On The Download: Mika Live In Los Angeles

Imagine your favorite singer having a free show at an intimate venue — sounds pretty awesome, right? Well, that’s exactly what happened for me when British pop sensation Mika took the stage at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood on Wednesday night.

The delightfully outrageous performer said he “came out of retirement” to premiere new material from his upcoming second album, as well as a soon-to-be released acoustic LP.

In his first show of 2009, Mika ran onto the stage and opened the concert with “Grace Kelly,” the first major US single from his 2007 album “Life in Cartoon Motion.” After pleasing the crowd with a couple more familiar hits, Mika debuted his first new song of the night, “Good Gone Girl,” and joked with the crowd about his fans wondering if it was “going to be crap.” The catchy tune definitely was not “crap” and it made me look forward to the rest of his new collection of songs.

Up next was an extended version of “Stuck in the Middle,” my favorite track from his first album, “Life in Cartoon Motion.” The performance showcased his unstoppable vocal range, which covers several octaves. Sitting at the piano, Mika had the audience giggling when he forgot a line to the crowd favorite “Billy Brown.” He quickly recovered and had the fans singing along with him in no time.

The second new song Mika premiered was the playful “Toyboy,” where he told his fans, ”We have to be quiet, because it’s all about the words.”

This new tune reminded me what a talented piano player and musician he is.

“Blame it on the Girls” was the third new song that Mika performed and by the end of the performance, he had the crowd singing and clapping to the chorus!

Mika appeared genuinely happy to have such loyal fans and took every chance to get the crowd involved. During his lively performance of “Love Today,” he called on the audience to jump in the air with him. Later, the flamboyant performer surprised the crowd with an explosion of confetti during his colorful song “Lollipop.”

For his encore, Mika gave the crowd a sneak peek at “Blue Eyes,” another track from his upcoming record. After song requests, and even some marriage proposals, Mika returned to the song he started the show with. He told his fans that he wanted to perform “Grace Kelly” a second time because he said that that he wasn’t going to be doing it as much on his next tour. 

Mika didn’t sing the disco hit “Relax (Take it Easy),” possibly because the song wouldn’t have gone with the stripped down acoustic feel of the show. In fact, Mika revealed that he has a worldwide acoustic tour planned, which will return to the city of last night’s show. “Los Angeles,” he said to the excited crowd. “Los Angeles never disappoints.”

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