Life in Cartoon Motion by Mika
Life in Cartoon Motion is the debut album released by British singer-songwriter Mika. The album was produced by Greg Wells and Mika himself, mixed by Wells, with co-production on two songs by Jodi Marr and John Merchant. The album was released via Island Records on 5 February 2007 in the United Kingdom, and via Casablanca Records on 27 March 2007 in the United States. The album's lead single, "Grace Kelly", stayed at number one on the UK Singles Chart for five weeks straight and became a number-one hit in many countries. The album debuted at #1 in the United Kingdom, selling 7.8 million copies worldwide since its release. The Life in Cartoon Motion album cover has since been used in a commercial for the iPod Touch. It was the ninth-best-selling album in the world during 2007.
No less an authority than Sex Pistol-cum-DJ Steve Jones has opined he finds the aught-something UK pop scene a dizzying, trend-challenged stew, a notion this cocky debut by Lebanon-born/Paris conservatory trained Mika reinforces with high-flying glee. Deconstruct it and you’ll find some familiar ‘70s sonic touchstones at its core, specifically Elton John’s pop-craft smarts and Freddie Mercury’s flair for over-the-top showmanship, right down to the delicious, campy abandon with which the musician delivers his soaring falsetto on the impossibly effervescent opener/Euro-breakout single “Grace Kelly.” “Relax” suggests the Scissor Sisters with a serious Abba jones, while “Interpretation” spotlights a solid, more traditional ballad instinct and the Broadway-ready “Billy Brown” showcases an artist who knows how to employ the copious surplus brass he carries between his musical legs.
