2024 summary
The year 2024 is coming to an end and it was rich with gigs and events and full of creativity, enjoyment and strong emotions. Every big tour following each new album is always the moment and once in a lifetime opportunity to hear the new songs from that particular album. It's always a precious time to be there and during this era even more so than ever. The French speaking part of the Apocalypse Calypso tour following the new French album Que ta tête fleurisse toujours offered a massive new stage show and an amazingly generous new setlist with several new songs. The regular part of the setlist was completed with Bougez, Apocalypse Calypso, Sweetie Banana, Jane Birkin, Moi, Andy et Paris, 30 secondes and C’est la Vie and even several additional songs in English we hadn't heard before or hadn't heard for a while.
The new French songs worked well and what I loved most was the considered structure of the show: the little familiar playlist before the show started, the explosive intro, the whole setlist including different transitions to change moods and then ending the show first with energy, then with some symphonic tunes and even adding I See You for the exiting background music. Absolutely lovely, detailed experience. It was wonderful to see the new show again and again and it's hard for me to pick any favourites. Always important Bercy was perfectly flawless of course and one of the many shows my mind often goes back to was the crazy show in Montpellier where small funny episodes with the audience made the otherwise structured show more spontaneous than in other cities. The big tour included 22 gigs and continued as a small emotional UK tour and a particularly joyful summer festival tour officially called Club Apocalypso Summer Nights. The most distinctive feature of the UK tour was definitely the atmosphere which was warm, extremely emotional and somehow surreal at the same time. For a moment we were in another reality and another time. Unexpected and magical small tour with old-school gig vibes.
Paris Solidays, which was one of the most important moments of the joyful summer tour, introduced the elegant summer suits and I find it meaningful that most of Mika's stage outfits come from his own atelier the same way his creative collaborations are coming from his own studio. Elements like that add personality, independence and possibilities for him to do things his own way. After the big album tour and emotional gigs in the UK we saw the Orange symphonic concert and many amazing summer festival performances. After Solidays the giant heart was on stage also at Paleo in Switzerland, Lucca in Italy and Carcassonne in France, all big moments celebrating love in a big, big way and as a super power it is. As little treasures I had a possibility to see two small private gigs, one in Lyon in April and one in Biarritz in May, the first one being like a small party and the other one a tiny charming seaside radio gig. Later in October Basel was a lovely and sweet smallish gig and a part of the series of intimate gigs with different artists. The year ended in the Canary Islands with two fantastic and energetic Business & Culture Pride gigs. In addition to that Mika as usual did his television work this time in the UK, Spain and France. To everyone interested in champagne there was a possibility to enjoy his elegant design collaboration with Nicholas Feuillatte including a signature style bottle and box and very special tastings in their Paris store.
To end the year I made a list of ten important things in the order that quickly came to mind. This is not an absolute list of course - I could have easily added another list of ten - but these things are something I definitely loved and found important this year.
(1) Obviously the Orange philharmonic concert. Orchestra concerts are my favourites of everything Mika does and Orange was the first time we saw an outdoor philharmonic gig . The historical venue and the local mistral wind added strong and unique character to the event making it totally unforgettable. The setlist was beyond my dreams. Hearing Last Party, Heroes, I Went To Hell Last Night and even Je sais que je t’aime from the new album would have alone made me happy. Eventually the setlist included songs from every single Mika album and I loved the concert more than I have words to express. Just thinking of the standing ovations after Happy Ending or Heroes and the audience joining Jane Birkin gives me chills of excitement. Incredible memory, the absolute highlight of the year.
(2) The atmosphere and just seeing his posture on stage at Brighton Pride. The Brighton Pride performance was one of my favourite ever Mika performances. It was confident, it was iconic and it was extremely relatable at the same time. The audience was listening to him, admiring him and celebrating the pride together with him, the atmosphere was very special. The Relax was legendary but I loved the whole performance and for example Billy Brown that made the crowd sing as a choir.
(3) Amazing performance at the Piano season 3 final concert. A little spoiler maybe but the performance we saw in Newcastle might have been my favourite ever piano version of my favourite Mika song. I genuinely hope it will be broadcasted in spring to be watched again and again. Absolutely stunning performance, I could hardly breathe while listening.
(4) Different versions of C'est la vie. Even though I don't speak French I love many French Mika songs for different reasons. I love the voice and the airiness in Karen, it feels like a soft fabric flying in the wind. I love the playful yet passionate mood in Boum Boum Boum and the delicateness of Les Baisers Perdus. I love the whole French album. I love Je sais que je t’aime because I find it grand, Jane Birkin because it makes us feel free and liberated and C'est la vie because the meaning and the expression in the song are totally synchronised. Despite the language the song makes me very moved. During the most important moment the message stands out and is almost spoken, not sung, and the energy of the song makes the thought of life blooming substantial. This year we heard C'est la vie with big show elements and in symphonic circumstances. The summer tour version included a serious introduction and beautiful, focused beginning. One of my favourite performances was in Athens where Mika introduced the song in English. I would love to hear C'est la vie everywhere and the language should never be apologised. It's a privilege to the audience when the artist wants to share something personal no matter the language, there's nothing to apologise.
(5) I generally loved hearing introductions or background stories for different songs like what happened in Athens where Mika told about his grandmother before Stuck In The Middle or in Warwick where he talked about Billy Brown or in Kew Gardens where he shared several sweet childhood stories. I learn to know Mika mostly through his music and different live performances and every moment where he shares something personal about himself in a unique way feels amazing and makes the gig special and the audience feel lucky to be there that night.
(6) Of all big show elements my favourites were definitely the bird outfits: the Firebird (red suit with the big red wings), the Pride Bird (red pants and the wings) and especially the Blue Bird feather jacket. The last one was a stunningly beautiful blue and green feathery piece that created the ending highlight during Love Today. Generally the elegant summer tour outfits need to be on my list for sure. I love aesthetics and visually beautiful things but I prefer outfits having other kinds of value as well and I love outfits with symbolism or stories to tell. Another aspect that adds value to stage outfits is the way they are planned and designed. I love the thought of Atelier Mika and Mika himself being involved in the process, maybe being a part of the designing process or personally being a part of finding materials for his beautiful suits, and I love the thought of his sisters either styling the outfits or designing the gorgeous jewellery. I generally appreciate the idea of craftsmanship and have always enjoyed the little videos showing artisans making the crowns or masks used on stage. A big and important element that has always had a huge meaning and has even more potential to make the shows personal and unique.
(7) As always I found different classics important on the setlist. I want and need in my life things that work as a foundation, things that always keep and even grow their value. At each gig I look forward to and immensely enjoy several songs I see as classic Mika songs. Songs that are really strong and powerful and extremely valuable. Having Any Other World on the main tour setlist was a huge and important thing. Underwater is definitely one of those songs. This year I loved the new tones in Happy Ending. Seeing the fog flowing over stage was visually beautiful and the ending was gentle and softly pretty. We heard Tiny Love only occasionally but obviously it works in a similar way. It's hard to even put in words but sometimes we can be a bit tired, the weather can be bad or people can be rude. With Underwater all that goes immediately away. Little struggles in life become totally meaningless. The power of these essential songs is unbelievable and that's why they are so important.
(8) Being able to experience some smaller, intimate gigs is definitely on my list. Each gig during the UK tour got a small venue especially compared to the arena gigs and the two private gigs I was able to see were tiny as well and I loved them all but the most intimate must have been the one in Basel which I can't stop thinking about, what a lovely experience. I thought in advance that the Basel gig might be a bit too fancy for my taste but it wasn't at all, it was wonderfully sweet and cozy.
(9) In the end I wanted to mention a couple of meaningful topics. Firstly Pride had a bigger role than ever before which I loved. That happened of course because we saw one big and a couple smaller Pride events but also because Origin got more attention than before and became more of an anthem than it has been before. I absolutely loved the summer version of Origin and I loved the jumping intro and the little talks about love during it and always felt "love" was said in the context of "Pride".
(10) Last but not least on my list is Mika being the godfather of Telethon in France this year which was so much bigger than I had imagined in advance. As a non-French person I had no idea of the scale of the project or what it really meant. When Mika talked about these kids and families and their spirit and energy in interviews I partly thought he was simply promoting the project. I knew it was a part of his job to take part in numerous press conferences and in each of them he needed to say something. However, being able to watch the television recordings in the television studio made me understand that he really meant what he said. It was extraordinary to see the energy the children and their parents have in such challenging circumstances and it was extraordinary to see Mika interacting with them. He did his work being totally professional and vulnerable at the same time which probably was the only way to do it and I'm quite sure this project will have an impact on him long after the work is done. I watched it all only for a moment and from a distance and I can't stop thinking about it. How could it not have an impact on him after being so personally involved and after putting his heart in it.
It's been a beautiful, beautiful year. A huge thank you to everyone who was a part of it and who I met or has been supportive online. Can't wait for what the future brings, wishing you all the best for 2025. Love, Nina xxx
