Mika rivals Elton John

[meimei88]

By: Donnie Branscum, U-Wire

 

Issue date: 4/3/07 Section: Tempo

 

STILLWATER, Okla. - The British invasion is back as Mika entices music lovers with his debut, "Life in Cartoon Motion," which has already become a number one album in the United Kingdom.

 

The album is an eloquent blend of energetic, '80s power-pop arrangements and Mika's operatic Freddie Mercury-like falsetto.

 

It's one of the most refreshing albums I've experienced this year, and Mika's tumultuous talent will hopefully add some artistic credibility to the realm of pop music, which has seemed a little bleak this year.

 

His most recent single, "Grace Kelly," has already received heavy acclaim from the MTV2 audience, and another track, "Love Today," has been used for the Motorola (Red) commercial.

 

"I grew up listening to everything from Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, to Serge Gainsbourg and flamenco," Mika said in a press release. "I'm always going back to great artist/songwriters - people who make great records to their own vision."

 

Mika was born in Lebanon, to a Lebanese mother and an American father. Soon after his birth his family fled to Paris to avoid the war in Lebanon. When his father was taken hostage and held at the American embassy in Kuwait City, his family settled in London.

 

Mika said he was having a hard time living in London for the first few years, suffering from intense dyslexia, which led him to forget how to read and write.

 

He was later pulled out of school for about six months, and it was during this time that he said music became very important to him.

 

"It got me back on my feet and by age 9, I knew I would be a singer/songwriter," Mika said.

 

This proclamation led him to London's Royal College of Music, where he was classically trained in opera, which transcends in his work.

 

"By day, I was surrounded by snobs who thought that classical music was the only real music - if it wasn't written down, it didn't exist," he said.

 

Mika taught himself to play the piano during his childhood, and his brilliant musical creativity has him poised for pop super stardom.

 

His powerful voice and catchy hooks are enough to entertain listeners, even those with the most evolved musical interests.

 

The U.S. has not seen a European artist as wonderfully creative and vocally gifted as Mika since Sir Elton John.

 

The standout tracks are his current single, "Grace Kelly," the incredibly infectious, "Lollipop" and the wickedly sexy, "Relax (Take it Easy)."

 

"If you're a freak, you have to build a circus around yourself," he said. "And then maybe other freaks will come and join your show."

[FREDDIESDOUBLE]

Great review thanks

[Mirtilla]

"If you're a freak, you have to build a circus around yourself," he said. "And then maybe other freaks will come and join your show."

seems to be many, many, many freaks in the world!!