Mika: Live

My buddy Paul was in Seattle for work and he and I shared the utter joy of a live show by Euro-Pop sensation Mika on the evening of Valentine's Day. The show opened with the piano riff from Dolly Parton's "9 to 5," which is sampled in the track "Love Today" off Mika's debut album. Mika and band went on all evening showering love and energy on his audience. 2007's Life in Cartoon Motion is one of the best pop albums to come across the pond in many years and Mika played each track along with a few new songs. His song "Grace Kelly" is now the second best selling single in the history of the British charts, after "Candle in the Wind (For Diana)." I always love when the artist connects with his audience by telling stories about life on the road and about the origin of a song. My personal favorite was the story he told of his record company not wanting to include the wonderfully funny and sadly true "Billy Brown" on the US release of his album because American audiences would not get it. Listen to the song and you'll realize that many of us in America get it, especially GOP elected officials. One minute Mika is Freddie Mercury, the next he's Elton John-- I'm hopeful the love and joy and playfulness of Mika's music comes through once again on his next album. He has a tough act to follow after such a memorable debut.