British singer MIKA previews Seoul concerts
‘Parasite’ success wows singer
British singer-songwriter MIKA, one of the most popular overseas pop stars in Korea, has spent decades finding his personal as well as musical identity.
Finally, after a four-year hiatus during which he matured his musical vision, he is coming back to perform in Seoul, March 4 and 5, to promote his new album “My Name Is Michael Holbrook” as part of his “Revelation Tour.”
MIKA expressed his gratitude toward Korean fans and revealed that his shows will be performances inspired by George Michael, Jacque Brel and Prince.
“For many years the Korean fans have been planning surprises during shows. Such as thousands of paper aeroplanes… This is just amazing and they have inspired hundreds of other fans in countries all over the world to do the same. But the Korean fans were the first! For that I want to say thank you. Those moments are some of the most special of my career,” MIKA said in an email interview with a Korean media outlet, Thursday.
The British singer mesmerized Korean fans in his first concert here four years ago.
In a sign of his popularity, tickets for the upcoming March 4 concert in Jamsil Stadium sold out in three minutes. He therefore added another concert there March 5 for fans who failed to secure tickets for the previous day.
Korean fans have been anxious for his comeback concert over the past four years.
In the shows, he will sing new songs, including “Tiny Love” and “Tomorrow,” and tell more personal stories of his family members who play a significant role in his musical career and life.
“The show is about color. It’s divided into different chapters, each dedicated to color and emotion. The show also tells my family story, starting with how my parents met. There are even giant cut out photos of my parents on stage! I wanted it to be super pop and super personal! This is a mixture that is very rare in pop shows. One of my sisters and I designed the set and the illustrations, my other sister, Paloma, has done all the costume design also! Some things never change, we are a family team!”
New album with legal name
He said the reason it took four years to release his new album and hold concerts were because of personal challenges which gave him more understanding of life in general and more flavor in his music.
“I have been good these past few years. Working hard, I made a very conscious decision to focus on music and creativity, stepping away from the TV shows I was doing. This has made me happy and helped me understand life and what is important. It also comes at the same time as some very big personal challenges, deaths, and illnesses.”
He publicly came out as gay in 2012 in an interview with the men’s lifestyle magazine Instinct while enjoying one of the greatest successes in the music industry with megahit songs including “Grace Kelly.”
However, he struggled to balance his personal life and musical career. This is likely one of reasons he decided to return to using his given name, Michael, on his latest album in a determined step to be honest to himself in his personal journey.
“I used to hate my legal name! I was convinced that only through assuming and defending my artist name would I ever be happy. I have realized with time that this is not true. In fact, the opposite is true! All artists have two sides to them. I asked myself, which is the more real version of me, MIKA or Michael? If I am to continue to grow and evolve then I had to be really aware of my own identity.
“The title of the album is a provocation. I am provoking myself to be honest, intimate, un-ashamed, but also to be full of bright color and a full range of emotion. This is the biggest challenge we all have to face: how to grow up, without losing the brightness of your colors and the idea that anything is possible. This is not naive. It’s essential. This is why the album talks about so many different emotions.”
When asked about being a “grown-up,” key words on his new album, he stressed the importance of constantly asking questions about oneself in order not to lose their identity.
“(Being an adult is) like being a teenager but less of an idiot; Like a child but seeing things with more perspective; Like an old man but laughing and crying like a child. The only way not to lose the brightness of your colors as you grow up, is to constantly ask yourself the question, who are you? Reevaluating your identity will help you assume it. As it’s something that will always change, and you just have to be aware of it… keep up with it.”
Meanwhile, he congratulated Korean film “Parasite” on winning at the Oscars, saying he was amazed by the cultural development of Korea in recent years.
“What is also so amazing is how Parasite has been so internationally recognized. It’s a triumph and a well-deserved one… K-pop, Korean culture and film. It’s remarkable the reach it has had and how quickly it has grown over the past 5 years. The world is changing so fast. People are able to make their own decisions as to what they want to listen to or what shows to buy tickets to. If you live in Chicago, you are no longer going to decide what you will listen to based on what the local hit radio station is playing. This is amazing, because most of the time the commercial stations play the same 10 songs a month. K-pop has grown also thanks to this new way of music distribution. Also its production values are so high. It takes a lot of work and I think that audiences respond to that.”
He again pledged to give joyful experience through his concerts in Seoul for the fans who will come to see him.
“Thank you! The commitment of Korean fans is heartwarming. It’s always more fun to do more than one show. That way you can change the energy from one show to the other. I promise a very intense and joyful show.”