Talk:Mika (singer)

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[edit] Photo

just added a Photo and it's source, so I removed the 'this article should have a photo' bit. Black_Mesa (t | e | c)

[edit] Fan Club

The fan club keeps being removed. The site is together with the record label and is relevant to those who support Mika. Please stop removing it. :) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Itrends (talk • contribs).

It has also been discussed in detail below and deemed useful and relevant to have due to the press and dates etc it contains which the other sites do not. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.195.160.59 (talk • contribs) 15:36, February 16, 2007 (UTC)

The Mika Fan Club has been agreed by Mika to be the official fan club/forum. An announcement is pending, but it is official. Aaurora (talk) 07:19, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Band?

It says "his band consists of...", so is he a solo singer? Or is "MIKA" a band? Bit confusing... 89.213.51.202

If it had said: "his family consists of..." would that mean that he was a family not an individual? --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 18:43, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
Mel seems to have missed the point. This is a very legitimate question. It seems very clear that Mika is not a band name, but that he is working as a solo artist. Therefore I have changed this dubious reference.--203.2.182.254 04:58, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

What happened to the section listing his backup band members? They've been touring with him consistently since last year, and are an important part of the show!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.248.101.241 (talk) 13:39, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Comparisons With other Artists

The cited article only compares him to Jake Shears, not the others. I get the feeling these comparisons are made on the basis of the said artist's sexuality and are somewhat facile. Why not say something like speculation around Mika's sexuality has lead to comparison with other gay musicians; although the fact that these musicians are musically pretty diverse reflects how facile these type of comparisons are.

3tmx 22:14, 11 Februrary 2007

[edit] His birth name

According to sources such as Metacritic, Mika's name at birth was Michael Holbrook Penniman. But editors have repeatedly removed that name from this article. Reasons, comments? Thanks, --Paul Erik 19:38, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Born "Michael Holbrook", uses "Mica", stage name "Mika", styled "MIKA" but we don't capitalise (see discussion above). ed g2s • talk 11:40, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

I can't edit because I'm not a registered user, but the reason it gets removed is that it's NOT HIS NAME. At the very beginning, some reporters got him confused with his father, who is indeed Michael Holbrook Penniman, and then this was repeated in "news" sources, so that's why "official" sites list it as such. But if you google it properly, you will find that it's his father's name.

Here's a link where you can see his father (scroll down):

http://www.terrapinn.com/2005/peme/SpeakerList.stm

Here's an interview that accurately lists his birth name (Mica Penniman):

http://www.sundayherald.com/life/people/display.var.1168421.0.bohemian_rhapsody.php

Here's a quote from Mika on the subject of his name:

"Is MIKA really your name? Does MIKA mean anything?

It's actually my real name [Mica]. All of my siblings have exotic names, my sister Paloma (a dove) my brother Fortuna for which means lucky in French for example. I got saddled with a name that means plastic bag in Morocco, curse of the middle child!"

http://www.hunkdujour.com/blog/archives/2007/01/mika_pop_star_of_2007.asp

Please do edit this to clear up confusion. --AnonMikafan

Thank you for explaining and providing sources. Certainly, Wikipedia should not be contributing to the spread of misinformation resulting from some reporters' confusion. (They confused him with his father?!) But honestly I am not sure what to do, because, even though you put "news" sources in quotes, these are some rather reliable sources stating that his original name was Michael Holbrook Penniman, including the New York Times, and others.[1][2][3][4] If someone could provide a source that says something about reporters confusing his name with his father's, that would of course be best. --Paul Erik 13:59, 21 April 2007 (UTC)
I can see your concern, though what you ask is admittedly difficult (I first learned of the name mixup through fans who've met him, not any news source). I actually think the New York Times were the first ones to start the confusion of names, and everybody else followed suit. If it helps, there are several other factual errors in that article, like getting the name of his song (and new single) "Love Today" wrong--they call it "Everybody's Gotta Love," which isn't indicative of very good fact-checking. I will try to find more sources though. --AnonMikafan —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 204.52.215.117 (talk) 00:03, 22 April 2007 (UTC).
Your point about the Times getting a song title wrong is well taken. Please do try to find a reliable source about this mix-up of his name, though. The first link you provided established that there is someone named Michael Penniman; it did not establish that Mika's father is Michael Holbrook Penniman, and the possibility remains that Mika was initially named Michael Holbrook, then called Mica to distinguish him from his father, then chose the name Mika as his stage name. --Paul Erik 03:54, 25 April 2007 (UTC)
Sorry, still have not found a source that talks about the confusion. Though I can point out that never does Mika refer to being called Michael in interviews when he talks about his childhood, though he does refer to his name "Mica" being mispronounced as Mykah or Mischa. Also, I found this childhood school photo of him that lists his name as "Mica Penniman":
http://a652.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/54/l_8151b3b3555382f054c0f6dd8ad55f03.jpg
Surely it is most likely that they'd use his full name for a school photo like that? --AnonMikafan —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.6.30.205 (talk) 10:40, 7 May 2007 (UTC).
Good effort, I say. The photo you linked to, which is on a MySpace account, does not count as a reliable source under Wikipedia policy, but you probably know that. And for whatever it is worth, I do think it is possible that a school photo would use the name by which he was most frequently referred, and not necessarily the name that was on his birth certificate. Anyway, I encourage you to keep hunting! --Paul Erik 04:51, 8 May 2007 (UTC)
Yes, I had thought of that. It's all rather frustrating! I doubt he is likely to go "by the way, let me explain about my birth name" in any upcoming interviews. I have asked people who will be attending his shows and have video cameras to ask him about it and put his response on Youtube, which is the best I can do for now. Hopefully if someone asks and he actually answers, this will be "official" enough. ;-) --AnonMikafan —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 204.52.215.117 (talk) 00:08, 9 May 2007 (UTC).
I've now been informed that Michael Holbrook Penniman might in fact be his real name despite everything else, but this is unlikely to be confirmed. I guess the page is good as it is right now, though. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.52.215.117 (talk • contribs) 19:14, 2 June 2007
Mika has finally confirmed that Mica is his birth name in an interview. "My real name is Mica. Spelt with a 'c'. My dad is called Michael. He wanted me to be called Michael but my mother said over her dead body. She wasn't too into the whole junior thing."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIpq32ihsPE LondonEmbers 23:43, 8 June 2007 (UTC)
Actually it's turned out that on legal records, he does list his name as Michael Holbrook Penniman. That's how it's listed under "composer" on his Relax single, and that's how it's listed here: http://repertoire.bmi.com/writer.asp?page=1&blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&fromrow=1&torow=25&affiliation=BMI&cae=477236431&keyID=976175&keyname=PENNIMAN%20MICHAEL%20HOLBROOK&querytype=WriterID
--AnonMikafan —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.138.190.163 (talk) 11:20, August 23, 2007 (UTC)
If Mika himself says his real name is Mica and not Michael that must be the only most reliable source!
Ha, he is tricky. He never said what his legal birth name was. My "real" name is different from my legal birth name too. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.248.90.24 (talk) 07:25, 27 November 2007 (UTC)
No it is really not tricky at all. Mika tolled that his father wanted him to be called Michael Junior, but his mother refused the whole Junior ting and they decided to call him Mica instead. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.107.15.165 (talk) 21:04, 7 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Sexuality

I have removed, "A number of articles claim that Mika is gay." The supposed reference was only a single article, so it clearly didn't support the claim. (Technically, "a number of" could mean "one", but that would be an idiosyncratic interpretation.) Furthermore, the actual phrase the article used was "gay pop sensation". This could be referring to his music as "gay pop", rather than referring to him as gay.

I have also removed the mention of childhood taunts. Actually, this would be relevant to a section on his childhood, but not directly relevant to the section on his sexuality. A playground bully calling someone a "faggot" can hardly be considered a reliable source.

I've also removed the quote from Chris Taylor's entertainmentwise.com article, which only quoted the Daily Mirror quoting Mika. It's too much like a game of Chinese Whispers. -- Oliver P. 22:54, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

Come on does it matter if he's gay?He music is amazing and I personally love it.So please stop discussing it.AFTER THIS,BIG GIRL [U R BEATIFUL]HINT!!!!!!I mean seriously.OK no more talk about it.THE END.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.21.62.140 (talk) 15:31, 26 April 2007 (UTC).
I agree 100%. -- Chris as I am Chris 15:34, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
When a celebrity states he does not want to discuss his sexual orientation with the media, one must be careful in an encyclopaedic article how to deal with that. So the discussion on the talk page, by Oliver P. and others, is, in my view, completely legitimate. (And, let's be honest, Mika is fueling these very types of discussions by refusing to give a straight answer.) Actually, the discussion here has been rather restrained—compared to, say, a similar discussion on Talk:Anderson Cooper.--Paul Erik 21:13, 29 April 2007 (UTC)
On http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music-gigs/features/article2178632.ece, a friend of Mika's states that he is "pretty sure Mika is at least bisuexual". Shouldn't that be added?--luukbom 9:25, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

Out had Mika on the cover last year and did a story about him. Did it address the issue of his sexuality and his ambiguity about addressing it? User:FearlessFool 7:58, 7 February 2008

There is far too much about his sexuality - it's out of proportion with the rest of the article. It would be enough just to mention that there is speculation, but mika himsef has not confirmed that he's gay62.203.129.218 (talk) 17:45, 20 February 2008 (UTC)




MIKA's Girlfriend Discovered it is a 19 year old girl who was loved him and they recently mover in together in england manchester and they are willing to have a baby. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.28.25.133 (talk) 16:15, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

"Nonetheless, in the space of six months he appeared as a cover story and has given a lengthy interview to the prominent US gay magazine Out in which he stated that there "is a way of discussing sexuality without using labels." [18] The magazine has suggested that Mika's unwillingness to declare his sexuality may be a deliberate publicity ploy. Further, both Out and the British magazine Gay Times have pointed out that very few (if any) artists who have refused to discuss their sexuality have ultimately been straight.[19][20]"
Okay, the sources are cited, but this is a POV inclusion. If he says he's gay, fine, but it is against Wiki policy to say, "Well, he refuses to admit it, but Gay Times points out that artists who say won't admit it are." This is unencyclopedic. Wikipedia is not the place to out people based on conclusionary logic. I looked through his articles in other European languages and it's not an issue. Why should it be here? Let his music speak for itself and draw you own conclusions unless there is verifiable information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.194.59.52 (talk) 00:48, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Songwriting

mika wrote grace kelly lollypop—Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.44.152.10 (talk • contribs) 06:37, 28 April 2007

[edit] Drowned in sound

Shouldnt it be mentioned under criticisms about the drowned in sound website giving him a bad review, leading to Brian may from queen to defend mika? i reckon it should as it is worthy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.42.39.202 (talk • contribs)

[edit] Missing URL

I tried the URL "Scissor sisters slam Mika" but got a "404 Page not found", so I removed it. However, another user appearantly got it working. Sorry, I was too hasty in deleting it.

[edit] Image2

The main image is terrible, its a cropped picture of him and someone else cutting out whoever it was, it loosk unprofessional, surely its possible to find a better one? Zephyr 20:23, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

The only other picture available currently on Wikimedia Commons is this one. If there is a better one on Flickr, you could upload it to Wikimedia Commons, assuming the photographer has used the appropriate licensing option.--Paul Erik 01:15, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lebanon = Australia?

At present, the article reads:

"Lebanon-born" (...) "born in Noosa, Australia"

Which would be the correct statement? Mip | Talk 14:05, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

Ignore. The article was corrected while I was posting on this Talk Page. Mip | Talk 14:07, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Infobox photograph

I went to the V festival on Sunday and got a few great pictures of Mika. I have replaced the infobox picture with one I took. Does anyone think it's a worse picture? I'm still going through the pics I took so I'll probably upload some more so they'll be more to choose from. :-).

Seraphim Whipp 11:52, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

I think the one that you put in the infobox is an improvement. Nicely done! --Paul Erik 02:41, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] PERCUSSION

MIKA PLAYS PERCUSSION ON THE SINGLE BIG GIRL YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. I HAVE GOT IT —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.21.61.25 (talk) 10:57, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New Madonna Album? I think not!

The "Music" section of the article claims he is working on Madonna's new album (due November 2007). However, Madonna's upcoming album is a hip hop/R'n'B genre and Mika's music is not in that genre. The only CONFIRMED artists/producers working on Madonna's new album are Timbaland, Pharrell Williams, and Justin Timberlake. -SparqueSparque —Preceding unsigned comment added by Recoveringmormon (talk • contribs) 19:09, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Plus, the album will be released April 2008. That should also be corrected (if the whole section isn`t deleted first, that is.) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.37.184.223 (talk) 22:54, 9 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Correction needed

the article states his first single was Grace Kelly in 2006. It was Relax, Take It Easy in 2006. Vauxhall1964 00:44, 2 October 2007 (UTC). - In Holland (don't know in other countries), was Grace Kelly released in late 2006. Relax, Take it Easy was released before (fall 2006), but did not hit the charts. Relax became his first Holland's number 1 right after Grace Kelly (spring 2007)

Now corrected Vauxhall1964 (talk) 01:29, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Discographie charts !!!

The single LOVE TODAY is ranked #4 in Belgium, but their stand that it hasn't anything !!!!! So it needs to be #4 !!!!!!!!!!

Demarre-nikke 08:59, 28 October 2007 (UTC) Demarre-nikke

[edit] main aims in musical career

I have added a couple of sentences. It is important that the encyclopedia does not appear to give only a list of trivial information and statistics. It is important that the article say what he thinks he is doing with his songs and why. Johncmullen1960 (talk) 08:41, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

agreed. it is always good not to be just statistics. though on the other hand we shouldn't overrun it with trivia. not saying you did that, just finishing a thought.

about your addition, it seems correct, but it would also be great if you could add some sources to it. the two songs have obvious meaning, but we could use a source on his mother and his view of it. is it maybe in an interview in "live in cartoon motion"? Donny (talk) 20:07, 29 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Additional Recordings/Trivia section

An additional recordings or trivia section should be added, and it should make mention of Mika recording the opening jingle for Blast from the Past from Hamish & Andy, an Australian radio show. Or else it could be put anywhere else that it fits. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ralphy512 (talk • contribs) 05:32, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Right Place, Right Time?

This is baldly mentioned in the discography linking to a missing article. Googling finds lots of references to a 2004 album of that name by Mika which the article leaves out altogether

http://www.google.com/search?q=mika%20%22right%20place%20right%20time

Is this a different Mika? — ciphergoth 16:48, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

That's Mika the Austrian electronic-music duo (see their AMG profile here), no relation to this Mika. --Paul Erik (talk)(contribs) 18:32, 9 March 2008 (UTC)
Thanks. From the Amazon page it looks like lots of disappointed fans of this Mika bought that Mika's album! — ciphergoth 09:20, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
It is not Wikipedia's job to "warn" people about the other Mika, no matter how obvious the amazon page looks, it is quite an unreliable thing to cite. Furthermore, this article is not a disambig page. EditorInTheRye (talk) 15:25, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Secondcoming Album

Can someone please edit that section? It's driving me crazy that the grammer and spelling are so messed up ("oficial"). Thanks! Meowmatilda (talk) 01:15, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Uhm, can someone please remove "GAY!!!!!" from the bottom of the page?

Like the title says, at the bottom of the page, following External links and Mika wikilinks, there is an unnecessary, and perhaps offensive, remark: "GAY!!!!!". While I have nothing against said lifestyle, I consider the context of this exclamation inappropriate. Please have it removed.

Thank you.

MS

It has been removed. Though I was a bit confuzed when I looked it wasn't there. So I checked the Mika template page, and it was there before. But someone already removed it. I presume you tried removing it yourself but couldn't find it. Resolved anyway :) Donny (talk) 12:15, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Important! This is a biography

I tried posting this before, but there hasn't been any action. Since this is a protected article, I can't do anything about it, but the drawing of conclusions in the following paragraph is potentially libelous (particularly the inferences in the second part):

"Nonetheless, in the space of six months he appeared as a cover story and has given a lengthy interview to the prominent US gay magazine Out in which he stated that there "is a way of discussing sexuality without using labels." [18] The magazine has suggested that Mika's unwillingness to declare his sexuality may be a deliberate publicity ploy. Further, both Out and the British magazine Gay Times have pointed out that very few (if any) artists who have refused to discuss their sexuality have ultimately been straight.[19][20]"

It is okay to say that he appeared in gay magazines, but to then infer that because said magazines argue that people who most often say they're not gay actually are is not proper according to Wikipedia guidelines. He has spoken on the issue frequently, and Wikipedia can only report that numerous publications have speculated that he is gay but Mika has neither confirmed or denied it. Anything beyond that is unencyclopedic. --84.194.59.52 (talk) 23:23, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] New information needed to be added

I dont how to edit the page properly so im asking someone to please add his win at the recent Ivor Novello Award where he won the Songwriter of the Year. source is the official website and can be confirmed by going on http://www.theivors.org/awards.html Thanks for everything. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.42.23.72 (talk) 21:01, 22 May 2008 (UTC)