Mika was trained by Alla Ardakov (Ablaberdyeva), a Russian opera professional. His public performances and jobs have varied from classical performances in the Royal Opera House to writing in-flight music for British Airways and creating an Orbit chewing gum jingle. His debut radio appearance was on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show in September 2006, Later with Jools Holland and on The Friday Night Project on 19 January 2007.[citation needed] While he is rumoured to have a vocal range of five octaves,[4] he claims that it is actually closer to three and a half octaves.[5]
In January 2007, Mika was at the top of the BBC News website's Sound of 2007 poll.[6]
Mika live in concertHis first single was a limited 7"/download release called "Relax, Take It Easy" (2006). It was play listed by BBC Radio 1 in the United Kingdom, and was also made Record of the Week by DJ Scott Mills. The Dodgy Holiday EP is also available for download. His song "Billy Brown" was available for free download for a week from the iTunes Store.
Universal Music released his single "Grace Kelly" by digital download on 8 January 2007, and it reached number one on the UK Singles Chart on 21 January 2007. The CD, 12", and limited-edition 7" versions were released on 29 January 2007. The release features remixes by Tom Neville, Bimbo Jones, Linus Loves, and Pull Tiger Tail.
Produced and mixed by Greg Wells in Los Angeles, with two songs co-produced by Jodi Marr and John Merchant, Mika's début album Life in Cartoon Motion was released on 5 February 2007, and has brought comparison with artists such as Freddie Mercury,[7][8] Scissor Sisters,[9] Elton John,[10] Prince,[11] Robbie Williams[12] and David Bowie.[12]
He was the musical act for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 26 March 2007[13] and 14 February 2008 and for Jimmy Kimmel Live on 27 March 2007.[14]
Mika toured the United States and Canada in June 2007, with support from Sara Bareilles and Natalia.
In 2007, Mika won three awards, the most of any artist, at the World Music Awards, the annual ceremony at which awards are given for the highest selling recording artists internationally. To date he is the first artist to have won three World Music Awards in just one year.
In September 2007, Mika began his Dodgy Holiday Tour, playing at venues across Europe. On November 17, 2007, Mika started the UK leg of his tour with support from Palladium. The North American leg of his tour began in January 2008 with support from The Midway State and continued through February with a stop in Los Angeles for the 50th Grammy Awards.
His debut album, Life in Cartoon Motion, has a coming of age theme and deals with his transition from childhood to the present, though he has stated that not all of the songs are autobiographical. His songs often deal with difficult topics. For instance, in "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)" the theme of larger women suffering from discrimination is explored. Mika has said that the fact that his mother was a big woman, and that he had seen the prejudices against her, helped him to write the song.[citation needed] In another example of dealing with more difficult subject matter, in the song "Billy Brown", Mika writes about a man who has a homosexual affair.
On 20 February 2008, Mika opened the 2008 BRIT Awards with a live performance of "Love Today," "Grace Kelly," and a duet, "Standing in the Way of Control," with Beth Ditto. He was later awarded the BRIT Award for Best British Breakthrough Artist.
