For my first entertainment column I chose the new album by Mika, one of my favorite artists. He is popular worldwide, but for some reason doesn’t have a large following in the United States.
Mika or Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr., which is his actual name, was born August 18, 1983, in Beirut, Lebanon. His mother is Lebanese and his father is American. He and his family moved to Paris when he was a year old. He wrote his first song at age seven. He went to school in London, but dropped out and was home-schooled by his mother because of bullying and dyslexia. He then moved to Kensington, England, and went to school there. He went to college at the Royal School of Music in London. In 2007 he released his first album Life in a Cartoon Motion and his second one The Boy Who Knew too Much in 2009. Those are great albums in themselves, but I’m writing about his new album The Origin of Love. I’ll warn you now that in this album he is racier with language than the first two, but it is still great music regardless.
Mika told CNN that his main inspiration for the album was the feelings and thoughts he dealt with after his sister fell out of her fourth story apartment window and her struggle to rehab. She is getting better and learning to walk again now.
This album is truly Mika. It is in his own unique sound. It’s flashy, upbeat and fun to listen to. There are some songs a lot of people can really relate to. There’s a mix of pop and choral that I really like which blends well together. Songs like “Emily” and “Popular Song” are a lot more pop than choral. “Origin of Love” has more choral sound due to the multiple harmonies and instruments.
There isn’t much I can criticize about this album. I would prefer a little more of Mika singing in a lower register like in “Step With Me” because he is in reality a classically trained baritone. He has an amazing vocal range.
As always his lyrics are very humorous. For example, he mocks the irony of popularity in “Popular Song”, and I found myself laughing when I first heard it. His humor blends into his songs perfectly.
Humorous or not, his songs still get a strong message through. The album teaches the listeners to go through with what they want to do and to be who they are. The message: don’t let other people tell you what to do or beat you down.
This album would have been No. 1 on American iTunes a lot longer than an hour and a half if Mika had more fans in the USA. I encourage readers to take a more widespread view with their music because there is a lot of great music like Mika’s out there to explore.
Mika brings in some talented help in this album. Priscilla Renea, who sings with him in “Popular Song”, has written for Madonna, Rihanna, Selena Gomez and Cheryl Cole. Pharrell Williams, who sings in “Celebrate”, has preformed with Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg. These two are perfect examples of people we haven’t heard about who are really good. There are also multiple talented writers who edited the songs with Mika.
On a scale of one to 10, I give this album a 10. Without a doubt it is one of the best albums I have ever heard. I really encourage you to download it. The deluxe album includes acoustic versions of a lot of the songs with just Mika and the piano. It also includes the song “Emily” (“Elle me dit”) in French! Why did he do that you ask–because he can. Mika is one of the most versatile artists of his time and is well worth the listen.
