Recently, Mika ended years of speculation about his sexuality by confirming he is gay in an interview with Instinct Magazine set to be published in their September issue.
In a recent interview with La Presse, Mika further elaborate on the reason behind his decision to 'come out'.
From La Presse.
Will you give us a taste of your new album in St Jean sur Richelieu?I will sing new songs like Celebrate, Underwater and Make You Happy as well as 2 new French songs. It's a pleasure to perform in a place where people understand and have the same connection with the lyrics, either in French or in English. There is nowhere else in the world except here where I can do that! What I like about performing at the International des Montgolfières is that it's not part of a North American tour, and when I'm in Quebec, I feel like I'm in a world apart. I should have come in 2007 but I had big health problems that prevented me from going on stage. I'm delighted to finally have the opportunity to come!
Why did you choose to have 4 titles in French on your new album?I grew up in Paris and my musical education was made through French songs with Gainsbourg, Françoise Hardy, Barbara, Moustaki, Rita Mitsouko etc. I'm not scared of melody and there is plenty in French music. It's part of my education and I wanted to sing in French for years, but I knew I couldn't write myself, because in my mind I think in English. So I had to wait until I met Doriand, a lyricist who interprets my ideas and writes my lyrics. On my new album in French there are EMD, L'Amour dans le mauvais temps, Karen (82 Rue des Martyrs) that I will make in a version that nobody has ever heard, and Un soleil mal luné.
What 'colour' does this new album have?I finished the album on Wednesday night. When you listen to it, you have a feeling that it's dunked in a kind of mix between classical music, pop melodies from the 70s and a quite modern, electronic side which mixes these worlds. I will be 29 next Saturday and this album totally represents me today. And some versions of songs like MYH that is already out there are different on the album as I have it in a symphonic version with a lot of strings. In my first album, I was 22 and I talked about life, my friends, my family. With the second one I isolated myself much more. The new album is another universe, but I've never done something that represents me that much.
Is it why it was important for you to reveal your homosexuality this week in the American magazine Instinct?In the songs from my new album, I talk about my life, whereas before I used to talk more about the life of people around me. It was the right moment to reveal my homosexuality, because at 28 years old I thought: I talk about my life in a way very few male pop singers will do it. I do it with a lot of joy and it was the right moment. My songs are not necessarily about my sexual orientation, but still about my personal life. I like pop music because it's universal. We didn't necessarily need to know I'm homosexual to understand my music. Above all it shows some comfort and confidence. I created all that is my career on my own. I don't hide anything. I arrived at a moment in my life when I'm confident and at ease in every way in my life. It gives me a completely invicible feeling of power and joy. It was important for me to do it in a good way and to choose to do it when I wanted to.
Why did you choose to work with Pharrell Williams on Celebrate?On The Origin of Love, I wanted to come out of this isolation I was in with my second album and work with artists with whom I have some sort of exchange. They work on my album and I work on theirs, while normally in pop music, we pay someone to have a song and a name. With Pharrell, it's different: we sit together and see if we can get something, without any contract, without money or rules. On Celebrate, there are also a 23 year old guy I met on the Internet and Nick Littlemore from Empire of the Sun who collaborated.
