meimei88 Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 News & Star Published on 22/02/2007 Mika isn’t a conventional musician. His incredible life history to date, five-octave vocal range, unruly hair and neatly manicured nails ensure that he isn’t your average pop star. When Simon Cowell says he’s “strangeâ€Â, there’s a part of you that has to agree. “He told me that my songs were strange – he said something to the effect that I might as well not bother,†says Mika, smiling. “At the same time, he said I had a distinctive voice and that could help me out. I got upset to a point, but I realised he was clearly not the person to work with me. This was before his Pop Idol fame. “But I saw him at a party recently and he congratulated me.†Luckily, Mika (pronounced Mee-ka) wasn’t put off by Simon’s comments, but he says he’d never go on The X Factor. “Music speaks for itself, egos just get in the way of it. If I went on the show, I’d be kicked out in the first round!†the 23-year-old says. “I’m the worst karaoke singer in the world – that’s why I write songs that are practically impossible to be sung in karaoke.†Born in Beirut, Mika emigrated to Paris with his family as self-imposed exiles because of the civil war. They settled in London when he was nine. “Moving here was hard. I went to a French school when I first came here and had a really hard time,†he admits. “Moving over to the English system was better because they were more sympathetic to my dyslexia. I was bullied, and verbally abused.†Rather than fighting the bullies, Mika coped by writing songs to deal with his feelings. “I dealt with it quite passively, much in the same way as when I went in for a meeting with a music company in London after they heard a demo of mine, and they sat down for an hour telling me how I had to write songs like everybody else in order to be accepted. “I got angry and wrote Grace Kelly when I got home. “I could have been brash and loud and rude and told them to f*** off, but I didn’t, I put it in the song instead, and then it worked for me. It’s the perfect example of this passive aggression that I seem to practise in my life.†As his debut single, Grace Kelly knocked Simon Cowell’s latest protege, Leona Lewis, off the No 1 spot. “It’s amazing to get a No 1 and I’m absolutely over the moon about what has happened on the strength of downloads alone,†he says. “I always go on about the power of online media and sharing your music on the internet, and I’m really thankful that now I have some sort of ammunition to prove that everything I’ve been saying about online media, from the smallest blogs to the biggest entertainment fanzines, are really driven by passion. “It’s going by strength of word of mouth, and people making up their own minds after they’ve listened to the songs online. That’s amazing, particularly since I haven’t won a show, I haven’t got in trouble or done anything particularly scandalous so I don’t have tabloid inches on my heels.†So he hasn’t done anything to be ashamed about then? “Of course I have. But you’ve got to work for your living and I’m certainly not going to make your job easy,†he grins. Not content with writing and orchestrating songs, Mika is planning to branch out into animation, creating cartoon characters from his songs. Lollipop Girl comes from the song Lollipop, Billy Brown and Big Girl from songs of the same titles. “I always wanted to create a visual world that could take on a life of its own and that could really develop with boundaries I could really push, once the album is done. They’re fantasy characters but they’re a platform for storytelling. “In a way, the album becomes the soundtrack to that visual world. I’ve no idea what will happen with the characters, but believe me, there’ll be some dramatic Hollyoaks-style twists and turns.†Mika insists his creations are more than musical characters like Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz: “Gorillaz are purely aesthetic representations of their pseudonym. Mine have nothing to do with my performance as a live artist and they have nothing to do with me as an artist. “They are simply another fantastical dimension to my project. They can exist solely on their own. They even have their own MySpace pages!†He’s already been described as the next Freddie Mercury, but this is one label that Mika is reluctant to accept. “Other people have compared me to him. I name-check him in Grace Kelly but I would never really compare myself to him, simply because I admire him far too much as a musician and a songwriter. In my mind, he’s untouchable,†he says. “I’m lucky that I’m being compared to someone I admire. It’s a bit scary but quite an honour. I could never believe it, I’m too much of a fan. If I started to believe that, you can be sure that you won’t be hearing from me in 2008!†He admits that he does feel some pressure to live up to Freddie’s reputation, though, saying: “It does put me under pressure, but at the same time, it’s a platform that I’m very thankful to be standing up on, and I just have to prove myself now. “You have to be careful what you wish for in life because sometimes you actually have to carry it out! I can only do what I do, and I just have to make sure that I’m making records the way I want to make them. “Music has to speak for itself, so as long as I keep on making good music, I can be stood in good stead to be around for quite a long time.†Mika plays at Northumbria University, Newcastle on Saturday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xMariax Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 The karaoke part was funny. Great article, thanks for posting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisylou Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 After hearing his "Shakira" I am sure he could do that Karaoke and everyone would love it! I think he is just being shy as he could sing almost anything! I always tell people I can`t sing but actually can. It`s just the way we all are-we don`t want others to think us big headed and boastful. Twirl those lollipops! xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andi Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 great article:thumb_yello: lv,andi xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ocean_Fairy Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 After hearing his "Shakira" I am sure he could do that Karaoke and everyone would love it! I think he is just being shy as he could sing almost anything!I always tell people I can`t sing but actually can. It`s just the way we all are-we don`t want others to think us big headed and boastful. Twirl those lollipops! xx Same here I can sing reasonably well and love to but I can't sing in front of other peple so I always say I can't Yeah I'm sure he could sing anything I loved his cover of Shakira sooo much. Great article thanks for posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tantastic Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 deam those bullies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mika_lover Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 I wonder what he has done he is ashamed of...surely nothing too bad, he seems soooo innocent!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mireille Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 He's always so modest ! I hope he will never change ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dridri Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 Hey, where can we listen to his Shakira? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esperia75 Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 Thanx for this beautiful post!!! How nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titania Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 Dridri, there are two links in the members only section where you can hear this. Go to the Radio 2 session. The third page also has it broken up into 4 parts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalekblaster Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 F**K simon kowl that a** hole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasia87 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 thanks for posting this. its really interesting to read about him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artstudio54 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 ¡Todo Bien! This place just get better and better, every time i find the time to log in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily24 Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Interesting artical! i love Mika hes the best. I cant believe he writ grace kelly when he was angry cos when i hear it, i wanna dance lol. Mika fans rule! cool everybodys gunna love today, love today, love today, everybodys gunna love today, anyway you want to, anyway you got to, love love me, love love me! great song! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xMariax Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 I love that song too. I always start dancing when it comes on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RosieLou Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Nice artical! I wonder what it is he's done?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicole Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Nice artical! I wonder what it is he's done?? Who knows:bleh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucinderella Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Hheheh Thats my local news paper.. How weird. Great Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikas no1 fan Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 i cant beleive that simon cowell said that mika is strange i know he is a bit but thats not fair, are any of you going to his concert in brighton i am, i cannnot wait, my mum got me the ticktes for my birthday. i hope to hear from you soon from mikas no1 fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcenciel Posted February 26, 2007 Share Posted February 26, 2007 News & Star So he hasn’t done anything to be ashamed about then? “Of course I have. But you’ve got to work for your living and I’m certainly not going to make your job easy,†he grins. :roftl: i love this !!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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