Mika (singer)
Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr.[6][7] (born 18 August 1983), known professionally as Mika (/ˈmiːkə/ MEE-kə, stylised in all caps), is a singer-songwriter born in Beirut, Lebanon, and raised in Paris and London.
For the New Zealand Māori singer, see Mika X. For the Swiss train, see BLS RABe 528.
After recording his first extended play, Dodgy Holiday, Mika was predicted to be the number-one breakthrough act of 2007 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2007.[8] Mika released his first full-length studio album, Life in Cartoon Motion, on Island Records in 2007, which has sold more than 8.3 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a Brit Award—Best British Breakthrough act—and receive a Grammy Award nomination.[9] He topped the UK Singles Chart in January 2007 with "Grace Kelly" and has since gone on to record four more platinum-selling studio albums (most recently My Name is Michael Holbrook released in October 2019), as well as serve as judge/mentor on both the French version of The Voice and the Italian version of X Factor.
Mika also starred for two seasons in his own television variety show in Italy, Stasera Casa Mika, which won the 2017 Rose d'Or Award for Entertainment,[10] and has hosted his own BBC Radio 2 show The Art of Song. In 2022, he co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest alongside Italian singer Laura Pausini and Italian television presenter Alessandro Cattelan.[11]
In addition to his musical career, Mika has also worked as a visual artist and designer on various projects, among them sunglasses for the Italian eyewear company Lozza,[12] a clothing line for Belgian retailer JBC,[13] pens for the 100th anniversary of Pilot,[14] and (along with his sister Yasmine) three watches for Swiss company Swatch.[15]
Life and career
1983–2006: Childhood and early career
On 18 August 1983, Mika was born in Beirut, the third of five children—he has two older sisters, Yasmine and Paloma, a younger sister Zuleika, and a younger brother, Fortuné. His parents are an American-born Lebanese-Syrian mother (Mary Joan "Joannie", née Mouakad, daughter of John Mouakad and Odette Farah) and an American father (Michael Holbrook Penniman, son of William Frederick Penniman III and Dorothy Dyar). Mika's father was a banker[16][17] born in Jerusalem. His paternal grandfather William Frederick Penniman III was a diplomat.[17][18] Mika's maternal grandfather John Mouakad was Syrian (from Damascus).[19][20]
When Mika was a year old, his family was forced to leave war-torn Lebanon and moved to Paris, France.[18][21]
The family lived happily for a time in Paris.[22] "I was brought up as a Parisian boy, you know," Mika said in an interview. "With the pencil-striped trousers and the hat that I had to wear to school. It was very traditional..."[23]
The first piano piece the young Mika learned to play was "Les Champs-Élysées", by Joe Dassin.[18] At the age of 7, he wrote his first song, a piano instrumental called "Angry", which he describes as "awful".[16]
In 1990 Mika's father went on a business trip to Kuwait and became trapped in the U.S. embassy for seven months when the Gulf War broke out. When the elder Penniman returned home, he had to take a new job, which meant a move to London.[24]
The family moved to London when Mika was 9 years old. There, he attended the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, where he experienced severe bullying and had problems with dyslexia. In response to these experiences Mika was home-schooled by his mother and trained in music by Alla Ardakov (Ablaberdyeva), a Russian opera professional. He also studied with the Royal Opera in London and made his stage debut as a chorus member in Strauss's Die Frau Ohne Schatten at the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden.[22] He continued as a boy soprano with the Royal Opera and, at 15, he showcased his vocal range in a 1998 production of The Pilgrim's Progress by Vaughan Williams.[25]
Although still young, Mika also worked singing jingles for a variety of companies, most notably Orbit chewing gum and British Airways.[26]
Once he returned to school, Mika attended St Philip's School in Kensington, where he was the head of the Schola Cantorum (the St Philip's Choir). Later he attended Westminster School in London, where he starred in a number of school productions to great acclaim.[25]
After a very brief stint (one day) at the London School of Economics, Mika then managed to gain entrance to the Royal College of Music. By day, Mika studied and practiced his scales, but by night, he visited the rock and electro clubs of Soho and Camden, and wrote pop songs.[25][26]
Mika left the Royal College of Music to record his first album at Casablanca Records.[27] His first single was a limited 7"/download release called "Relax, Take It Easy" (2006). It was playlisted by UK's BBC Radio 1 and was made Record of the Week by DJ Scott Mills. His Dodgy Holiday EP also became available for download. The song "Billy Brown" was available for free download for a week from the iTunes Store. A song titled 'Overrated', which was recorded in 2004, was "unofficially" released online. His debut radio appearance was on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show in September 2006.
Personal life
Mika's legal name is Michael Holbrook Penniman, Jr., but he was given the nickname Mica by his mother. As he grew older, he changed the 'c' to a 'k'.[168]
Mika has one younger brother and one younger sister along with two older sisters. His oldest sister Yasmine, who works as an artist under the nom de plume DaWack, painted the cartoon art for his two albums Life in Cartoon Motion[169] and The Boy Who Knew Too Much.[170]
Mika was raised as a Melkite Catholic, and in a 2013 interview he described himself as "still a Roman Catholic". He also acknowledged how the church and its ceremonies influenced his musical training and later work.[171]
In addition to English, Mika speaks French,[18] Spanish and Italian[172] fluently; in an interview on 28 September 2009 with The Chris Moyles Show on BBC Radio 1, he commented that he had taken Mandarin Chinese lessons for nine years but does not speak it very well; he also mentioned that his three sisters speak it fluently. He also speaks a little Arabic, in a Lebanese dialect.[173] Mika holds dual UK and US citizenship.[174]
In August 2010, Mika acquired a golden retriever puppy, which he named Melachi (the Witch). Her nickname is Mel or Moo.[175] Several years later, in the spring of 2015, he added a second golden retriever puppy, which he named Amira.[176]
Early in his career, many questions about Mika's sexual orientation arose, but he declined to label himself. In a September 2009 interview in Gay & Night, Mika commented on his sexuality: "I've never ever labelled myself. But having said that, I've never limited my life, I've never limited who I sleep with ... Call me whatever you want. Call me bisexual, if you need a term for me ..."[177] In a March 2010 interview with the London Evening Standard, he stated: "I consider myself label-less because I could fall in love with anybody – literally – any type, any body. I'm not picky."[178]
In an August 2012 interview with the magazine Instinct, the singer described himself as gay.[179] In recent years, Mika has been more open about his family life and his personal relationship with film-maker Andreas Dermanis, with whom he has been involved for more than 15 years.[180]
In July 2015, posters advertising Mika's upcoming concert in Florence, Italy, were defaced and marked with a homophobic slur.[181] In response to this, Mika and his team launched a campaign against homophobia and the discrimination of the LGBTQ+ community in Italy, posting on social media with the slogan and hashtag #rompiamoilsilenzio (Let's Break the Silence). Mika also wrote about the experience for Italian publications, speaking out against not only homophobia, but bullying in general.[182]
Mika has stated that he practices transcendental meditation and finds it useful.[183]
Since 2013, he has spent a lot of time in Italy, where he has a house and a studio in Tuscany in the province of Florence. Mika also owns a home in Miami, Florida, a 1920s Spanish-style home that he has restored and in which he has built a recording studio.[184][185]
Side projects and endorsements
Mika has often written songs for other musicians, saying, "I write songs for other people under different names most of the time. I have a little family of three names. One of them has been discovered – it's Alice."[186] One such song, "Ci Parliamo da Grandi", was recorded and made famous by Italian singer Eros Ramazotti.[187]
Mika served as a model for fashion designer Paul Smith's spring/summer 2007 global ad campaign.[188]
In 2012 and 2013, Mika served as the face of Lozza sunglasses in advertising campaigns. He also designed a line of sunglasses for the Italian eyewear company.[189]
Also in 2013, Mika designed a line of clothing for Belgian retailer JBC. The collection included items for men, women and children. At the time of the line's release, Mika told journalists, "For the menswear collection I took inspiration from my own wardrobe. I like easy to wear, stylish clothing that you can put on quickly in the morning and still look stylish." For the children's and women's collections, Mika took inspiration from his youth. "I grew up in a house with three sisters and was always made to tag along on all kinds of shopping trips."[13]
Mika and his sister Yasmine designed two watches for Swiss watchmaker Swatch in 2013, in honor of the company's 30th anniversary. The watches were unveiled in November 2013 at the Venice Biennale.[190] The regular edition "Kukulakuku" has a large watch face dominated by blue and comes in a plastic box, while the strictly limited edition "Kukulakuki" has a smaller face dominated by white and comes in a special tin and box.[191]
Mika lent his song "Live Your Life" to the advertising campaign for Spanish beer San Miguel in 2013, appearing in a commercial that doubled as the song's music video. He also appeared in print ads for the brand.[192]
Belgian telecommunications company Mobistar featured Mika in an online film in 2014, with him singing "Grace Kelly" in front of a crowd at the Antwerp train station to promote the company's "Have a Nice Day" campaign. The film was accompanied by an in-store poster campaign. Mika did a signing session at the Mobistar concept store in Liege, then performed a concert in Brussels for invitation-only/Mobistar competition winners on 18 September 2014.
Mika is the narrator and voice of the main character, Mustafa, in the 84-minute French-language version of the animated film The Prophet. The film was produced by Salma Hayek and is based on a book of poetry by world-renowned Lebanese-American writer, poet and visual artist Kahlil Gibran.[193] At the Cannes film festival in 2014, Mika joined Hayek, her husband and her daughter (who also voices a character in the French version), and actress Julie Gayet on the red carpet to celebrate the film's launch.[194] The French version was released in theaters in France on 2 December 2015 and on DVD/Blu-ray in August 2016. To promote its theatrical release Hayek and Mika appeared together on the French TV shows C à Vous on 1 December 2015 and Le Grand 8 on 2 December 2015.
In Trieste, Italy, on 11–12 July 2014, Mika and his sister Yasmine were two of the judges for the International Talent Support Contest (ITS). They judged 10 pieces in the Swatch-sponsored "ITS ARTWORK" category.[195]
Mika covered the song "Je Chante" by Charles Trenet for TGV's advertising campaign in 2015, and appeared in a related video/commercial. The song is on Mika's November 2015 reissue of No Place In Heaven as the 15th track on the French edition of the album.[196]
In May 2016, Mika and Yasmine unveiled another Swatch watch that they had designed.[197] This Swatch was named Mumu-Cucurrucucu. It has an engraved golden dial with a bright-colored geometric design dominated by white and green, and comes in a box also designed by Mika and his sister.
Mika was part of an advertising campaign for the Peugeot 108 automobile in March 2017. At the time he said, "The new campaign is a fun collision of my world and that of the 108."[198]
Also, at the end of 2017, Mika began a collaboration with Pilot pens. He and his sister Yasmine designed a collection of 24 different pens to help celebrate Pilot's 100th anniversary.[199] As part of the promotion for this collaboration, a newly remixed (by Ryan Riback) version of Mika's song "Celebrate" was released and used in advertisements.[200]
Mika became an Opel brand ambassador in Italy in autumn 2020 and starred in a commercial for the Corsa-e in September 2020, one for the 100% electric Mokka-e in October 2020, and one for Opel Grandland X Plug-in-Hybrid in February 2021. All three commercials prominently featured his song "Domani".[201]
At the International Talent Support (ITS) Contest in October 2020, Mika and his sister Yasmine were on the international jury, helping to decide the winners of the ITS Responsible Fashion Award and the ITS Responsible Accessories Award. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the jury met virtually and no in-person event was held. The results were live-streamed on 23 October 2020, but Mika and Yasmine only appeared as photos while the host introduced the jurors.[202]
In October 2021, Mika announced that he had invested in a French company called Divie, which produces products made with CBD oil. Mika noted that he had used CBD for some time, especially on tour, and believed in its benefits.[203]
Philanthropy
Mika participated in "Children in Need Rocks", a charity event organized by singer Gary Barlow and held at London's Royal Albert Hall ahead of the annual "Children in Need" appeal in 2009. Among those also performing that evening were Sir Paul McCartney, Dame Shirley Bassey, Leona Lewis, members of Take That, Paolo Nutini, Lily Allen, and Muse. The concert was held 12 November and was broadcast on BBC1 and Radio 2.[204]
Also in November 2009, Mika performed an acoustic concert at London's Union Chapel as part of the "Little Noise Sessions" organised by the charity Mencap. Singing alongside Mika during this concert was the a cappella group The King's Singers.[205]
Mika and his sister Yasmine worked on a special project for Coca-Cola in early 2010, designing an artistic, limited edition aluminum Coke bottle that also benefited charity. The "Happiness Bottle" was, according to Mika, inspired by Japanese psychedelic posters from the 1960s. It has a red background and features a bright yellow sun along with some tribal figures and other symbols. There was also a collector's version of the bottle that was packaged in a decorated box that opened to show a 3D scene.[206] Mika talked about the project at the time, saying, "When I said yes to Coca-Cola for this project, one of the conditions that I had, and I was very clear about this since the beginning, was that I wanted to have a charity side attached to it. So I said: OK, I'll draw this bottle, but all the money that they would pay me will go to a charity. So I chose Hôpitaux de France and Hôpitaux de Paris, and particularly their 'Maison des adolescents' project. This charity side for me was the most important of all."[207]
Mika teamed up with some of the biggest names in pop to record a cover version of REM's 'Everybody Hurts' in support of charities helping relief efforts after an earthquake hit the island of Haiti in early 2010. Mika played piano and shared vocals with the likes of Mariah Carey, Kylie Minogue, Jon Bon Jovi, Rod Stewart, Michael Buble and Susan Boyle. The track was organised by Simon Cowell and The Sun newspaper.[208] Mika also donated various pieces of memorabilia for auction to raise additional funds for Haiti, including a milk carton prop used in his video for the single "Rain", as well as the t-shirt he wore in the Haiti video, plus an autographed CD single of "Everybody Hurts". At the time, Mika said on his website, "I was hugely honoured to be asked by The Sun to be part of this single. I am really pleased with how it turned out, it sounds fantastic, and I hope the public will support it to raise money for this worthy cause." He also donated a signed poster to the charity Oxfam UK to help raise funds for its work in Haiti.[209]
In 2012, Mika offered tickets and flights to one of his shows anywhere in the world to raise money for the UK charity London's Air Ambulance, in conjunction with members of the Mika Fan Club (MFC). The resulting raffle raised more than £6,600.[210]
In both 2012 and 2013, Mika contributed some of his doodles to the UK charity Epilepsy Action's National Doodle Day auction. His doodles raised more than £1000 for the organization.
Mika participated in the televised January 2013 Les Enfoirés, a yearly charity show, at Bercy Arena in France. In that show he was featured on Psy's "Gangnam Style" (with Lorie, Zazie and Amel Bent), Niagara's "J'ai vu" (with Michael Jones, Lorie and Zaz), and Les Enfoirés' "La Chanson des Restos" (with 38 of the other Enfoirés). The songs on which Mika accompanied (in the choir or on stage dancing) were Laurent Voulzy's "Jeanne", Johnny Hallyday's "Fils de personne", Michel Telo's "Ai Se Eu Te Pego", Shy'm's "Et alors", children's song "A la pêche aux moules", Patrick Bruel's "Place des Grands Hommes", Téléphone's "New-York avec toi", Joe Dassin's "L'Amérique", and Les Enfoirés's "Attention au départ". Several of these songs appear on the Les Enfoirés 2-disc CD La Boîte À Musique Des Enfoirés released September 2013 and the single disc DVD released in March 2013. During a non-televised scene change Mika and Shy'm sang "Elle me dit" together; and at the end he picked her up and carried her off.[211]
For Christmas 2014, Mika contributed a design to a collection of Christmas cards sold in Italy, the proceeds of which went to the European Association for Research in Surgical Oncology. The original design was also auctioned off for charity, raising €1,075.[212]
Over the years, Mika has supported the French charitable organisation Imagine for Margo/Children without Cancer. In 2014 and 2015, Mika and the late photographer Peter Lindbergh worked together on an advertising campaign for the charity. Mika's image continues to be used in ads for the organisation[213] and in December 2020 Mika performed a concert to benefit the charity at the pediatric department of the French Institut Curie that was broadcast live on Facebook.[214]
In December 2015, Mika visited Lebanon with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and spent time with refugees who had been forced to flee their homes during the ongoing conflict in Syria. Since then, he has made several video messages in support of this organisation[215] and in November 2017 was a special guest at a UNHCR charity event held in Milan.[216]
Mika hosted the charity show Le Gala des Pieces Jaunes at the Zénith in Paris in support of the Hospital Foundation in late January 2023. In addition to presenting, Mika performed a medley of his songs, along with a new single, 'Keep It Simple' ft. Vianney. Also performing at the gala were South Korean girl group Blackpink, Pharrell Williams, Pascal Obispo, Kid Cudi, Gautier Capuçon, Khatia Buniatishvili and Daniel Lozakovich. During the evening, appeals for donations were launched by the artists: the contributions of each one making it possible to change the daily life of hospitalized children and their families. The show was later broadcast on French TV channel France2.[217]