Mika in Algemeen Dagblad (Dutch newspaper)

[keti]

I can't be arsed to translate at the moment.

 

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Okaayyy:

 

Pop star Mika resolves teenage problems with his new album

“I used to think: who would ever want to sleep with me”

 

As a teenager he got bullied so much that he dropped out of school and locked himself up at home. 10 years later, Mika is one of the world’s biggest pop stars. On his second album he sings about his adolescence. "I was a hopeless case. I wanted to be loved, but it didn’t work."

 

In the beginning of this summer, Mika invited a couple of journalists and music freaks (what are bobo’s??) for a diner in Amsterdam. Informal, that was emphasised. But it had a purpose: the singer of world hits like Relax and Lollipop was curious for reactions on the studio sessions of his second album. He even played the current hitsingle WAG before the entree. A doubting pop star looking for recognition? Not necessarily, Mika answers a few months later when he made a quick stop in our country. “I simply wanted to know what everyone thought of it. But I also thought such an intimate get together would be fun. My biggest insecurity has passed in the meantime. That was something I had more of in my youth.”

 

It’s exactly that period of teenage-doubting and schoolyard-loneliness that appeared to be the “breeding ground” for his second album. His hysterically funny combination of tight-trousers-singing, kitschy glamrock and an overdose of happiness, gave him 5 European top 10 hits, sold out stadium concerts and a sale of 6 million albums. The geeky teenager from 10 years ago reached the absolute top.Still to the amazement of the singer himself.

 

He had time for an interview at the Schiphol airport. The singer looks relaxed. Around his neck dangles a necklace with a voodoo doll. “it represents Tommy Mottola”, he clarifies. The record boss that sends him around the world like a rocket lately to promote the new album TBWKTM.

 

A title that has to do with the singer himself. Where his first album was based on his childhood, this one’s about his teenage years. And those were by far the saddest part of his life. But just because of that, a good foundation for a record filled with heartache wrapped in Mika’s famous bright pink wrapping paper. “I’m very cautious about the fact that I won’t prostitute my past but I wanted to be more personal this time. Using your past is almost impossible to avoid then.” Interesting because it’s his life outside of the stage that he has protected more than his golden vocal cords so far. “I don’t want to be famous for who I sleep with, but because of what I do” he explains yet again. Still, the singer made global news 2 weeks ago when the Dutch gay magazine Gay&Night pulled him out of the closet as “bisexual”. Mika laughs about this commotion. “I was surprised, everyone who knows how I present myself expected that already, no? It doesn’t matter to my fans either. That group varies between hot 19-year old guys that imitate my clothing style and want to kiss me to mothers who want to pinch me in the cheek. They really do know the deal. I’m not ashamed of anything. That’s why I said: call me bisexual. I hate labels.

 

He sings about the contrast between that shameless attitude and the frustrations of his youth on this new album. Rain is about desperate attempts to finally be normal. (???) And a bit more optimistic in WAG: “ A mantra I created when I was 17. We’re not as crazy as everyone thinks we are”. By thinking like that, I kept myself going. I was an outcast, a hopeless case. I wanted so much to be happy. Loved, sexy, attractive. Actually everything that I didn’t even come close to back then. It’s not easy to look in the mirror and to think: “who is ever going to want to sleep with me?”

 

Born in Beirut, son of a Lebanese mother and English (?) business man, Mika moved with his family (3 sisters and a younger brother) via Cyprus and Paris eventually to London. There he went to high school at the French Lyceum (? What’s the word in English, I dunno). It didn’t turn out to be a long adventure. “I was bullied immensely. With what? Mostly homophobic remarks. I was an easy target. I was chubby, dyslectic, wore the wrong shoes, bow ties and the circus outfits I now wear during my gigs. I was very quiet, I sang more than I spoke.”

 

After a lot of verbal abuse of classmates and a conflict with a teacher, he dropped out of school and even lost the ability to speak for a few weeks. “ I only dared to be myself behind a piano. It still has that function now during gigs. It’s a kind of war-dance against the rest of the world.” That’s how he escaped the demons of his youth. He says he does exactly what he wants right now, without caring about other people’s opinions. “take the vid for WAG e.g. It’s not aired in some countries. I jump around in my underwear. A pop star isn’t supposed to be that naked apparently. Nicely dressed is the standard. But I like to stay a bit weird. Maybe it makes me more vulnerable but I don’t care anymore. I’d rather take risks now than to hide away.”

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for posting and translating of course.

[Louiza]

thanks for translating droopsy!!

 

"it represents tommy mottola" :roftl:

[IngievV]

Dayum! Why didn't I see this?