Damn. When Grace Kelly started playing everywhere I was ready to bet some good money that Mika’s gonna be this year’s biggest One Hit Wonder. That’s till Life in Cartoon Motion ended up on my desk. And then again in my CD player. And again in my CD player. And again. Catchy!

From really childish lyrics like “Suckin too hard on your lollipop, Oh love’s gonna let you down” on “Lollipop” to the Scissor Sisters-sounding positivity of next single “Love Today” with “Everybody's gonna love today, gonna love today…Anyway you want to, anyway you've got to, Love love me, love love me, love love.” Come on… who cannot have their faith in love restored with such whimsical the-world’s-not-so-bad-after-all sentiments. Apart from Scissor Sisters sound-alike qualities, one can also find a bit of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, a bit of B 52’s, a bit of Robbie Williams and a whole lot of genius on this, Mika’s debut CD.

So who is Mika? Born in Beirut, he’s the middle child of five children born to a Lebanese mother and an American father. When he was one year old his family was forced to leave war-torn Lebanon and moved to Paris and then they moved to London when he was nine years old. Now 24, the high camp, quasi-falsetto voice of Mika speaks to a whole generation of people wondering exactly where they fit in, as well as to the lucky ones who know or who made peace with the fact that it doesn’t matter.
Interestingly enough, his camp performances have led to speculation that he might be gay, but Mika chooses to keep his sexuality private. He certainly doesn’t mind fuelling the rumour mill with the inclusion of “Billy Brown,” a song about a “happily-married” man who chooses to see if the grass is greener on the other side of the sexual fence.

Of course most people will buy this for “Grace Kelly,” the dirty, flirty, queasy, cheesy song about identity madness. It will probably attract and repulse in equal measure in months to come, but for now, it sets the tone for an album filled with fresh ditties… songs that make you wish you lived in a cartoon where no matter how many times a big rock fall on you a-la-Road Runner-style and no matter how many times the Jerries of the world outwit the Toms, all will be okay.

Get Life in Cartoon Motion simply for the absolute positive outlook on the fact that we’re all alike in our differences.