13) Mika: 'Life In Cartoon Motion'

Mika shot to fame in 2007 with this astonishing debut, Life in Cartoon Motion. Mika is the human equivalent of marmite; you either hate him or love him. I, for one, love this guy. Born in Beirut to a Lebanese mother and American father he fled the worn torn country to settle in the UK via Paris. If you can imagine an amalgam of Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Leo Sayer, George Michael and the Village People all collaborating to pen the next Eurovision Song Contest entry then you will get a flavor of the kind of album this is. Overtly camp, silly and falsetto that would make the Bee Gees blush it tethers on the line of annoying at times , yet delve deep beneath the surface and you will find innovative music, vocally gymnastics and some fantastic catchy pop. This album is certainly not for everyone, even I have to say he treads the line between brilliance and complete and utter annoyance.

On first listen many would be put off, considering their musical tastes way to high-brow to ever enjoy something like this. However, underneath the fun, falsetto and glam there is a serious and talented musician at work.

‘Grace Kelly’ was one of the most chirpy and catchiest songs of that year. What appears as a juvenile romp actually has some raw heartfelt emotions; it certainly sets the mood for the rest of the album. ‘Lollipop’ is, dare I say, an even more camp Elton John effort containing sexual innuendo yet in an innocent way. ‘My Interpretation’ is a welcome loss of the falsetto proving that he is not just all pomp and romp. However it is not too long before we are returning to falsetto with the turbo charged funk induced ‘Love Today’, one of the highlights of this album. Following on is ‘Relax, Take It Easy’ which borrows the same chord progression from Cutting Crew’s ‘I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight’ and could be something that the Bee Gee’s wish they had created. ‘Any Other World’ is not entirely up to standards and doesn’t really feel part of the overall theme of the album but is a pleasant offering nonetheless. ‘Billy Brown’ has a rather cabaret fell to it, and I don’t intent that as a criticism, It’s a fantastic little number! ‘Big Girl’s You Are Beautiful’ is the last all out dance tune before we are treated to one of the best tunes on the album, ‘Stuck In The Middle’ an Elton John-esque piano stomp with a catchy melody. Finally we end with ‘Happy Ending/Over My Shoulder’ and is by far the best slow number Mika offers here, a nice way to bow out. Here at number 13 is Mika with Life In Cartoon Motion.