Charismatic superstar on the rise breaks through to American audiences with a clever, irresistable album that has everyone talking.

On many an “artist to watch” list and touted in late 2006 by gossip blogger Perez Hilton whose support (or disdain) seems to have a direct effect on a celebrity’s success (or slip in popularity), Mika has been on the fast-track to the success and airplay comparable artists can only dream of.

Introducing Mika

Exuberantly joyful like little else currently found on the album charts in his native UK and in North America, Mika’s debut album, Life in Cartoon Motion has at the time of writing, spawned at least one #1 single (Grace Kelly) on both sides of the Atlantic and sold over 900,000 copies worldwide. But what is it about this fop-haired, soft-spoken 23-year-old who is being compared to such icons as Freddie Mercury and Elton John? Why is his music succeeding in America where others like the Scissor Sisters and Robbie Williams have failed?

Male Model for Paul Smith

The buzz around this young man is so deafening that a week before his debut album was released in the UK, he was signed by British menswear designer Paul Smith to model his Spring/Summer 2007 collection. All of which is unsurprising given his unquestionably handsome face, narrow frame, cavalcade of foppish curls and sense of personal style, but surprising given his status as a new, unproven artist.

Mika's Contemporaries

Compared to contemporary artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Robbie Williams and Scissor Sisters, it is the comparison with the latter that is the most significant. Born out of the New York City club scene, the Scissor Sisters are immensely popular in the UK but have achieved limited success in their own country. Mika’s sound has much in common with that of the Scissor Sisters, most obviously the falsetto vocals and danceable pop musical arrangements that reference disco, glam rock and cabaret, but Mika’s sound has proven to be more accessible in both the British and American markets.

Gay? Straight? Does it matter?

Like the Scissor Sisters, gay communities have embraced Mika and his music, although he refuses to discuss his sexuality. He has been compared to Elton John and Freddie Mercury – both of whom didn’t address their sexuality early in their careers but eventually came out under heavy media scrutiny – and perhaps Mika is following their example in being coy. If so it seems to be working for him so far. The Scissor Sisters’ music is a celebration of sexuality and they’ve never hidden their gay club scene roots. It can be argued that this may have given them too narrow and underground a fan base to ever appeal to a mainstream audience. While Mika’s music is just as unabashedly campy as The Scissor Sisters’, his refusal to say "Yes" or "No" to the pigeonholes the media is so very fond of and allows his music to speak for itself.

The main thing that leaps out from Life In Cartoon Motion is its unadulterated joy - effervescent, whimsical, at times melancholy, but always purely joyful. It’s music that will lift your spirits, draw you onto your feet and make you want to sing along. His song writing is reminiscent of that of Elton John and Henry Nilsson, vocally he can be compared to Freddie Mercury, Robbie Williams and Jake Shears of the Scissor Sisters and his music is a blend of pop, disco, cabaret, dance and opera (you can hear the influence of The Marriage of Figaro in Grace Kelly). It’s one of those rare albums that exactly reflects the personality of its creator – childlike, whimsical, clever, playful, colourful and charming.

A Musical Youth

Born in Beirut to an American father and Lebanese mother, Mika grew up as an eccentric, musical child, who wrote his first song at the age of 7. The family moved to Paris when he was a baby and then to London when he was a young boy. As a teen with a 5-octave falsetto he became something of an opera star in London and he later attended the Royal College of Music where he learned to combine his classical training with contemporary music. Record companies recognized his potential and undeniable talent but wanted him to sound more commercial and the misfit eccentric in Mika refused to be pigeonholed. As he sings in his first hit single Grace Kelly, which he wrote about this experience “Should I bend over? Should I look older just to be put on the shelf?”

It’s very easy to dismiss pop music as heavily marketed, formulaic fluff though arguably the majority of it is exactly that. But every once and awhile someone different comes along to shake things up in a major way. Elton John did it, Queen did it and now it seems that Mika is doing it too.