Michael Penniman was born on 18 August 1983 in Beirut (Libya), a town devastated by the war that his parents fled for Paris where as a child he learnt French for the 8 years he spent there. When his family settled in London, the disorientated adolescent found solace in listening to music. He imitated his idols Freddie Mercury (Queen), Elton John and Prince, learnt to play the piano, sung and wrote his first songs. Various small jobs, such as a jingle used in the Orbit chewing gum advert, encouraged the young Mika to pursue his dream as a singer.
At ten years old, Mica (his nickname is spelt with a “c”) joined the Royal College of Music. He continued composing and showing off his vocal abilities which stretched almost four octaves whilst performing at student nights. During a trip to Miami, he seized the opportunity to meet the sound engineer for the Bee Gees, with whom he recorded a mock-up of ”Grace Kelly”. Placed on the internet it became an “underground” hit, chosen by programmers for BBC playlists, and the EP Dodgy Holiday with the song ”Billy Brown” can be downloaded for free on iTunes. Universal did not let this opportunity go amiss and signed Mika off the back of this. Universal did not let this opportunity go amiss and signed Mika off the back of this.
Life In Cartoon Motion (February 2007) spread like wildfire and ended up at the top of the European charts (number 1 in England and in France), selling a total of four million copies that year (almost a quarter in France).
In 2012, he will go on tour with his third album entitled “Origin of Love” featuring “Elle me dit”.