Talk:Mika (singer)

Photo

just added a Photo and it's source, so I removed the 'this article should have a photo' bit. Black_Mesa (t | e | c)

fan club

The fan club keeps being removed. The site is together with the record label and is relevant to those who support Mika. Please stop removing it. :) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Itrends (talk • contribs).

It has also been discussed in detail below and deemed useful and relevant to have due to the press and dates etc it contains which the other sites do not. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.195.160.59 (talk • contribs) 15:36, February 16, 2007 (UTC)

popular

Get ready it gonna be number1 in the UK. Expect a lot of visits to the page. 80.41.24.62 21:39, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

The fan club is cool dey do stuff

'unique'?

How can the combination of artists listed be 'unique'? Haven't the Scissor Sisters been compared to each of the others?

He has publicly stated that he will not answer the "are you gay?" question; any claims are mere speculation (citation: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-3553.html). Mrstonky 01:14, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Foreigner?!

I'm pretty sure that song "I Just Died (In Your Arms)" is by 'Cutting Crew', so I'm gonna change it :) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.128.39.65 (talk) 01:54, 22 January 2007 (UTC).

Any chance of an answer this time rather than just deleting a legitimate question?

Omglolzpwned 16:29, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

If you want to ask pointless questions, why not go to a gossip site; this is the Talk page of an encyclopædia article, and is for talking about the article, not discussing its subject. Why you need to create a new account for every edit you make, incidentally, is mysterious. --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 22:26, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

He's not gay but I got a phone call from him or his representative and he's not gay. He just doesn't want to say he's straight. Basically he wants publicity and milk it for its worth. Now if he came from Manchester aka Gay Nation then I'd believe it.74.195.3.199 18:43, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Please remember that Wikipedia is about facts not personal opinions (or, indeed, phone messages from ambiguous sources). Mrstonky 04:46, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I don't think "Manchester AKA Gay Nation is a fact, do you? Don'tClickHere^{chat / what i've done / email} 19:58, 1 March 2007 (UTC)

It irritates me that someone reverted my edit when I removed the word "typical" from the "typical fag" quotation. What Mika said in the interview was, "I was called the typical fag and all those other homophobic, horrible little comments that kids throw at each other." Clearly he is not saying they called him a typical fag; he is saying they called him a fag, which is a typical insult that kids throw at one another. It's like if you were to say, "As we passed each other we mumbled the typical 'how are you?' and went our separate ways." "Typical" is being used here in precisely the same sense. Technically the original article should have read: "I was called the typical 'fag' and all those other homophobic, horrible little comments that kids throw at each other." Still, it should be obvious! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.36.72.70 (talk • contribs) 05:42, February 14, 2007 (UTC)

I don't think that's obvious at all. Since the comment is ambiguous, it should go in exactly as reported, in my opinion. ConDem^Talk 02:52, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, that's YOUR opinion.74.195.3.199 13:34, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

Was there really any need for that last comment? It's clearly his opinion, seeing as he said it and put "in my opinion" at the end. It wouldn't have been so unnecessary if you'd have said your opinion too. Ian 20:29, 26 February 2007 (UTC)

Mika says that he wants to keep certain parts of his life private citing he doesnt want to lay himself open to the public! [1] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.238.139.17 (talk • contribs) 17:50, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

Links

1. Why is the mika fan club not in the links? this is BY FAR the most popular, powerful and informative Mika site on the net. Go and check the members, mika tour information, Mika news sections and then compare them to the other sites you link to.

Also, the french forum you are linking to, is not only almost dead, but it is clearly designed to sell products. There are over 100 e Mika interviews on the fan club as well. Do not be put off by the words "Fan club", it is pretty much the official site these days. Even Mika reads it!

The reason is that there are MANY press releases and bits of additional information that are not available via the main site or indeed this wikipedia page. Rather than link to hundreds of forum threads and press releases it makes sense to send people there. Aside from the way it is organised (being that it is more like a forum) there is more information on that site than in this wiki article. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.195.160.59 (talk • contribs).

I don't know who this is, and don't have time to muck about with page history, etc. The big question is: why does an encyclopædia article need to link to all the press releases put out by publicity people on behalf of a pop artist? --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 11:03, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Generally articles on an artist provide links to their official sites. The "fan club" has up to date postings on things such as recent chart position, which isn't on the other two sites. As for choosing the MySpace page over the official homepage, both use but don't require flash (the menu degrades to an image map) and both are "adverts" for the artist. ed g2s • talk 13:08, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

OK, if it doesn't require flash that's fine. The fan club site (why the inverted commas? that's what it calls itself) is still a problem; there's nothing to indicate that it's reliable, and it's unclear why a minor pop artist needs links to three promotional sites. As we're not in the business of ensuring that our readers get instantaneous news about pop-chart positions, what justifies its presence? --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 13:59, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

It's run by the record company and is a useful resource. Three links is hardly excessive. We may not be in the business of providing news, but we still put up WikiNews links. ed g2s • talk 16:29, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Fine — I think that you're wrong, but I don't have the energy to fight more teenybopper music fans. --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 16:50, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Now ed g2s wants to edit-war over deleting part of my comment. Note that editing another editor's comments is strongly deprecated, amd can lead to an editing block, unless the comment involves an extreme personal attack (and even then it's not usually done). The claim that "teenybopper music fan" is highly offensive in Cambridge is peculiar, and to the best of my knowledge false. Don't confuse personal sensitivities with facts. --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 12:01, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

It is generally considered offensive in the UK and according to our article. There's no need to be uncivil. "Comment on content, not on the contributor. Personal attacks will not help you make a point". ed g2s • talk 13:05, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

If you again change my comment, I shall ask another admin to look at the case and block you from editing if he or she agrees that you're unnecessarily editing another editor's comment. You might find my comment mildly uncivil, though I disagree; that's still not good grounds to edit my comment. Even aside from the fact that our article is misleading, it says that the term is mildly derogatory; applied to music, it may be, from some points of view, but to think that being called a fan of such music is sufficiently offensive to edit-war over is simply absurd. I suggest that you find something useful to do. --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 13:15, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

There is no need to make such comments at all. It is very uncivil, and used in a derogatory context. Furthermore, I am neither a teen, a 'teenybopper', a fan of 'teenyboppers' nor a fan of 'teenybopper music'. ed g2s • talk 14:50, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

OK, I've asked other admins to look at this. --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 14:54, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

I request that you remove your incivil comments towards me, as this is not the place to air such views. ed g2s • talk 15:01, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Mel, I am dead serious, if you want any progress to be made, you're going to have to stop the personal comments about the contributors. They do not accomplish anything for the article, and they cause nothing but trouble. Even if you absolutely loathe certain people, you'll have to keep it to yourself. —Signed, your friendly neighborhood MessedRocker 17:02, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Mel's comment not only appears to be a deliberate put-down but also (to me) appears to indicate Mel thinks he is editing in an unbiased way to make wikipedia better in contrast to others who are editing based on trying to promote things they are fans of. It is more than an insult, it is an accusation of biased editing. Over whether or not a couple of external links are added or not. Sometimes I think Mel editing when he can't sleep is a wonderful thing for wikipedia. Sometimes I think he should take a break when he feels like "I don't have the energy" and come back when he feels better. Mel, can we continue to benefit from your wonderful contributions, but get a little less of this kind of thing? WAS 4.250 17:41, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

I find both these comments peculiar, if only for their emotional burden ("absolutely loathe"?), messedrocker's implication that I make a habit of personally attacking editors, and Was 4.250's personal comments about me in the course of attacking me for making personal comments. And all for a non-derogatory phrase to which one user has taken extreme, and to my eyes inexplicable, exception (something on which at least one other editor agrees with me, as the edit history of the page indicates).

It's a pretty unshakeable part of Wikipedia etiquette that one doesn't delete other people's comments on a Talk page; this holds even in many cases where genuine and deep incivility has been committed. Perhaps Messedrocker and Was 4.250 might like to consider that aspect of this situation, if and when the pleasure of wagging their fingers at me wears off. --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 17:56, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

There is Wikipedia:Remove personal attacks, which I believe ed_g2s was trying to invoke in good faith. The page points out that this is a controversial practice. Anyways, let's recognize that it was done with the best intentions and try to get back on task before this whole thing derails into pointless bickering. —Signed, your friendly neighborhood MessedRocker 20:09, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree with your last point, wholeheartedly. It might be worth ed_g2s' reading the essay (not policy or even guideline) Wikipedia:Remove personal attacks a little more carefully, though, as it contains a number of reasons for his not editing the comment in question. Still, it would be nice if we could all get back to real editing. --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 20:26, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Regardless of whether or not personal attacks should be removed from other people's comments (I continue to believe they should be) - you really ought to take some time to reflect on whether you should be making such comments in the first place. I (and others here) seem to think not... ed g2s • talk 03:17, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

And I (and others) disagree. You might want to check the response to your posting to WP:AN/I for an apt description of the fuss that you're making here: a princess in search of a pea. That two people – one of whom, at least, is not an entirely disinterested party – are prepared to exclaim over the size of the nasty pea and remonstrate with me for placing it under your mattresses is no surprise at Wikipedia, but signifies nothing. This is all a ridiculous waste of time (if you really feel that the comment was so deeply hurtful, I'm surprised that you want to bring so many people's attention to it; if you'd ignored it, no-one would have noticed). --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 10:50, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

I only posted on WP:AN because you said you had already contacted other admins - and if that was the case it should be done properly (you made no contributions after that so I assumed you contact someone privately). Seeing as you seem to have a history of such stubborn behaviour - it seems trying to get you to acknowledge mistakes is going to be a waste of time. ed g2s • talk 13:01, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

Gawd, what is with all of this? The comment was clearly uncalled for and has nothing to do with the relevance of a fan site. The removing of the comment was uncalled for as well since everyone gets mad when their comments gets edited as well. Best thing to do would to just ignore such comments that really has nothing to do with the discussion whatsoever. This really illustrates what wikipedia is nowaydas. "This is my article! *reverts*", "No!, It's mine! *doublereverts*" etc —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.17.141.53 (talk) 07:45, 31 March 2007 (UTC).

ref the MikaFanClub.com - clearly this should not be included in the main part of the page. But to omit it from the links section is crazy. It is by far the biggest source of Mika information on the net, it is ten times bigger and more popular than even the official Mika Sounds site.

It doesn't deserve a mention on the main section, but to leave out the site that Mika himself reads, is a terrible admin error.— Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.26.177.236 (talk • contribs) 07:55, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

I agree that Mikafanclub.com should be used as a link! Mika himself reads the site! it is run by mikas record company, and provides the latest dates or changes to those dates of his shows! User:LizaRosa — Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.238.139.17 (talk • contribs) 18:03, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

Image

Do not add promotional photos to the infobox. Mika is living celebrity making frequent public appearances. As such any promo photo use to just identify him will certainly fall foul of WP:FUC#1. ed g2s • talk 14:05, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

WTF, so we cant post pics on him yet there' sone on the main page. Hmmmm.....Contradictory I believe.74.195.3.199 18:43, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

You may be missing ed's point. Fair use can only be claimed if there is no other image source. In this case there is ample opportunity for a copyright-cleared image to be used. Mrstonky 04:46, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

He has hit Number 1 in Ireland

[2] Take a look. He's now top of the Irish charts. Can someone adjust the page to reflect this. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by E-flah (talk • contribs) 16:24, 2 February 2007 (UTC).

Protection

Why is the page protected? — AnemoneProjectors (talk) 21:55, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

I believe this is due to the dispute taking place between prominent editors (see above). Mrstonky 06:53, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Pronunciation

Does anyone have a citation for how to pronounce Mika's name? Is it "mee-kuh" (IPA: miːkʌ) or "my-ka" (maɪkə)? I've noticed that a child calls him "mee-kuh" on the introduction to his song "Lollipop" -- surely there must be a more formal confirmation? — Mrstonky 07:11, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

I know for a fact the latterformer is definitely correct - and I think the voice on the record that may even be his. ed g2s • talk 12:05, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, it's "meeka". Can't find a citation, but ed's right. also, he's called meeka on the tv and radio. i wonder if he changed from Mica to Mika to stop people pronouncing it "myca". Or maybe someone else had already used the name Mica. ConDem^Talk 15:31, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

...But Ed said it was the LATTER, e.g. the second one. I think it's mee-kah though, it's what everyone on the radio seems to be saying. I'm sure someone pretentious enough will come along and start saying "my-kah" sooner or later, and a shift will occur. But until then, it's "mee-kah" I think. 89.213.51.202 18:31, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

My mistake - I got confused by the second occurence of "mee-kuh". It is "me", not "my". ed g2s • talk 02:39, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Band?

It says "his band consists of...", so is he a solo singer? Or is "MIKA" a band? Bit confusing... 89.213.51.202

If it had said: "his family consists of..." would that mean that he was a family not an individual? --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 18:43, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Mel seems to have missed the point. This is a very legitimate question. It seems very clear that Mika is not a band name, but that he is working as a solo artist. Therefore I have changed this dubious reference.--203.2.182.254 04:58, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

MIKA

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the debate was NO CONSENSUS to move page, per discussion below. -GTBacchus^(talk) 02:32, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

---

All the official mentions of his name, in liner notes and on websites, etc., seem to be listing him as MIKA. If we were to move the page there it might make things neater. What does everyone think? Driller thriller 23:38, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Personally, I think that we should keep it as it is, partly because it's clearly a new spelling of his birth name, Mica, and partly because I think MIKA is just the way the artist Mika is currently being branded by the record company. The press seem to call him Mika, as welll - all three six of the newspaper reviews linked to in the main article from Life in Cartoon Motion call him "Mika". ConDem^Talk 02:17, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

Also, see WP:NC and WP:MOS-TM. ConDem^Talk 03:19, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

• Comment good luck with the page move. apparently the "offical name" part doesn't really fly on wikipedia. take a look at the talk page on Kiss (band) 205.157.110.11 03:07, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

• • Comment - I think that you need something stronger than "seems to be" to justify ignoring Wikipedia norms. -- Beardo 04:11, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
    • Comment - I'm not suggesting ignoring Wikipedia norms. Precisely the opposite, I'm suggesting that MIKA is how Mica Penniman chooses to be known in his professional life and that, in line with Wikipedia naming policies, we should consider referring to him, and maybe naming his page along those lines. I put a hedge in there to show I'm not really bothered either way, but since it's been misinterpreted I'll take it out: "All the official mentions of his name, in liner notes and on websites, etc., ... [list] him as MIKA." Now why does that make the case any stronger? Also, this has nothing to do with WP:NC and WP:MOS-TM, but instead should be discussed in relation to Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(people)#Nick_names.2C_pen_names.2C_stage_names.2C_cognomens. Bosh. Sorry if that seems snappy, I don't mean to be. Driller thriller 19:27, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
      • But Wikipedia:Naming conventions (people)#Nick names, pen names, stage names, cognomens says that we should use the names people are most commonly known by. Since the press knows him as Mika, won't most people know him by that name? Since that's mainly how they find out about him? ConDem^Talk 19:40, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
        • Sorry, maybe I need to clarify. I mean that since we are using a nickname, we should endeavour to format it correctly; whether we have the page at Mika or MIKA is perhaps a side issue, we should refer to MIKA. I don't know if that makes things clearer. Driller thriller 20:43, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
          • OK, I might be missing your point, sorry. But the way I see it, is that whether it's a TM or a nickname, we should name it as most people recognise the name, and I believe that's "Mika". ConDem^Talk 20:50, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
• Comment - when I downloaded "Grace Kelly" from iTunes, he was listed as MIKA. When I first searched for him on Wikipedia, I typed in MIKA. — AnemoneProjectors (talk) 13:17, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

"Follow standard English text formatting and capitalization rules even if the trademark owner encourages special treatment" - while it may not be a registered trademark yet, the same rule applies. ed g2s • talk 16:22, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

• Oppose move per ed. Recury 16:43, 7 February 2007 (UTC)
• Oppose - ed has it right on the nose. Chris cheese whine 01:34, 8 February 2007 (UTC)
• Oppose — yup, I'm with ed too. Mrstonky 04:25, 10 February 2007 (UTC)
• Oppose too, per ed. DWaterson 23:36, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Friday Night Project

My birthday was the 19th and that was a Friday. Mika appeared on the Friday Night Project on Friday 19th January 2007. *Mr. GaRRiSoN 23:44, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

True, next time be bold. ed g2s • talk 16:10, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Nationality

Is there a reliable source for this? At the moment we're carefully not mentioning nationality in the article. --Mel Etitis (Talk) 18:02, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Comparisons With other Artists

The cited article only compares him to Jake Shears, not the others. I get the feeling these comparisons are made on the basis of the said artist's sexuality and are somewhat facile. Why not say something like speculation around Mika's sexuality has lead to comparison with other gay musicians; although the fact that these musicians are musically pretty diverse reflects how facile these type of comparisons are.

3tmx 22:14, 11 Februrary 2007

Page Move

I've proposed over at Talk:Mika (currently a disambiguation page) that this page should be moved to Mika and that page to Mika (disambiguation). Please leave any thoughts there. TSP 00:13, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the debate was NO CONSENSUS to move page, per discussion below. -GTBacchus^(talk) 07:39, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

---

Mika (singer) → Mika — Is the only article on the disambig page known only as Mika. Is notable enough to be primary topic, since other articles have surnames, etc., as well. ConDem^Talk 04:58, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Survey

Add  # '''Support'''  or  # '''Oppose'''  on a new line in the appropriate section followed by a brief explanation, then sign your opinion using ~~~~. Please remember that this survey is not a vote, and please provide an explanation for your recommendation.

Survey - in support of the move

1. Support - as nominator. The singer is the only person only known as Mika. He's notable enough to warrant being the primary topic. ConDem^Talk 05:09, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
2. Support by User:Paul Erik - made at Talk:Mika before the discussion was moved here. "I agree that almost everyone typing in "Mika" would be looking for the singer, and also agree that he is certainly notable enough. Under the terms of Wikipedia:Disambiguation#Primary_topic, Mika the singer would constitute the "primary topic"."
3. Support - Mika has had a UK number one album and number one singles in the UK and Ireland. As none of the other articles linked to would in fact be called 'Mika', I believe that this fulfils the requirements to become a Primary Topic. TSP 18:55, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

Survey - in opposition to the move

1. Oppose by User:Prolog - made at Talk:Mika before the discussion was moved here. "That seems short-sighted, as the singer seems to have been famous only for few months and mainly in the UK, not to mention that pop stars' careers are often over very quickly. Häkkinen has been referred to as "Mika" for 15 years, and still the media often simply uses his first name, such as here and here (from the last 24 hours). This seems to be common with many Finns, because Mika is short and easy to pronounce whereas the Finnish last name often is not. There is also the Armenian football team FC MIKA. Therefore, I do not think this singer has become the primary meaning for "Mika" yet. The singer's entry could be moved on top of the Mika list, instead. Although, when it comes to singing Mikas, Mika Nakashima seems to be even more notable."
2. Oppose Very common given name in Japan. Apparently common in Finland too (although I have no information about that). No reason for a singer to monopolize the article title. Fg2 20:55, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
3. Weak oppose If it were just a collection of names I would probably support this, but considering the FC MIKA entry (which is also conceivably called just Mika) I would say it's probably best just to leave the disambiguation page in place, as there's no way to guarantee this is the primary topic. I would also say this is a bit of recentism. GassyGuy 21:29, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
4. Oppose - I think it's safe to say that in English-speaking countries overall, the relative popularity of the UK singer versus the F1 driver is a no-brainer. Also, perhaps a move to Mika (UK singer) or something similar, per Mika Nakashima mentioned above. Neier 23:26, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

   I don't think we need to specify "UK" in Mika (singer)'s article title if he's kept where he is, since people typing in "Mika" will go to the disambig page anyway... That would only be true if there were two singers called simply "Mika". ConDem^Talk 00:10, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

5. Oppose - Mika is a fairly common given name, and the singer has only been around for five minutes. PC78 23:55, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
6. Oppose - There is an Austrian band by the name Mika that have had 3 albums. Trieste 21:17, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
7. Weak oppose - Not critical, but the commonality of the name would make such a move too problematic. John Smith's 14:54, 23 February 2007 (UTC)
8. Oppose Mika is a very common Japanese first name. It is like Jennifer or Sarah. As can be seen from the long list at Mika, there is much to be disambiguated. None of them should be the default Mika. The status-quo seems to be suitable. Bendono 15:02, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

Discussion

Add any additional comments:

• Comment I'm not saying this really means anything, but as a piece of information, the first twenty seven google results for "mika" turn up articles about Mika (singer) (apart from one site for a company called MIKA), and only then does Mika Häkkinen appear (google search). ConDem^Talk 00:16, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

His birth name

According to sources such as Metacritic, Mika's name at birth was Michael Holbrook Penniman. But editors have repeatedly removed that name from this article. Reasons, comments? Thanks, --Paul Erik 19:38, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

Born "Michael Holbrook", uses "Mica", stage name "Mika", styled "MIKA" but we don't capitalise (see discussion above). ed g2s • talk 11:40, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

I can't edit because I'm not a registered user, but the reason it gets removed is that it's NOT HIS NAME. At the very beginning, some reporters got him confused with his father, who is indeed Michael Holbrook Penniman, and then this was repeated in "news" sources, so that's why "official" sites list it as such. But if you google it properly, you will find that it's his father's name.

Here's a link where you can see his father (scroll down):

http://www.terrapinn.com/2005/peme/SpeakerList.stm

Here's an interview that accurately lists his birth name (Mica Penniman):

http://www.sundayherald.com/life/people/display.var.1168421.0.bohemian_rhapsody.php

Here's a quote from Mika on the subject of his name:

"Is MIKA really your name? Does MIKA mean anything?

It's actually my real name [Mica]. All of my siblings have exotic names, my sister Paloma (a dove) my brother Fortuna for which means lucky in French for example. I got saddled with a name that means plastic bag in Morocco, curse of the middle child!"

http://www.hunkdujour.com/blog/archives/2007/01/mika_pop_star_of_2007.asp

Please do edit this to clear up confusion. --AnonMikafan

Thank you for explaining and providing sources. Certainly, Wikipedia should not be contributing to the spread of misinformation resulting from some reporters' confusion. (They confused him with his father?!) But honestly I am not sure what to do, because, even though you put "news" sources in quotes, these are some rather reliable sources stating that his original name was Michael Holbrook Penniman, including the New York Times, and others.[3][4][5][6] If someone could provide a source that says something about reporters confusing his name with his father's, that would of course be best. --Paul Erik 13:59, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

I can see your concern, though what you ask is admittedly difficult (I first learned of the name mixup through fans who've met him, not any news source). I actually think the New York Times were the first ones to start the confusion of names, and everybody else followed suit. If it helps, there are several other factual errors in that article, like getting the name of his song (and new single) "Love Today" wrong--they call it "Everybody's Gotta Love," which isn't indicative of very good fact-checking. I will try to find more sources though. --AnonMikafan —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 204.52.215.117 (talk) 00:03, 22 April 2007 (UTC).

Your point about the Times getting a song title wrong is well taken. Please do try to find a reliable source about this mix-up of his name, though. The first link you provided established that there is someone named Michael Penniman; it did not establish that Mika's father is Michael Holbrook Penniman, and the possibility remains that Mika was initially named Michael Holbrook, then called Mica to distinguish him from his father, then chose the name Mika as his stage name. --Paul Erik 03:54, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, still have not found a source that talks about the confusion. Though I can point out that never does Mika refer to being called Michael in interviews when he talks about his childhood, though he does refer to his name "Mica" being mispronounced as Mykah or Mischa. Also, I found this childhood school photo of him that lists his name as "Mica Penniman":

http://a652.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/54/l_8151b3b3555382f054c0f6dd8ad55f03.jpg

Surely it is most likely that they'd use his full name for a school photo like that? --AnonMikafan —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.6.30.205 (talk) 10:40, 7 May 2007 (UTC).

Good effort, I say. The photo you linked to, which is on a MySpace account, does not count as a reliable source under Wikipedia policy, but you probably know that. And for whatever it is worth, I do think it is possible that a school photo would use the name by which he was most frequently referred, and not necessarily the name that was on his birth certificate. Anyway, I encourage you to keep hunting! --Paul Erik 04:51, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I had thought of that. It's all rather frustrating! I doubt he is likely to go "by the way, let me explain about my birth name" in any upcoming interviews. I have asked people who will be attending his shows and have video cameras to ask him about it and put his response on Youtube, which is the best I can do for now. Hopefully if someone asks and he actually answers, this will be "official" enough. ;-) --AnonMikafan —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 204.52.215.117 (talk) 00:08, 9 May 2007 (UTC).

I've now been informed that Michael Holbrook Penniman might in fact be his real name despite everything else, but this is unlikely to be confirmed. I guess the page is good as it is right now, though. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.52.215.117 (talk • contribs) 19:14, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

Mika has finally confirmed that Mica is his birth name in an interview. "My real name is Mica. Spelt with a 'c'. My dad is called Michael. He wanted me to be called Michael but my mother said over her dead body. She wasn't too into the whole junior thing."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIpq32ihsPE LondonEmbers 23:43, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

Actually it's turned out that on legal records, he does list his name as Michael Holbrook Penniman. That's how it's listed under "composer" on his Relax single, and that's how it's listed here: http://repertoire.bmi.com/writer.asp?page=1&blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&fromrow=1&torow=25&affiliation=BMI&cae=477236431&keyID=976175&keyname=PENNIMAN%20MICHAEL%20HOLBROOK&querytype=WriterID

--AnonMikafan —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.138.190.163 (talk) 11:20, August 23, 2007 (UTC)

If Mika himself says his real name is Mica and not Michael that must be the only most reliable source!

Ha, he is tricky. He never said what his legal birth name was. My "real" name is different from my legal birth name too. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.248.90.24 (talk) 07:25, 27 November 2007 (UTC)

Profanity

In short: Wikipedia does not censor profanity, unless you're quoting the exact text which was already censored. In that case, content is quoted verbatim. See Wikipedia:Profanity. GregorB 21:48, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Sexuality

I have removed, "A number of articles claim that Mika is gay." The supposed reference was only a single article, so it clearly didn't support the claim. (Technically, "a number of" could mean "one", but that would be an idiosyncratic interpretation.) Furthermore, the actual phrase the article used was "gay pop sensation". This could be referring to his music as "gay pop", rather than referring to him as gay.

I have also removed the mention of childhood taunts. Actually, this would be relevant to a section on his childhood, but not directly relevant to the section on his sexuality. A playground bully calling someone a "faggot" can hardly be considered a reliable source.

I've also removed the quote from Chris Taylor's entertainmentwise.com article, which only quoted the Daily Mirror quoting Mika. It's too much like a game of Chinese Whispers. -- Oliver P. 22:54, 6 April 2007 (UTC)

Come on does it matter if he's gay?He music is amazing and I personally love it.So please stop discussing it.AFTER THIS,BIG GIRL [U R BEATIFUL]HINT!!!!!!I mean seriously.OK no more talk about it.THE END.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.21.62.140 (talk) 15:31, 26 April 2007 (UTC).

I agree 100%. -- Chris as I am Chris 15:34, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

When a celebrity states he does not want to discuss his sexual orientation with the media, one must be careful in an encyclopaedic article how to deal with that. So the discussion on the talk page, by Oliver P. and others, is, in my view, completely legitimate. (And, let's be honest, Mika is fueling these very types of discussions by refusing to give a straight answer.) Actually, the discussion here has been rather restrained—compared to, say, a similar discussion on Talk:Anderson Cooper.--Paul Erik 21:13, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

On http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/music-gigs/features/article2178632.ece, a friend of Mika's states that he is "pretty sure Mika is at least bisuexual". Shouldn't that be added?--luukbom 9:25, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

Songwriting

mika wrote grace kelly lollypop— Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.44.152.10 (talk • contribs) 06:37, 28 April 2007 (UTC)

Bebo site

The following link http://michaelhpenniman.bebo.com/ was recently added to the article. This will have to be removed under WP:EL policy, but I am curious if this link, given its name, would shed some light on the question of Mika's birth name being Michael Holbrook Penniman (see discussion further up this page). Could a bebo member check if this is a legitimate site? --Paul Erik 03:18, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

Its all a bit suspicious to me! all the detail on the bebo site is just little bitsy! its all dribble! i dont think this is a real mika! from what i can tell this is not Mika instead an poser!— Preceding unsigned comment added by 125.238.136.142 (talk • contribs) 06:55, 6 May 2007 (UTC)

MFC (Mika Fan Club) link

The MIKA Fan Club Is The Greatest And Largest MIKA Website In The World. This Is Why I Would Like To Know Why The Largest Fan Club On The Web Would Not Be Listed On Here. Now I'm Sure There Is A Logical Reason For The Removal Of MIKAfanclub.com But I'd Like To Really Know, Why Has The MIKAfanclub Been Removed?--[55] 01:50, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

well, you made a questionable edit and just added your website in without discussion, that's basically considered vandalism.Imasleepviking 02:16, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Well, no, this is nothing against the good people at the MIKA Fan Club, which by all accounts is a popular fan forum. (We will also have to remove the French fan forum, which I know has been a bone of contention.) The problem is nothing with the site or the edits. It is Wikipedia policy, which says that any fan forums or other discussion forums are not to be added to articles here. You can see the complete set of guidelines on external links at WP:EL#Links_normally_to_be_avoided. The idea basically is that Wikipedia is an encyclopædia, not a directory of links. The official record company link is allowed to remain under WP policy, so anyone coming here and following that link (mikasounds.com) will be able to find fan forums from that website. --Paul Erik 02:45, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Oh, Well Then Okay. I Was Speaking On Behalf Of The MIKA Fan Club, They Thought It Was Unfair About The French Fan Club Being There, But Ours Wasn't. Thank You, And I'll Relay The Message To Them. Thanks Again For Treating Us Equally.[55] 03:25, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Drowned in sound

Shouldnt it be mentioned under criticisms about the drowned in sound website giving him a bad review, leading to Brian may from queen to defend mika? i reckon it should as it is worthy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.42.39.202 (talk • contribs)

Missing URL

I tried the URL "Scissor sisters slam Mika" but got a "404 Page not found", so I removed it. However, another user appearantly got it working. Sorry, I was too hasty in deleting it.

Image2

The main image is terrible, its a cropped picture of him and someone else cutting out whoever it was, it loosk unprofessional, surely its possible to find a better one? Zephyr 20:23, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

The only other picture available currently on Wikimedia Commons is this one. If there is a better one on Flickr, you could upload it to Wikimedia Commons, assuming the photographer has used the appropriate licensing option.--Paul Erik 01:15, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Lebanon = Australia?

At present, the article reads:

"Lebanon-born" (...) "born in Noosa, Australia"

Which would be the correct statement? Mip | Talk 14:05, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

Ignore. The article was corrected while I was posting on this Talk Page. Mip | Talk 14:07, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

Infobox photograph

I went to the V festival on Sunday and got a few great pictures of Mika. I have replaced the infobox picture with one I took. Does anyone think it's a worse picture? I'm still going through the pics I took so I'll probably upload some more so they'll be more to choose from. :-).

Seraphim ^Whipp 11:52, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

I think the one that you put in the infobox is an improvement. Nicely done! --Paul Erik 02:41, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

PERCUSSION

MIKA PLAYS PERCUSSION ON THE SINGLE BIG GIRL YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. I HAVE GOT IT —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.21.61.25 (talk) 10:57, 16 September 2007 (UTC)

New Madonna Album? I think not!

The "Music" section of the article claims he is working on Madonna's new album (due November 2007). However, Madonna's upcoming album is a hip hop/R'n'B genre and Mika's music is not in that genre. The only CONFIRMED artists/producers working on Madonna's new album are Timbaland, Pharrell Williams, and Justin Timberlake. -Sparque

Plus, the album will be released April 2008. That should also be corrected (if the whole section isn`t deleted first, that is.)

Sparque —Preceding unsigned comment added by Recoveringmormon (talk • contribs) 19:09, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Correction needed

the article states his first single was Grace Kelly in 2006. It was Relax, Take It Easy in 2006. Vauxhall1964 00:44, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

Now corrected Vauxhall1964 (talk) 01:29, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

Discographie charts !!!

The single LOVE TODAY is ranked #4 in Belgium, but their stand that it hasn't anything !!!!! So it needs to be #4 !!!!!!!!!!

Demarre-nikke 08:59, 28 October 2007 (UTC) Demarre-nikke