▲ Mika.The Origin of LoveIsland 2012

▲ Mika.The Origin of Love Island 2012

It was age seven when this artist wrote the self-described “awful” piano song, “Angry.” From then until now, Mika has risen as one of the world’s leading pop artists. Known for polarized opinions from music critics, his songs are unique, melodies are frisky, and the lyrics are odd. Despite what may be said, two previous albums, Life in Cartoon Motion and The Boy Who Knew Too Much have proved that Mika is a musician worth noting. However, whether this unique artist is pleasing to you or not, he has come back with a very new album ––The Origin of Love.

Two previous albums, Life in Cartoon Motion and The Boy Who Knew Too Much, have received critical acclaim as well as dooming criticisms. While The Boy Who Knew Too Much earned only one star from the Guardian, it received four stars from the Evening Standard. But being picked as the sound of 2007 by over 130 music critics and broadcasters, Mika is the controversial troublemaker of the music industry.

While Mika had mentioned before the release of this album that this album will be “more simplistic pop, less layered than the first one,” this album still has “Mika” written all over it. It seems that Mika was being a bit too modest when he said it was “less layered,” for it came with a striking variety instead. Just by listening to some of the songs already on the charts, the fans will learn that they are in for a treat.

Starting with the title single that was released before the actual album, “Elle Me Dit” was already a hit single before the album. Originally in French, the song takes a very light tone and is very light pop. This song has an English version with the title of “Emily.” Both songs are very catchy but not so much in an annoying manner.

“Popular Song” is one of the songs that carry Mika’s bright tone. While it has the lively spirit-lifting bouncy feel of “Elle me Dit,” it is the song that best shows how Mika incorporated a bit of commercial pop into his album this time. It features the actress and singer, Kristin Chenowith, who played the role of Glinda in Wicked. Chenowith adds a familiar note to the song and makes this a song that is lovable not only by Mika fans but also casual listeners.

However, Mika might have sacrificed some of his original style and depth when he chose to have variety. “Celebrate” was the song that showed this trait of the album. While Mika completely stayed with his musical colors for his two previous albums, this song of the album sounds like something that people would dance mindlessly in a club. It is a good song, but it fails to be something more than being a hip pop song. Many of the songs for this album are like “Celebrate.” They are a good listen, but nothing more.

In this album, Mika included acoustic and remix versions of the songs in his deluxe album. The different versions are something to listen to. The acoustic versions of the songs, like “Love You When I’m Drunk” for instance, is often better than the original songs in the aspect that they make the chorus a little less repetitive and extravagant.

Trying something new was never hard for Mika. As an outlaw of the music industry, he has always surprised the critics and his fans. However, this album was a surprise in that he failed to be Mika. By compromising his color for a little bit of conventional pop, he attempted to make a little change. It may have earned him some new fans, but may have lost him some old ones. Despite all the compromises that Mika may have made, the album is definitely worth a listen, especially if you enjoy a good pop song.