Mika

Mika came bounding out of 2006 with a voice that swooped all over the scale, a keytar within reach and a glam-rock sense of occasion, and by January 2007 "Grace Kelly" had taken over the top of the UK singles chart for five straight weeks. The Lebanese-British singer, born Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr. in 1983, had already warmed up with the Dodgy Holiday EP, whose single "Relax, Take It Easy" topped charts all over Europe.

Life in Cartoon Motion, his first proper album, landed on Island in 2007: piano-pounding power pop, all sugar rush and theatrical flourish, with a wink behind every chorus. It went to number one in Britain, sold more than 8 million copies around the world and won him the Brit Award for British Breakthrough Act in 2008, while "Love Today" picked up a Grammy nomination.

The Boy Who Knew Too Much followed in 2009, reaching number four at home and throwing off the top-five single "We Are Golden". After that his center of gravity drifted toward the continent: The Origin of Love in 2012 topped the albums chart in France, and "Elle me dit" did the same on the singles side. He has since turned up as a judge and mentor on The Voice in France and Spain and on Italy's X Factor, and in 2022 he co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.