfully laughs.) And on that note, I’ll let you go to bed. M: (Laughs.) And on that note, he’s gonna kill me. MikaSounds.com 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kumazzz Posted November 28, 2021 Author Share Posted November 28, 2021 6 hours ago, Mikasister said: I think it hasn't been posted Out In Jersey Cathartic new LP from Mika, duet double standards, and the consequences of being out By Chris Azzopardi - February 5, 2020 Mika came out in 2012. He says it may have affected his career. Mika—born in a graveyard It’s 8:30 in Italy, and maybe if Mika didn’t feel so deeply connected to his new album he’d just want to go to bed. But the sparky glam-pop performer doesn’t mind my before-bed call; in fact, he’s thrilled to be talking about My Name Is Michael Holbrook, because “this phase is actually more engaging and interesting, and generally I am enjoying it way more than any other album I’ve had to promote.” Mika the 36-year-old Beirut-born performer, whose birth name is Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr. Mika’s past work, of course, famously includes his 2007 debut, Life in Cartoon Motion, wherein he emerged an exuberant-sounding human cartoon, with songs like “Grace Kelly” and “Lollipop.” This album, his first in more than four years, is different in that its core was created after discovering his family’s history. And though it’s been exhilarating to promote, it’s also “ironic considering it’s not the simplest time in my life,” the 36-year-old Beirut-born performer, whose birth name is Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr., says. Mika spoke about how coming out in 2012 may have affected his career, the “s**tty” white piano he wrote My Name Is Michael Holbrook on and why he won’t be singing with his romantic partner anytime soon. What is not simple about life for you right now? Mika: Well, it all started when I had this premonition about three-and-a-half years ago: I felt like I thought I had grown up 10, 11 years ago and I was like, “You know, I’m an adult.” And nothing appeared to change. Sure enough, as I started writing the record so much change happened in my private life and my personal life, losing five people close to me, including my grandmother. I’m sorry to hear that. M: Well, it’s OK. Thank you. But it happens to all of us. But then on the day I wrote “Tiny Love,” the same day, I get a phone call saying, “You gotta get on a plane ’cause your mom’s sick,” and then that became this running thing throughout the writing of this record. My mom got more and more and more sick with different diseases that got worse and worse, and you know my mom and I have this very strong link. I was thrown out of school at the age of 8 and she looked at me and instead of being nice to me she just said, “People like you end up in prison or they end up successful, and over my dead body will I have a son who ends up in prison.” (Laughs.) You definitely chose the right path, didn’t you? M: I didn’t really have a choice, trust me, if you knew my mom. (Laughs.) And she trained me three to four hours a day at the age of 8, and I cried every day ’cause I didn’t want to do it. Then, within four months, I was singing at the Royal Opera House in London, and within six months I was a soloist at the Royal Opera House. So, from that point on, my life changed. You know, she worked with me up until this record. So this album was kind of made in the midst of a lot of that, and instead of retreating and taking a step back—it interfaced with that darkness from multiple sides—I actually went toward life. I said, “I’m gonna go toward what makes me, me. I’m gonna take my colors—the ones from when I was 17—and make them shine even brighter. I’m not gonna care about commercial circumstances or the climate of the music industry or that all storytelling seems to be happening mostly in R&B and hip-hop, which is something I just can’t do because it’s not my musical culture. I’m just gonna go for it. “I’m half Lebanese, I grew up in lots of different countries, I’m an immigrant. A homosexual! So I’m the furthest thing from a person from Atlanta, Georgia,” said Mika Has this album been cathartic for you? M: It’s an extremely cathartic piece of work for me. And it’s also a kind of provocation to myself where I realize that this idea that we spend most of our lives building our foundations on people that we love and we rely on, there comes a point when that version of your foundation starts to change or shift or disappear, and you have to do it in a different way and the only way you can do it is by knowing where you come from, by being at peace with yourself and celebrating, also, all the people around you who you love. Feeling that sense of self-worth is the only way you can have a chance of figuring out where the hell you’re going to end up. We don’t really know who we are, and anyone who says, “I know who I am” … you’re never gonna ####ing know really who you are. Then we fall in love, we get our heart broken, and we start again. It’s a lot of distractions. M: A lot. But that’s OK. I don’t mind that. That’s also one of the main motivations for writing for me, so I’ll take it. Which motivation are you referring to? M: Trying to figure out who we are, and that changing all the time. Can you tell me about the first song that you wrote for the album and why you decided to start there? M: It was born in a graveyard. (Laughs.) In a place that I had never been to, that I had completely disassociated from my identity, and that was Atlanta, Georgia. Right, you went to see your family plot. M: Yeah, exactly. I went to see my family plot, and you know I’ve always said, “I’m half Lebanese, I grew up in lots of different countries, I’m an immigrant. A homosexual!” So I’m the furthest thing from a person from Atlanta, Georgia, whose family had cotton fields. I mean, that is the weirdest part. I just don’t know what that is. Mika But you knew about this family history? M: Hardly. In discovering this part of your family history, were new parts of yourself revealed? M: I didn’t know about it that much, I really didn’t. My legal name is my father’s name, and he actually had his own crazy journey because he was born in Jerusalem and then grew up in Cairo, and then grew up in Washington, then grew up in Italy, then grew up in London, then grew up in Rome. So during my entire life, it was so hard to understand who he was or where he came from, so it’s just so strange for me to have delved into that, but I just felt like I knew so much about my mom’s side of the family, and I wanted to know everything he hadn’t told me about his family’s family. And you bought a white piano because that’s what you were playing when you were 16. M: Yeah. Superstition. (Laughs.) You were being superstitious? M: I don’t think it’s superstition. I don’t like looking at a black piano, and I don’t know why I don’t like looking at a brown piano. For some reason this idea of a white piano I got used to when I was a kid and so that’s all I really want to see. What does the white represent to you? M: Non-institutional education. (Laughs.) I was going to Music College, I was going to rehearsal. Even when I was at conservatory at the Royal College of Music, as an adult I was studying as a baritone and all of the pianos were black pianos—academic, institutional lessons on black pianos—and then the white piano was something you’d see on the cover of a Barry Gibb album. I had a white piano and actually, to tell the full story, I had a black piano when I was a child and that piano I decided, with a friend of mine, to paint it white when I was 6 years old. Ever since then it stayed white, and it’s this kind of really tacky house paint. Terrible finish. It’s a piece of crap kind of paint job. But I’ve used that. So for me I was going to write on a white piano all the stuff I wanted to do—all of my music—and then I would go and sing, like, (John) Braham and Italian songs that were written 100 years ago on the black piano, so I associated the two with that. So when it came to actually coming back to writing in my home studio I wanted to write on a white piano. So I went out and bought a white piano and it turned out to be the worst piano that they had in the entire piano warehouse. I was like, “Why don’t you have a better piano?” He was like, “’Cause no one wants a ####ing white piano, so we give them to people who don’t give a s**t about piano playing.” He was such an asshole. People who work at music stores are famously rude. So anyway, I bought the s**tty white piano that sounds like a piece of crap and I wrote the entire album on it. You’ve acknowledged disappointment in the commercial aspects of the industry. Do you think coming out ever had any effect on your career? M: I don’t know. I’d like to think no. I think that the commercial consequences of my sexuality were more to do with what was indelibly written into my music, by me, and inevitably immiscible when you listen to it from before I was even signed. That aspect did have consequences, especially in the United States. But it’s OK. It’s not OK now, but back then I made peace with the fact that I was considered a little bit less than and when I asked why they’d be like, “Well… .” I would never get a clear answer. But I always felt like it kind of was there. Times have changed. That’s not the case anymore, and thank god. But I do think, if anything, that kind of frustration that I felt, and some of the limitations, some of the commercial consequences of my sexuality, actually provoked me to come out. If I think about it honestly, that frustration actually riled me so much that it encouraged me to come out publicly. You’re like, “What’s the point of being in a pigeonhole? What is wrong with you?” There’s no difference. Music is music. It exists beyond anything. And in the end, I was just quite roused, so it encouraged me to come out. I think that’s a good reaction to have, rather than going the other way. As much progress as we’ve made, your song with Italian singer Jack Savoretti, called “Ready to Call This Love,” is still a rare thing. M: Well, let me tell you: He’s a really good looking guy. (Laughs.) He’s charming. He’s like an old-fashioned movie star, but in a 30-something-year-old body. Is that what appealed to you about him when you chose your male duet partner? M: His voice. Firstly, the fact that he didn’t even bat an eyelid at the fact that it was a love song, and it didn’t even come up in conversation. He was just like, “It’s really beautiful.” That was it. “I’d love to do this, it’s really beautiful, full stop.” And then the fact that his voice is such a contrast to mine and all that, and when you consider that he’s a married guy and he’s got a kid, it was just a no-brainer for him. People are gonna say, “Why didn’t Mika pick a gay duet partner?” M: And I’m gonna say, “Well, why not?” That’s it. That’s really all I can say. Because it’s beautiful. And I was asked this, actually, in an interview a week ago for a major gay website in Europe and I said, “Have you done interviews with heterosexual couples who have done duets? Girl and guy?” He said, “Yeah.” I said, “Did you ever ask them if they were ever actually in a relationship or if they actually wanted to be in a relationship with each other? If they actually found each other attractive?” So I said, “What’s the difference between two guys?” He said, “Oh yeah, you’ve got a good point.” I said, “Considering you’re coming from a gay website, don’t you think you should’ve thought about that beforehand?” There’s a real push for LGBTQ roles to go to LGBTQ actors, and some people feel the same when it comes to music, especially since duets between two men happen so infrequently. M: And I completely respect that. If anything, I really like and I respect that opinion, and I love the fact that a song like this can even provoke a question like that. I think that’s a good thing. It’s a good conversation to have. It’s not like, “Oh, is the song cool or not?” It’s nothing to do with that. It’s, “Should I have had a gay guy or not with me?” I think that’s a really good dialogue to provoke. Could you have even released a song like this at the beginning of your career? Would that have been allowed? M: Allowed? I don’t know. I would like to say that it would’ve been allowed. But it’s hard to imagine it would’ve happened. That’s the most diplomatic answer I can come up with. And you know what, besides, I would’ve given songs to my partner to sing, but the truth is that Andy sings like a donkey so it would’ve sounded like s**t. The only thing he knows how to sing are Morrissey songs because there’s only one or two notes in them! (Wickedly, playfully laughs.) And on that note, I’ll let you go to bed. M: (Laughs.) And on that note, he’s gonna kill me. MikaSounds.com Thanks a lot @Mikasister The article was posted into US press 2019. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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