Mika
Mika's sugary wonderland of gender-bending, campy pop topped with a flawless falsetto has earned him respectable comparisons to the likes of Freddie Mercury, David Bowie and the Scissor Sisters. Born in Beirut as Michael Holbrook Penniman, he moved with his family from Lebanon to Paris and eventually settled in London when he was nine years old. The move proved troubling for him, as he faced bullying at school and the onset of dyslexia. Mika's focus turned to music when he began intense training with a Russian singing teacher, which led to professional performances at the Royal Opera House and advertising gigs for British Airways and Orbit Chewing Gum. He studied classical music at the prestigious Royal College of Music, but dropped out to focus on his career.
Mika's first step into the fickle pop world was the release of his single Relax, Take It Easy, but it was Grace Kelly, a stab at those who didn't believe in his musical potential, that shot him to No. 1 on the UK charts in early 2007. His debut album, Life in Cartoon Motion, soon followed the same chart-topping path and suddenly Mika was the man of the moment. Spectacular live shows followed which saw Mika dressing up as giant cartoon characters, banging drums and screeching to great aplomb.
When touring slowed, Mika turned his attention to his sophomore album The Boy Who Knew Too Much, which goes by the motto 'if at ain't broke, don't fix it'. It offers up more glitter-fuelled pop with first single We Are Golden going top ten although not quite repeating the runaway success of the first time around. Perhaps we were expecting the next evolution of Mika to be something more?
Clare Lydon
Particulars About Mika
Artist
Mika
First Name:
Michael
Last Name:
Holbrook
Country
US
State
MA
City
Alston
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