Chinanews.com, Beijing, January 4 (Reporter Ren Siyu) When the name "Mika" is mentioned, many people will have two images in their hearts: one is a golden inch, singing softly on the stage, and the other is long black hair, holding a baby and a baby bottle, surrounded by "bodyguards" - at a fashion festival at the end of last year, he played a supermodel dad who was secretly photographed by the paparazzi.
It's all Mika, and change is a common thing for him.
From the age of 15 to 25, his life was often changing, from Hawaii to Tokyo to Beijing, from a beach boy who loved sports to a musician who enjoyed creating.
The long rafting doesn't stop easily. "It's not enough, it's all better. Just like the summary of the new album, Mika doesn't want to be "stable" at the moment, he is always ready to go, waiting to witness the new opening.
Mika. Source: Mika Studio Weibo
Slow flow
In the past two years, if you have met Mika three times on different occasions, you will be amazed at the changes that have taken place in him.
The most obvious is of course the progress of the Chinese language. Two years ago, Mika looked shy and shy, and when she was streaming live, she would smile and shake her head in embarrassment in the face of tongue twisters, and her answers were always short and direct. But now that he is on camera, his speed of speech has become very fast, and after listening to each question, he can answer them fluently without a pause.
Another visible change is that he has become more relaxed, walking and singing in the yard with a microphone and a glass of water at outdoor album auditions, like a host who entertains friends to his home. When he was alone with his mobile phone for live broadcast, he easily chatted with the fans in front of the screen about his recent life, and could also carefully analyze the difference between his state when singing Chinese songs and English songs.
After time flowed slowly in him, and he was no longer often limited by words, he had more courage to open himself, "I used to speak more chaotically than now, so I don't think I will challenge myself, but now I can speak very well, so I will challenge myself to express more things I want to do and what I want to say." ”
The cover of Mika's new album "Bleached".
The new album "Bleached", which has been brewing for half a year, is the new work that Mika wants to do and say now.
He chose a back photo with his hair drifted as the cover, it looked like he was thinking, and he seemed to be a little sad, in fact, if he could, he even hoped that there was no himself in the cover, drifting, bleaching, beautiful...... Everyone can give a different interpretation.
Five new songs form a flowing river, you can hear Mika at different stages of life, the simple and natural "stupid love" is the kind of song he liked when he first started writing songs, the sweet "forever you" reminds him of the "input method to play cute press fifth" when he first came to China, and the peaceful "so I don't forget", which integrates uptempo, R&B and other musical styles, corresponding to himself now.
Despite having amassed a lot of original songs, when combing through this album, Mika didn't plan to put them all in, but wanted to challenge herself to write more different styles.
Source: Mika Weibo
When composing "forever you", he recalled the Chinese pop songs he had heard over the years and wanted to create a song that sounded like OST and moved everyone. Feeling that the few pieces he had written were "not enough", he decided to rewrite the melody after repeated selection, spent two hours rewriting it, and then re-recorded it with his mobile phone in the hotel's own bathroom with reverberation, and sent it to the producer to discuss together.
In the preparation moment before the camera officially opens, Mika is also Xi to humming his favorite melodies anytime and anywhere. When a song is heard looping repeatedly, he always looks forward to the day when he can create such a cool song himself. With the ever-changing playlist, he quickly absorbs nutrients from different music genres, and his ideas often change when composing.
Until the whole album came out, he still thought that in fact, every song could be better. For example, "Stupid Love", he thinks this is a song with great potential for hits, but sometimes it doesn't sound so satisfying, maybe after a few years to make an arrangement, he can make it look better.
tributary
If you turn back the clock a few laps, Mika never imagined that music and her life would be so closely connected.
On a small island on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Mika, a 12-year-old boy, goes for a walk in the park near his home every night, lies on the ground and watches the stars, and his favorite music accompanies him through many happy and sad times.
Source: Mika Weibo
At that time, he always hoped that he would be able to live independently in the big city in the future, and he pinned his hopes on the football he loved - he played many football matches and achieved great results. On this road to his dream, music is like a small tributary on the side, and he once practiced singing Xi, but gave up because he felt that it was not good.
At the age of 15, Mika was offered an audition for a music label, and he remembers the times when he was moved by music, tried it out of curiosity, and "miraculously" passed. This is where the first major fork in the road comes in: whether to stay in the comfort of Hawaii or move to Tokyo for a new career and life.
Mika chose the latter path, saying goodbye to his familiar family and friends, and went to Tokyo alone to learn Xi music and singing, and really started his job as a singer.
He now vividly remembers writing his first original song at the age of 18: after receiving a project from his teacher, he spent the night writing the melody on the guitar, and later played and sang it in front of the whole school, and his classmates told him, "That song is very good, your voice is very good." ”
"I didn't expect to become a singer one day. "I didn't think I could actually write a song. Mika said several "I didn't expect it" in a row. The brave step out of the house changed his perspective on opportunities and many things, and the impact of that decision continues to this day.
Source: Mika Weibo
In 2021, the 23-year-old Mika set off for China again, and in "Creation Camp 2021", his opening line is "When you think of Hawaii, you think of sun, sand, peace and me." After singing the song "So Sick", many people remembered the name "Mika".
In fact, before this, he did not speak Chinese and was not particularly confident in his career prospects, but just like back then, once he made a decision, he would move forward. After that, he made his debut from the INTO1 group and appeared on stages large and small, bringing the indescribable emotions of his youth to the audience with music.
In the spring of 2023, Mika has the opportunity to return to Hawaii, he goes to the beach every day to surf like he was a child, wakes up early in the dark to go hiking, and watches the beautiful sunrise and sunset, his hometown is still as warm and beautiful as he remembers, but he will not stop.
"I'm very glad I made that choice. After two life-changing actions, Mika became more and more convinced that life has no boundaries, and he still longed to see the bigger world, "I'm only 25 years old, and there is no point in being stable. ”
float
Not long ago, Mika went to work in western Sichuan, and for the first time in China, he challenged a mountain above 3,000 meters above sea level, and the night he waited to see the sunrise, he was so excited that he barely slept, feeling that the trip injected a lot of new energy into him.
In the past few years in China, Mika feels that she has changed, "I really feel like I have grown up. ”
Some of the changes come from the outside. From covering other people's songs alone, to singing collective songs with a group of friends, to now standing on stage with original compositions, he reaffirms his identity in the drift, and will be as nervous as ever, but also a little anticipating, "I hope that one day someone else will cover my song." ”
Some of the changes are happening slowly on the inside. Instead of the boy who just wanted to be happy and carefree every day, he began to think about more real, serious things, and substituted these feelings and self-analysis into music.
Source: Mika Studio Weibo
While writing "Melancholy Song", Mika remembered sad memories of her childhood and cried many times. In the past, he always tried to avoid thinking about the unhappy things when he was creating, but now he feels that he needs to face and embrace those sensitive and vulnerable moments, especially in music.
This song is also Mika's favorite song in the new album, and it fully represents her current style and abilities. He even wanted to release the version he had just created that day, with only guitar and vocals, so that everyone could feel his heart more intuitively.
"While I hope to one day post 100% of my own style, I feel like it's still early to think about something that's popular in this industry. ”
The future is a wilderness, and Mika is still drifting, looking for her favorite path.
Source: Mika Studio Weibo
Although he will still jump between "satisfied" and "dissatisfied", if he thinks this new song is good enough at the moment, then it will be fine, which is his current standard.
Just like the title of the album, "Drift", he is willing to leave his flowing feeling to judge that anything may happen on the way forward.
He believes that there will be more new works that represent Mika 100% in the future, and what he needs to do now is to listen to his inner rhythm and focus on walking well. (ENDS)
Source: China News Network