The Sandspur

Issue date: 3/12/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Mika's debut album, "Life in Cartoon Motion," accurately describes the infectious sounds found on his 2007 release.

Mika's sound can be likened to a mixture of Queen at times and intermixed with the high
pitched sounds of the Bee Gees. The album is filled with upbeat, fun-loving and energetic tunes like "Lollipop" and "Happy Ending,"
making the cartoon analogy appropriate.

Mika was born Michael Holbrook Penniman on August 18, 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon. Although the album cover is laced with pictures of
grandeur - bright colored cartoons and flowers - and his record includes many cheerful tunes, Mika did not always lead
such a charmed life.

His family fled Lebanon shortly after his birth to avoid the complications of an ensuing civil war and relocated to Paris for a little while. The next move to London was certainly not all a bed of roses and then some, as his peers and teachers critically
ridiculed him and socially outcast him.

After this event, Mika was so traumatized he literally forgot how to read and write. His
mother took him out of school for six months
and sent him to study with a Russian singing
coach where Mike quickly found himself again and appeared in a Strauss production at the Royal Opera House.

Mika eased into the business by writing inflight music for British Airways and then later wrote an Orbit gum ditty before his record deal with Casablanca.

Given the short amount of time it has taken for Mika's unique sound to break onto the pop/rock scene, garnering success has been quite an easy task for this tall, lanky and poofyhaired twenty three year old.

Not only is Mika's debut single "Grace Kelly" gracing radio stations throughout the US but it is also a number one hit overseas: his single has topped the Irish singles chart for the fifth week in a row.

Mika has come along way from the tormented days of his youth. Currently Paul Smith has
snatched Mika up for his summer fashion
campaign and one of Mika's tracks has been
licensed for a Motorola commercial.

The first released single, "Grace Kelly,"
has been featured on MTV as an MTV sneak peak first listen song. This video is very
reminiscent of "The Killers" style - there are many elements of fantasy, loads of creative imagination and much sensory entertainment for the eye.

Mika himself is a unique character as he flouncess around between the makeshift stage setup in the video and the piano, where a young girl in a church style pinafore sings back to him.

The video is very dream-like and flees from
the daily and often commonplace existence of everyday life. Mika's contagious beats, lively tunes and catchy lyrics are certainly
reason enough to inspire dancing and an afternoon of easy listening. While his sound is different than mainstream pop its overt merriness carefully avoids crossing that line and succumbing to nauseating jolliness.

It is apparent Mika has drawn on European and Pacific inspiration as well. His music is much like a magical escape to another
world - a musical journey everyone should try. Photos Courtesy of Epic Records.

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