Brisbane that started the Australian tour was such a special gig, one of my all time favorite gigs for sure. However, it was arriving to Sydney that made me realise I really am in Australia. Even the road from the airport to my hotel was covered by advertisements highlighting the fact. Jesus loves Australia! Real hats for real Australians! And the weather was so hot. I was in Australia, if I hadn’t properly understood that earlier I did now.

I spent the first night in Sydney with the French girls and did a ferry trip to see the view to the Opera and the bridge and during the second day there was time to have a look at the area around the venue. Newtown was like I had always imagined Australia to be: such a lovely area, kind of ”urban jungle meets the hippie style”, full of vintage stores with clothes, vinyls and books, cafes with good coffee and health food, so many dogs, shabby old houses, a lot of wall murals. One of the most charming areas I’ve seen around different venues.

The supporting act before the show was the same as in Brisbane and made me smile again. The performance wasn’t focused on singing the same way it was the case with Charlotte during the European Revelation tour but was more like an alternative performance that combined singing and dancing and I really liked these two girls, they are very cute in a very energetic way. Interesting and fun to watch.

Then it was time for Mika and I admit I almost screamed for joy when saw his yellow suit. I had decided not to go Strasbourg and spend the weekend before this trip with my family so I hadn’t seen the suit in real life – only in pictures – yet it was already becoming my favorite. Sounds odd an adult man can look that good in yellow but he does and the color makes me in a good mood.

Mika looked beautiful on stage indeed. The white ruffle shirt looked so pretty with the yellow pants and I immediately thought how well ironed it looked and then realised it could be just really wet. He was sweating so much at times it reminded a rain or a water fall. It must have been uncomfortable for him to feel so hot but I guess he’s used to it.

The audience was very much 2007. People knew the old songs well and were extremely enthusiastic during them. Big Girl and Lollipop made the crowd go wild! I felt Mika was doing the new songs in an extra intense way to keep the tension up and with many songs he managed to do that very well. Tiny Love was particularly energetic and one of my favorites during the Sydney night. Underwater was stunningly beautiful – another personal favorite for me – and in the end of it the audience was deafeningly loud and that brought a big smile on his face.

During Paloma the crowd didn’t focus to listen to that same way which was a shame as Paloma is actually one of the best live songs I know at the moment. It’s always one of the biggest highlights for me, the Australian audience just doesn’t know it well enough yet. They definitely knew Happy Ending though and in the end of it the venue almost exploded. Makes me happy to see Mika that loved and appreciated. The audience in Australia is incredibly grateful to finally have him here and I love watching them showing it to him. It must make him feel good.

It’s different to see him for the first time compared to seeing him often. He feels familiar to me so he doesn’t make me nervous or afraid but that doesn’t mean I don’t respect and appreciate him a lot. Of course I do. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t. When the performance starts I feel the same excitement every single time. After the show was over the security asked the crowd to move to another side of the building and as the French girls couldn’t understand the local accent they asked me to make sure what was happening and the staff explained us we need to move not to disturb the people living next to the venue.

We understood that very well and obviously followed the crowd but maybe a bit slowly and the locals gave us strict looks and told not to be disrespectful and first that confused me. Then I realised they were putting us in order, they must have thought we might be troublemakers! That was quite heartwarming. I understood they wanted to protect Mika making sure everyone behaves in a nice and respectful way inside and around the venue and I found that extremely sweet.

I’ve really enjoyed this Australian tour, a very special experience. I’ve hugely enjoyed these small, lovely gigs, it’s priceless to feel the atmosphere and see the audiences’ and Mika’s reactions.