Mika in French Press and Other Media - 2024

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

12 minutes ago, mellody said:

 

Maybe she listened live? I can't find a replay yet, but I assume they'll have one on their website tomorrow.

It's still not in the replay here. Let's wait.

 

https://www.rtl2.fr/programmes/un-monde-meilleur

[Kumazzz]

RTL2

L'intégrale - Un monde meilleur avec Mika (07/01/24)

https://www.rtl2.fr/programmes/un-monde-meilleur/7900338919-l-integrale-un-monde-meilleur-avec-mika-07-01-24

Justine Salmon a parlé avec Mika d'un sujet très important, dont le chanteur a été victime, le harcèlement scolaire.

 

Spotify

 

22 hours ago, Nessaja said:

 

Short summary of this radio  interview on RTL 2 today (11 am -12pm)  from the program Un Monde Meilleur:

They talked about harassment at school and the different types of harassment.
They discussed how social media and direct massages made it worse. Mika said that he still receives DMs with offensive and hurtful content even today from time to time. And even today, at 40 years old, it hurts him what he has to read there, and he admitted that if it hurts him that much, imagine the impact it has on a child or teenager.

They then discussed Mika's own story and his experience of bullying and what happened to him at that Lycee in London.
They talked about the teacher who bullied him, what she did to him and that he did everything - stopped doing his homework, stopped talking etc. - to disappear and become invisible to her so she would leave him alone.

They talked about how the solution for him was music and his mother getting him into music. And that he was able to create a better world for himself through music.
Next Brigitte Macron's initiative against bullying in schools  was the topic and how talking about it in front of these kids unblocked him and he was able to talk about certain things for the first time .And how important it is to talk about it.

In the last part they talked about a girl in France who is campaigning against harassment on her social media channel and that she has developed a sign to let others know if you are a victim of bullying.


Please fell free to correct or add if I missed something important 

 

IG story

 

 

 

[crazyaboutmika]

On 1/7/2024 at 11:15 AM, krysady said:

Would be great if the Subtitles Team would do the translation of this one, it's an interesting interview. And I love how Bernard describes Mika and his work.

I can't do the tech work by myself sorry but I have started a writen translation of the interview with Bernard Montiel because it is really very interesting and I love what Mika says. I have done six minutes since last night but I will update this post as I go on translating.

 

 

Une heure avec Mika (-> 15 minutes to be continued)

 

https://youtu.be/FKGFELRCUpk?si=CkhtyJZpqwfirHEl

 

BM: Hello. Happy new year to all. Tonight I have an exceptional guess. I had to start the year 2024 with an exceptional guest. He is a pop star everyone loves: Hello Mika
Mika: Hello and happy holiday season to all and to you Bernard.
BM: That's sweet of you. Happy holiday season to you too. Can I ask you what you did during your holidays?
Mika: Well a huge nothing at all That's true. For me the holiday season is all those things and what I love is going shopping to cook
BM: Really?
Mika: Yes but what I love is that I can take the time to go shopping. Getting up early two or three days to go shopping and even if there are many people and everyone is doing the same thing so as to get ready I find I find that beautiful. I like to go to shops that sell a bit of everything like mugs, buttons and pins and stuff like that and I stay home and I cook.i was in the US. I was home in the US and all my family comes [each year]. We always all all get together. And the family evolves, people get married and what is great is that we always get all together and now in laws are joining so it's the evolution of a family. It's very beautiful to witness.
BM: It must have been very nice. We're very happy you're here. Again best wishes for everyone listening to RFM. Thanks for listening to us. Mika is our first guest in 2024. It makes us very happy. Sixth album: Que ta tête fleurisse toujours. We are going to talk about it of course and about the tour too. Mika is our guest. We start now with a new single from this album: C'est la vie. 
Mika: C'est la vie. I don't know [why] it seems appropriate for the new year
BM: Yes indeed. Mika is our first guest in 2024. I always love it when you come here. There is always this human warmth and cool feeling emanating. It seems to me that you are more and more yourself and that you are getting closer to your real self, of who you really are after everything you've been through.
Mika: I think it is easier to be yourself. I realized it is maybe the best way to age.
BM: I was lovely to say that.
Mika: Yeah, it is the best and happier way [to age] too and I hope to be able to go on this way and also this also helps when things get rough, when things or situations get complicated, when something doesn't work. If you are that way you can stay cool and adapt yourself, you can find solutions. And you always have to find solutions, that is, you can be sure that bad things will happen and good ones too but you always have to find solutions.
BM: What is for sure is that in this album (which is your first album in French by the way) you give a lot of yourself in my opinion, you sing about love, about your dreams, about sorrows. It is very moving. You give even more to your listeners. I find that very moving. And the melodies are often pop and cheerful which is the fun thing with you and you deal with serious, deep things. I find your album is extremely overwhelming.
Mika: It's nice of you to say this. I think maybe French [language] helped me.
BM: Was it easier in French than in English?
Mika: At first it was more difficult because I was complexed about my French. I can speak well in French
BM: Yes of course.
Mika: Writing is different. I don't read in French or very little.
BM: Is is better to sing about love in French?
Mika: I believe so yes. In French You can express yourself, sing about love with more freedom in a more sensual way and you can write in a more carnal way without becoming vulgar. You can not say the same things in English it's impossible and as for me I don't  feel frustrated about French being a bit more difficult to sing in, it's just a matter of adapting yourself.
BM: It is funny like for example when you say: "without being vulgar" I know what you're thinking about. You're thinking about Apocalypse Calypso. Right?
Mika: Yes exactly.
BM: I was sure you were thinking about it.
Mika: Exactly
BM: Because that is something, really something "We burn, the embers, a buble, we f♡♡♡ In French it's ok
Mika: ta peau, ma peau, ma main dans ton dos c'est vraiment
BM: Mais en anglais ça donnerait quoi?
Mika:  tes fesses, cette danse  
BM: Yes this (laughing)
Mika: But when you hear it, it's filled with beauty 
BM: Yes it's filled with beauty in French
Mika: And I could never do that in English. But can you imagine that in English? My hand, your as♡ 
BM: Your as♡ yes
Mika: And I'm not going to say more because we are not allowed to.
BM: Yes we can.
Mika: A bubble, we f♡♡♡ it's awful
BM: It's awful
Mika: A crap song [in English] but in French there is a possibility to express this. I don't know why. So now I"m going to ask you a question.
BM: Ok
Mika: You might know because you master French culture language much better. Why is it that way?
Why can't I say that in English?
BM: Because French [language] is something that's romantic, French [has always been romantic in its words, in the way people act, that's the reason why we, for example Paris is known as the most  romantic city in the world. And we also have so many different words to express the same thing as well that so maybe in English speaking countries maybe it is more brutal. 
Mika: Well perhaps that's the reason why. What you're saying rmake me think of something
 Now that you said it I almost get the feeling that many of the words related to  sensuality or  or sexuality  are used or turned into a violent thing into English, like an assault. "On baise"[ We f♡♡♡] is beautiful. Even the sound of it: "On baise" [We f♡♡♡] In English it is used in a violent way but if you really think about what it is, that's a bad use of it
BM: And I have to say I really love the next line "En faisant l'amour on résiste" [While making love we resist] I like it a lot "En faisant l'amour on résiste"
Mika: Sweet resistance. 
BM: Yes.
Mika: I really have this thing about sweet resistance and I believe you have to find your own political commitment. 
BM: Mika is our guest. Life by Des'ree. You are listening to RFM. Our first guest in 2024 is Mika.
Mika: We have to talk about the lyrics of Life by Des'ree. 
BM: Yes
Mika: Life oh life, life oh life, I don't want to see a ghost, I'd rather have a piece of toast and watch the evening news. Can I translate it for you?
BM: Yes, please do.
Mika: That woman is a genius. Je ne veux pas voir un fantôme, c'est quelque chose qui me fait peur, je préfère manger un morceau de toast et regarder le JT du soir. Life oh life. La vie, la vie, la vie.
BM: But it's a song for dancing.
Mika: No, you can really tell yourself it is so simple and stupid but that's not the case at all. It makes sense. I love that song.(Mika hums the chorus)
BM: Que ta tête fleurisse toujours is Mika's first album in French, it is introspective and you sing about love. Expressing yourself in French means giving up the reflexes you have when you write in English.
Mika: Yes. Automatism that develop when writing in English.
BM: So you found a new way to write
Mika: Yes. 
BM: to express things.
Mika: Yes I always say writing and composing means you need to allow yourself to create words associations in a manner in a very free way without thinking too much about the consequences or the meaning; chaos, those molecules putting themselves together which can create something new. And you need to let go somehow to get into that spirit for writing. Free association. And sometimes during your carreer and also in life it is not always simple. David Bowie and David Burn both used the same way not to get writers' block if unable to get into that spirit. Do you know how? By writing about what crossed their mind, about what they saw around them [on a piece of paper] then Bowie would cut out each single word, mixed all the pieces of paper then he would put the words together randomly, read the sentences and then wrote songs based on them. He would force this free association by creating the chaos and provoke creativity. Beautiful isn't it?
BM: Yes that's awesome. Thank you I didn't know about this and it's really interesting. Mika is our guest. If I say "Elle me dit" it was in The Origin of Love.
Mika: Yes. It was my third album
BM: Third album in 2012.
Mika: Yes. Everyone was afraid of this album.
BM: It was a very good album.
Mika: Yes but at the beginning everyone was afraid because they told themselves it was too much because I had this vision of an electro symphonic album, symphonic electro and with lots of prod and they were afraid that it was going to connect. And it's an album which found its place little by little and there was Underwater on that album, there was Popular Song with Ariana Grande. There were lots of things and it took a while for this album to find its place but now it has.
BM: It found its place.
Mika: Yes most of all in my live shows. Its songs stay in my setlist.
BM:I want to say that I saw you at the Accord Arena where you'll be again on March 25th this year. We are so happy to be able to see you there again. Elle me dit.With Fanny Ardant in the music video, you are the only one who could make such a thing happen. Mika is our guest and he sings about love, about his sorrows, about his dreams, so many things he wants to say but this time in French. It's his first album in French. It's Que ta tête fleurisse toujours. Mika is our first guest in 2024. I'm so happy about it. We are going to talk about your tour. I just mentioned Hotel Accord Arena on March 25th and it will also be a big european tour with many towns and in France almost everywhere in big towns: Strasbourg, Lilles, Bordeau and so on and so forth.
Mika: Yes.
BM: We'll talk more about it don't worry. Mika is our guest today. What a pleasure to have him here with us. Mika is our first guest in 2024.What a pleasure to have you here dear Mika! You always have this human warmth. I think people love that when they see you. You smile, you share your huge generous smile and your generosity we find it in your new album Que ta tête fleurisse toujours as well. This time it's in French. It is a beautiful title. Of course it comes from your mum. 
Mika: Yes from my mum. Exactly and it provokes something. It's a good thing to start the year with it. It is a positive message. 
BM: It is positive.
Mika: Yes and Que ta tête fleurisse means if you can have ideas and you dare to turn them into real things in real life and that it works then maybe thanks to your creativity you can feel freer and maybe get more chances to maybe be happy. 
BM: Yes that's wonderful.
Mika: Yes. So it's a message she had sent to me on my birthday, it's the last message she sent to me before her passing. And...
BM: You talk about it freely it seems
Mika: Yes. 
BM: Have you moved through grief?
Mika: Yes I'm at peace with that. I'm at peace. 
BM: It wasn't easy. You were very close to her.
Mika: Yes. 
BM: As much as your album Je m'appelle Michael Holbrook...
Mika: My name is Michael Holbrook.
BM: Yes...is about your father and this one is more about your mother.
Mika: Yes. Exactly. And yes. In a way I'm now at peace with that. I recorded an interview at the end of last year which was very very tough. And when I walked out after this interview which had been rather hard for me I told myself: well now, now I'm at peace with that. I went through, I have moved through grief and that loss and it has taken its place. I don't know. I think that you have to do this. And I'm lucky because I can do it through in a very open way and to turn all of this into music and I acknownlege that it is a huge privilege. I don't like cupboards. We have too many. 
BM: You are not afraid to open them  
Mika: The thing with cupboards and with storage as a rule is that it doesn't matter if the cupboard is at home or if it's a rented storage is in one of those big centers that you see everywhere, if you've got one you're going to fill it up that's for sure. I love that little Japanese lady called Marie Kando; I forgot her name who gets into...I would love it so much if someone got into my life and who would tell me: ok, I'm going to empty your cupboards and sort things out between what's useful and what isn't useful so that there is no more cupboard.
BM: But you empty it more and more through all your albums. It's a therapy for you to sing that way. 
Mika: Yes. Sorry everyone.
BM: No, that's wonderful because you help many people. I remember that song Hurts.
Mika: Yes Hurts.
BM: Yes.
Mika: Actually that song was about bullying and about bullying at school as well.
BM: Yes. You helped many people.
Mika: I don't know.
BM: Yes you did.
Mika: I don't know. I did it for me too. And the saying goes "Stick and stones may break my bones.. how would you translate that? 
BM: err
Mika: Les pierres et les...
BM: vont briser les os 
Mika: peuvent briser mes os but words will never hurt me, les mots vont jamais me faire mal. This is what people said all the time. Even my parents used to say that to me when I had problems at school. It's not true. It's not true because I caj tell you firft hand that words hurt a lot...
BM: Of course 
Mika: and they are very powerful. 
BM: But there was also some violence. I mention it because it made me feel for you. I was shocked and hurt for you because I like you a lot when you talked about that teacher in the French lycèe of London that treated you so badly, tying you to a chair
Mika: I wasn't tied but I was forbidden to move. She used to do a lot of things.
BM: It's awful! It's awful! 

 
.

'(To be continued) 

 

Edited January 8 by crazyaboutmika

[Nessaja]

1 hour ago, crazyaboutmika said:

I can't do the tech work by myself sorry but I have started a writen translation of the interview with Bernard Montiel because it is really very interesting and I love what Mika says. I have done six minutes since last night but I will update this post as I go on translating.

 

 

Une heure avec Mika (-> 10 minutes to be continued)

 

https://youtu.be/FKGFELRCUpk?si=CkhtyJZpqwfirHEl

BM: Hello. Happy new year to all. Tonight I have an exceptional guess. I had to start the year 2024 with an exceptional guest. He is a pop star everyone loves: Hello Mika
Mika: Hello and happy holiday season to all and to you Bernard.
BM: That's sweet of you. Happy holiday season to you too. Can I ask you what you did during your holidays?
Mika: Well a huge nothing at all That's true. For me the holiday season is all those things and what I love is going shopping to cook
BM: Really?
Mika: Yes but what I love is that I can take the time to go shopping. Getting up early two or three days to go shopping and even if there are many people and everyone is doing the same thing so as to get ready I find I find that beautiful. I like to go to shops that sell a bit of everything like mugs, buttons and pins and stuff like that and I stay home and I cook.i was in the US. I was home in the US and all my family comes [each year]. We always all all get together. And the family evolves, people get married and what is great is that we always get all together and now in laws are joining so it's the evolution of a family. It's very beautiful to witness.
BM: It must have been very nice. We're very happy you're here. Again best wishes for everyone listening to RFM. Thanks for listening to us. Mika is our first guest in 2024. It makes us very happy. Sixth album: Que ta tête fleurisse toujours. We are going to talk about it of course and about the tour too. Mika is our guest. We start now with a new single from this album: C'est la vie. 
Mika: C'est la vie. I don't know [why] it seems appropriate for the new year
BM: Yes indeed. Mika is our first guest in 2024. I always love it when you come here. There is always this human warmth and cool feeling emanating. It seems to me that you are more and more yourself and that you are getting closer to your real self, of who you really are after everything you've been through.
Mika: I think it is easier to be yourself. I realized it is maybe the best way to age.
BM: I was lovely to say that.
Mika: Yeah, it is the best and happier way [to age] too and I hope to be able to go on this way and also this also helps when things get rough, when things or situations get complicated, when something doesn't work. If you are that way you can stay cool and adapt yourself, you can find solutions. And you always have to find solutions, that is, you can be sure that bad things will happen and good ones too but you always have to find solutions.
BM: What is for sure is that in this album (which is your first album in French by the way) you give a lot of yourself in my opinion, you sing about love, about your dreams, about sorrows. It is very moving. You give even more to your listeners. I find that very moving. And the melodies are often pop and cheerful which is the fun thing with you and you deal with serious, deep things. I find your album is extremely overwhelming.
Mika: It's nice of you to say this. I think maybe French [language] helped me.
BM: Was it easier in French than in English?
Mika: At first it was more difficult because I was complexed about my French. I can speak well in French
BM: Yes of course.
Mika: Writing is different. I don't read in French or very little.
BM: Is is better to sing about love in French?
Mika: I believe so yes. In French You can express yourself, sing about love with more freedom in a more sensual way and you can write in a more carnal way without becoming vulgar. You can not say the same things in English it's impossible and as for me I don't  feel frustrated about French being a bit more difficult to sing in, it's just a matter of adapting yourself.
BM: It is funny like for example when you say: "without being vulgar" I know what you're thinking about. You're thinking about Apocalypse Calypso. Right?
Mika: Yes exactly.
BM: I was sure you were thinking about it.
Mika: Exactly
BM: Because that is something, really something "We burn, the embers, a buble, we f♡♡♡ In French it's ok
Mika: ta peau, ma peau, ma main dans ton dos c'est vraiment
BM: Mais en anglais ça donnerait quoi?
Mika:  tes fesses, cette danse  
BM: Yes this (laughing)
Mika: But when you hear it, it's filled with beauty 
BM: Yes it's filled with beauty in French
Mika: And I could never do that in English. But can you imagine that in English? My hand, your as♡ 
BM: Your as♡ yes
Mika: And I'm not going to say more because we are not allowed to.
BM: Yes we can.
Mika: A bubble, we f♡♡♡ it's awful
BM: It's awful
Mika: A crap song [in English] but in French there is a possibility to express this. I don't know why. So now I"m going to ask you a question.
BM: Ok
Mika: You might know because you master French culture language much better. Why is it that way?
Why can't I say that in English?
BM: Because French [language] is something that's romantic, French [has always been romantic in its words, in the way people act, that's the reason why we, for example Paris is known as the most  romantic city in the world. And we also have so many different words to express the same thing as well that so maybe in English speaking countries maybe it is more brutal. 
Mika: Well perhaps that's the reason why. What you're saying rmake me think of something
 Now that you said it I almost get the feeling that many of the words related to  sensuality or  or sexuality  are used or turned into a violent thing into English, like an assault. "On baise"[ We f♡♡♡] is beautiful. Even the sound of it: "On baise" [We f♡♡♡] 

In English it is used in a violent way but if you really think about what it is, that's a bad use of it
BM: And I have to say I really love the next line "En faisant l'amour on résiste" [While making love we resist] I like it a lot "En faisant l'amour on résiste"
Mika: Sweet resistance. 
BM: Yes.
Mika: I really have this thing about sweet resistance and I believe you have to find your own political commitment. 
BM: Mika is our guest. Life by Des'ree. You are listening to RFM. Our first guest in 2024 is Mika.
Mika: We have to talk about the lyrics of Life by Des'ree. 
BM: Yes
Mika: Life oh life, life oh life, I don't want to see a ghost, I'd rather have a piece of toast and watch the evening news. Can I translate it for you?
BM: Yes, please do.
Mika: That woman is a genius. Je ne veux pas voir un fantôme, c'est quelque chose qui me fait peur, je préfère manger un morceau de toast et regarder le JT du soir. Life oh life. La vie, la vie, la vie.
BM: But it's a song for dancing.
Mika: No, you can really tell yourself it is so simple and stupid but that's not the case at all. It makes sense. I love that song.(Mika hums the chorus)
BM: Que ta tête fleurisse toujours is Mika's first album in French, it is introspective and you sing about love. Expressing yourself in French means giving up the reflexes you have when you write in English.
Mika: Yes. Automatism that develop when writing in English.
BM: So you found a new way to write
Mika: Yes. 
BM: to express things.
Mika: Yes I always say writing and composing means you need to allow yourself to create words associations in a manner in a very free way without thinking too much about the consequences or the meaning; chaos, those molecules putting themselves together which can create something new. And you need to let go somehow to get into that spirit for writing. Free association. And sometimes during your carreer and also in life it is not always simple. David Bowie and David Burn both used the same way not to get writers' block if unable to get into that spirit. Do you know how? By writing about what crossed their mind, about what they saw around them [on a piece of paper] then Bowie would cut out each single word, mixed all the pieces of paper then he would put the words together randomly, read the sentences and then wrote songs based on them. He would force this free association by creating the chaos and provoke creativity. Beautiful isn't it?
BM: Yes that's awesome. Thank you I didn't know about this and it's really interesting. Mika is our guest. If I say "Elle me dit" it was in The Origin of Love.
Mika: Yes. It was my third album
BM: Third album in 2012.
Mika: Yes. Everyone was afraid of this album.
BM: It was a very good album.
Mika: Yes but at the beginning everyone was afraid because they told themselves it was too much because I had this vision of an electro symphonic album, symphonic electro and with lots of prod and they were afraid that it was going to connect. And it's an album which found its place little by little and there was Underwater on that album, there was Popular Song with Ariana Grande. There were lots of things and it took a while for this album to find its place but now it has.
BM: It found its place.
Mika: Yes most of all in my live shows. Its songs stay in my setlist.
BM:I want to say that I saw you at the Accord Arena where you'll be again on March 25th this year. We are so happy to be able to see you there again. Elle me dit.With Fanny Ardant in the music video, you are the only one who could make such a thing happen.

'(To be continued) 

 

 

 I started this video below with English subtitles yesterday, just finished it and thought I'd share it with you. Maybe some of you will enjoy it.   I hope you can overlook any typos, punctuation errors, etc. - I thought the main thing is that the non-french speaking ones understand the interview. Hope you enjoy it.  

 

 

 

 

[crazyaboutmika]

59 minutes ago, Nessaja said:

 

 I started this video below with English subtitles yesterday, just finished it and thought I'd share it with you. Maybe some of you will enjoy it.   I hope you can overlook any typos, punctuation errors, etc. - I thought the main thing is that the non-french speaking ones understand the interview. Hope you enjoy it.  

 

 

 

 

That's great. It's a shame we couldn't team up this time but maybe for another video hopefully. I will go on with my written translation anyway because I'm really enjoying to do it but I'll take my time  or maybe I won't finish it

I see no typo and you did a great job

The subs team members have been very busy with real life but it would be lovely to get more members and do more subbed videos because they are much needed at the moment. If anyone is interested please let everyone know in the subs team thread. People who can put together videos and translators are welcome

Edited January 8 by crazyaboutmika

[mellody]

4 hours ago, crazyaboutmika said:

Can I ask you what you did during your holidays?
Mika: Well a huge nothing at all That's true.

 

I thought it was prerecorded? So are they pretending it's live?! Pfft. 🙄 Thank you for the translation, can't watch the video right now, so I love being able to read the text for now. Thank you also to @Nessaja, I'll watch that later.

[crazyaboutmika]

1 hour ago, mellody said:

 

I thought it was prerecorded? So are they pretending it's live?! Pfft. 🙄 Thank you for the translation, can't watch the video right now, so I love being able to read the text for now. Thank you also to @Nessaja, I'll watch that later.

I have a feeling it was really after the holidays but that's just a feeling and I could be wrong of course.

[lormare73]

6 minutes ago, crazyaboutmika said:

I have a feeling it was really after the holidays but that's just a feeling and I could be wrong of course.

 

I'm quite sure it was recorded in mid December. This pic was taken at the end of another radio interview on 14th December and he was dressed exactly the same. 

[dcdeb]

6 hours ago, Nessaja said:

 

 I started this video below with English subtitles yesterday, just finished it and thought I'd share it with you. Maybe some of you will enjoy it.   I hope you can overlook any typos, punctuation errors, etc. - I thought the main thing is that the non-french speaking ones understand the interview. Hope you enjoy it.  

 

 

 

Thank you so much for the subtitles!

[Kumazzz]

2 hours ago, lormare73 said:

 

I'm quite sure it was recorded in mid December. This pic was taken at the end of another radio interview on 14th December and he was dressed exactly the same. 

 

The photo was on INSTAGRAM

https://www.instagram.com/p/C008yuUoWUw/

✨️ Le sourire de @mikainstagram a illuminé le #MeilleurDesRéveils ce matin !

🥰 MERCI infiniment ! 😍

Et bravo à Camille qui a remporté sa rencontre ! 😘

#RFMMatin #RadioRFM #RFMRadio #Mika #CarolineIthurbide #CaroRFM #AlbertSpano #AlbertRFM #France

 

 

 

 

RMF

Le Meilleur des Réveils ( 14 / 12 / 2023 )

 

FACEBOOK

Underwater

https://www.facebook.com/RFMradio/videos/244611668486437/

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 8 by Kumazzz

[mellody]

7 hours ago, Nessaja said:

 

 I started this video below with English subtitles yesterday, just finished it and thought I'd share it with you. Maybe some of you will enjoy it.   I hope you can overlook any typos, punctuation errors, etc. - I thought the main thing is that the non-french speaking ones understand the interview. Hope you enjoy it.  

 

 

 

 

 

Indeed a very interesting interview. The interviewer gets on my nerves a bit, not only because he often keeps talking instead of letting Mika think and reply, and sometimes asks his questions in a way that kinda doesn't leave Mika much room to reply with his own thoughts, but also he has a way that is far too intrusive for my liking. As it also shows in the little video, where he keeps touching Mika's tummy. It makes you wonder, is he flirting with Mika or is he being a clumsy version of Mara Venier (the Italian Domenica In presenter, of whom you could also say she's intrusive, but she does it in a very caring way).

 

As for the French language being romantic and in English it would be aggressive... well, I guess there are other words in English too that you could use - as Mika also does, "making love" - I don't get the nuances of the French language, yeah "baise" might sound better than "f*ck", and maybe it's romantic because "un baiser" is a kiss, but I never got why people say that French is a romantic or sensual language. And also I still don't get why Mika feels the need to describe the details of his sexual preferences, in this interview even a little more detailed than in the lyrics. But I'm not a fan of such explicit songs anyway, no matter the language or the artist - so it's not Mika and his preferences that bother me, but just that I can't connect to the song that is the title track of the tour. Well, nothing new there, I already talked about that in the AC thread.

 

What he says about bullying, that words can hurt a lot, is very true. I remember at the time when I was bullied at school, I sometimes wished that the bullies would attack me physically, so I could hit back. But they always did it in a way that wouldn't leave me any options of defending myself, that made me feel dumb for not finding the right reply to their words, that made me feel excluded and wrong. It's tough what he says, that he was told that only sticks and stones would hurt, but not words. Thinking about it, I guess what my Mum told me had a similar effect "just ignore them and don't listen, it's normal that kids tease each other", it makes you feel like you're imagining things, as if you're just being too sensitive. And I also like what Mika says that community can be a solution to this. I mean, yes, and no. Children and young teenagers can't help themselves in such situations, even friendships are still fragile at that age, so the community idea has to come from the teachers, and that has a lot to do with work ethics and working conditions. So I assume the good community at the small private school Mika went to has to do with the fact that the teachers who worked there were motivated and not overworked and underpaid, like at many public schools. Same is true for what Mika says, that music, art, sports can help build such communities - but also that is a money issue, it's the first thing that gets cut at public schools when they have to save money.  And even if they have a football team and a choir - if football or singing aren't really your thing, you're still left out. I was part of the choir at the school where I was bullied, and this as well as music and arts lessons certainly were the highlights for me at school, but it didn't help against the bullying.  But that was also because it wasn't really a community, the teachers weren't interested in that. Of course community can also help in the sense that you feel supported if you have friends or a supportive family outside of the bullying situation - and even years later, if you find a community where you feel accepted and supported, that makes it easier to deal with the disappointments of the past. (yes, I'm talking about MFC now  )

 

Hmm, much more to comment on, I got lost in detail about this particular part... I also especially love what Mika says about curiosity, also being curious about other people, even if you don't agree with their opinion. And about not blaming others and feeling like a victim - the presenter is right with that, that it's a sign of maturity. Taking responsibility for oneself's own wellbeing - I think it's the first step to taking responsibility for other people's wellbeing as well, for building real and deep connections and for making the world a better place. Ok I might need to elaborate further on this, to make clear how I get from "not feeling like a victim" to "making the world a better place", guess it's a bit like Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror"... but I need to sleep now. I hope we won't have 5 new interviews already, until I have time to comment on this again. 🙈   Mika really doesn't need to feel sorry for doing his therapy in songs and interviews, I like it... but when it's so much like in the last month it's just hard to keep up. 😅

 

3 hours ago, lormare73 said:

 

I'm quite sure it was recorded in mid December. This pic was taken at the end of another radio interview on 14th December and he was dressed exactly the same. 

 

Yes, I remember seeing photos and videos of Mika in this exact outfit in December, that's why I'm sure it's prerecorded.

[Hero]

8 hours ago, Nessaja said:

 

 I started this video below with English subtitles yesterday, just finished it and thought I'd share it with you. Maybe some of you will enjoy it.   I hope you can overlook any typos, punctuation errors, etc. - I thought the main thing is that the non-french speaking ones understand the interview. Hope you enjoy it.  

 

 

 

 

Thank you! Lots of lovely snippets there. 

 

I just loved seeing him fangurling over the presenter having dinner with Prince. 

[crazyaboutmika]

11 hours ago, lormare73 said:

 

I'm quite sure it was recorded in mid December. This pic was taken at the end of another radio interview on 14th December and he was dressed exactly the same. 

You're right. Thanks

[crazyaboutmika]

8 hours ago, Hero said:

Thank you! Lots of lovely snippets there. 

 

I just loved seeing him fangurling over the presenter having dinner with Prince. 

I was fangurling too  

[CharlotteL]

16 hours ago, mellody said:

And also I still don't get why Mika feels the need to describe the details of his sexual preferences, in this interview even a little more detailed than in the lyrics.

Does he? I can't think of anything he says in this interview that isn't more or less a direct quote from the song?!

And I do agree with him that even more explicit lyrics sound less vulgar in French. It's very interesting that he thinks it's because words to do with sex are more weaponized and used as insults in English. I'm not sure that's true, I think most languages prominently feature sexualized insults (I'm gonna refrain from naming examples). I think it has more to do with the fact the he considers English his first language and spent his childhood in France but his teenage years in England. So he would have heard those insults a lot in English (and probably attacked at him as well), more so than in French.

 

17 hours ago, mellody said:

Children and young teenagers can't help themselves in such situations, even friendships are still fragile at that age, so the community idea has to come from the teachers, and that has a lot to do with work ethics and working conditions. So I assume the good community at the small private school Mika went to has to do with the fact that the teachers who worked there were motivated and not overworked and underpaid, like at many public schools.

THIS THIS THIS. Schools with better working conditions for educators are always more relaxed and safer environments.

It's impossible to create that atmosphere when you're constantly just putting out fires as an educator.

 

I find his approach to this quite unique though. He isn't really talking about finding a community of like-minded people to feel better but if I understand him correctly, he thinks the whole school / class should be made to feel like a community where everyone cares about and respects each others. He said something similar at the anti-bullying event in Paris. That we should teach kids to embrace their differences because they make their community stronger and more valuable.

I find that so remarkable because it's a mix of the opposing ideas of collectivism and individuality. This seems to reflect his own upbringing and his family.

[mellody]

18 minutes ago, CharlotteL said:

Does he? I can't think of anything he says in this interview that isn't more or less a direct quote from the song?!

 

Moi dans ton dos (song) / Ma main dans ton dos (interview) 

 

30 minutes ago, CharlotteL said:

I think it has more to do with the fact the he considers English his first language and spent his childhood in France but his teenage years in England. So he would have heard those insults a lot in English (and probably attacked at him as well), more so than in French.

Good point

[CharlotteL]

8 minutes ago, mellody said:

Moi dans ton dos (song) / Ma main dans ton dos (interview) 

 

Yes true but I find the interview version tamer than the lyrics?!

Each to their own though.

[krysady]

2 minutes ago, CharlotteL said:

Yes true but I find the interview version tamer than the lyrics?!

Now if I think better, you are right 

[crazyaboutmika]

28 minutes ago, mellody said:

 

Moi dans ton dos (song) / Ma main dans ton dos (interview) 

 

Good point

Yes but I believe that's only him messing up his own lyrics as often 

And "Moi dans ton dos" is a lot more explicit  than "Ma main dans ton dos" in my opinion  but I won't say more as I don't want to go to NC  Maybe it's only my imagination though

*Goes to NC before someone puts me in it*

 

[crazyaboutmika]

39 minutes ago, CharlotteL said:

Yes true but I find the interview version tamer than the lyrics?!

Each to their own though.

Me too  Glad I'm not the only one  I just sent myself to NC because explaining how is tricky

[mellody]

1 hour ago, CharlotteL said:

Yes true but I find the interview version tamer than the lyrics?!

Each to their own though.

 

Hm, I see it differently - but I'll DM you, because well, discussing those details in public leads a bit too far. 😅

[mellody]

Ok, there seem to be different interpretations of "dans ton dos" - but sorry, I don't believe in Mika's innocence, I interpreted his lyrics in too innocent ways often enough in the past. 😅🙈. So I'm sure it's not just about him stroking his partner's back.  He does say in the interview that he can't say this in English, imo that says it all.  

[Kumazzz]

Pure Charts

 

Mika en interview : son album, son compagnon, The Voice...

 

"Chaque grande histoire d'amour est faite de ruptures" Mika se confie en interview au micro de Purecharts sur son nouvel album, ses chansons coquines, son compagnon ou "The Voice".

 

Autogenerated TEXT file [Français (autogenerated)] Mika en interview son album, son compagnon, The Voice... [DownSub.com].txt

 

Dailymotion

hhttps://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8ray87

 

Translation of the text file, with questions 

Spoiler

It's a shame your voice isn't in this interview, because it makes me laugh.  I expect to hear the interviewer's voice.

  Trust me, you really miss half of the show.

 

Why now an album in French?

  I've been really wanting something new for a few years now. A first film, a first film soundtrack, symphonic projects,  a lot of things in my personal and also creative life. The album in French is part of that. I've wanted to sing in French for a long time, I've wanted to write a whole collection of songs in French for a long time,  but I didn't have an idea how to do it.  Really it comes out the same way as when I write in English. The melody, the text, at the same time.  And the moment I realized that I could really be myself, it became a sort of refuge.  I had to forget the language, uninhibit myself in relation to the language of Molière  to accept Mika's French. That's really what I experienced.

 

Is it harder to write in French?

  So, I sang in German in my life, I sang in English, I sang in French, in Italian.  For me, the most beautiful language to listen to is probably Italian,  but it's the most difficult to sing because everything is open. The easiest language to sing is English.  It lends itself very well, especially to pop and rock. Really, it slides.  The most fun language, because it's so impactful, is French.  It allows us to say things where rhythm is involved. So, it's like using the voice as a percussive instrument.  I use French to really get back to this very English approach in pop.

 

The album is an hommage to your mother, but it's very colourful...

  I love the idea of freezing the spell.  There is a book from my childhood that I always loved. It was a book about some kind of earthworm, I don't know how to say it, a thousand-footer that gradually eats up all the pages, all the leaves.  And all of a sudden, bam, it becomes a butterfly.  I like the idea that an album and the songs can do the same thing, even when it's something painful,  like a breakup or the passing of someone.  And that's a bit of this, it's this metamorphosis.

 

There are very naughty lyrics on the album...

  The, let's say, carnal or naughty side in several of the songs is super important. When I make music and when I'm on stage, I'm so liberated that...  It's a kind of nonchalance that's very liberating, I think. But also, it’s in French, that lends itself, French lends itself to that.  If I say, as in the song Apocalypso, "une bulle, on baise",  I could never say that the same way in English. It's just horrible. But in French, it remains beautiful. Why do the French, in a pop song,  that can go on the radio, can very easily say "je baise"  and in English, it sounds completely lame and vulgar?  This is the pleasure of being able to write in different languages. We can express ourselves in a different way.  I can express myself in a completely different way.

 

The song for your partner is a breakup song...

 (Mika starts interviewing the interviewer) Please introduce yourself for the Pure Charts audience.

  Julien Gonçalves (?)

  And your longest relationship?

  Two and a half years.

  And in the two and a half years that you were together with this person,  how many times did you argue?

  A lot.

 

  And here is the answer. Me, we've been together for 18 years, but every great story, we're going to say of love, if you want to call it that,  it is formed by many ruptures. When we succeed in building a bridge between a big breakup, this becomes a strength.  And the more bridges we have like that,  and the more we manage to train and have muscles like that, the most we can possibly resist. 

(text on the screen: "not understood")

 

Have you sometimes thought of stopping everything for him?

  To stop everything, I don't know what it is. Because I always...  Since I started very young, you see, my value system for myself, it's horrible to say it, but it's also connected to the fact that I love my work and I want to do it.  Stop everything for a private life, I think it would be impossible  because privacy will suffer enormously as a result, because I would be completely intolerable.  You have to find a balance. Maybe for now, I haven't found it.  Maybe that’s a challenge for the future.

 

Is it important to sing about your love for a boy?

  I remember, I wanted to write for a group. I went to see them. And I said, look, you come from here, from there, I would love it if it was French. It would be very nice to hear that coming out of your mouths. They told me, those are messages.  I say, it's not a commitment, but yes, there is a message.  "No, but messages are for the post office". I say, but why is there this tendency not to commit in one direction? For me, I don't block what comes out of my head  and with my mouth because I want to say it.  So it's this idea of having a constant commitment, but a commitment that remains poetic and artistic.  I wasn't like that when I was younger, but music gave me the opportunity to be.  You have to find your own way. 

 

Doucement - does it talk about bullying?

It starts from the feeling of being isolated, of not having value for oneself.  It could be the result of many things, general harassment, school harassment. And above all, it says, if you slow down, you can see further. And this long view will give you perspective  about what they are going through in your life. In English, we say "to see the forest from the trees",  be able to tell or see the difference between the trees and the forest. 

 

Did it do you good to speak about this topic?

I spoke in front of the children.  They were much, much, much more impressive than the Minister of Education or Ms. Brigitte Macron, frankly.  They were the ones who scared me in this context. I am in a high school, there were 350, there were 11 years. And I didn't know what I was going to say.  I hadn't written anything and all of a sudden I start talking and I really just feel this need to be completely transparent compared to what I experienced. It happened like that and it was really bad. And let me tell you how bad it was. But there was a solution.  And there you have it, with a little perspective, now I'll explain it to you. And maybe, you can make some of this story your own in your own challenge, your own challenge.  This is super important.  We cannot teach empathy lessons,  but much more can be done to strengthen and encourage a sense of community and of reciprocity of consequences.

 

You're returning to The Voice. Don't you have to go on tour?

  It’s obviously a show that I really like. and it’s this version in France that I really like.  Between the two brothers, on my left, between Vianney and Zazie, even Zazie, she is different. It speaks very quickly and very loudly. And this atmosphere is very important. It is fundamentally important.  If it doesn't have that vibe, you're not going to like the show. I'm sure.

 

 

I guess this interview was recorded on the same day.

 

On 12/28/2023 at 8:04 PM, Kumazzz said:

 

Radio VINCI Autoroutes 107.7 FM

 

 

[mellody]

9 hours ago, Kumazzz said:

Autogenerated TEXT file [Français (autogenerated)] Mika en interview son album, son compagnon, The Voice... [DownSub.com].txt

 

thank you! I added the Google translation of this file to your post, and adjusting it now with the questions and a few changes.

To the French speakers, I think at the beginning when he talks about not hearing the interviewer's voice in the interview, he says "rien" and not "rire", right? 

 

edit: I think it's pretty much the same interview as the written purecharts one that was published last year. I recognized it from the part about Andy when Mika said that overcoming breakups is like training a muscle (sorry, I still don't agree with him on that ). Anyway it's nice to have this interview on video as well.

[holdingyourdrink]

On 1/9/2024 at 12:15 AM, mellody said:

Mika says that community can be a solution to this. I mean, yes, and no. Children and young teenagers can't help themselves in such situations, even friendships are still fragile at that age, so the community idea has to come from the teachers, and that has a lot to do with work ethics and working conditions. So I assume the good community at the small private school Mika went to has to do with the fact that the teachers who worked there were motivated and not overworked and underpaid, like at many public schools.

 

 

15 hours ago, CharlotteL said:

find his approach to this quite unique though. He isn't really talking about finding a community of like-minded people to feel better but if I understand him correctly, he thinks the whole school / class should be made to feel like a community where everyone cares about and respects each others. He said something similar at the anti-bullying event in Paris. That we should teach kids to embrace their differences because they make their community stronger and more valuable.

I find that so remarkable because it's a mix of the opposing ideas of collectivism and individuality. This seems to reflect his own upbringing and his family.

The idea about this on itself is not quite unique, because we live in a society with a lot of diversity in every realm: the idea that despite our differences, we need to make it work, is a societal problem. The way to approach it is to start implementing it with children; because they are the future, they have the chance to make a difference within themselves and their surroundings.
However, like Karin pointed out: public schools are overworked, underpaid and generally overwhelmed, that such a community spirit is simply not possible, as it requires a lot of energy, time and individual attention to children. 

 

For my own children, my husband and I have always searched for a community within the kindergarten and school, rather than a specific school. We are privileged to have found it (so far) for all three of them and we see what a difference it makes in their self confidence and general view of themselves.
The thing is, when you are searching for something like this, you will automatically come across like minded people. Not all of them. But enough to form a community and tackle problems in a civil way, before it becomes too polarized - and yes, bullying in the end is a polarization of an imbalance within a community.