¡viva la graham!

Though it was released several weeks ago, I hadn’t seen the video for Mika’s bubbly “We Are Golden,” which recently peaked at No. 4 on the U.K. charts. Surprisingly, the flamboyant pop star bounces around in most of the video wearing only a pair of white short shorts. Some of you might not like your men on the skinny side, but I daresay Mika is flirting with sexiness here! Show me a little skin and I’m yours, apparently.

The Beirut-born musician finally came out as bi-sexual earlier this week, conveniently as he released his sophomore effort, The Boy Who Knew Too Much. Better late than never, I suppose. Below you’ll find one shirtless screen shot from the colorful clip, head over to EveryCeleb.com for an entire gallery of them. Yum.

Click here if the above video becomes unavailable.

Love him or hate him, British pop sensation Mika definitely has his own thing going. But it’s been more than 2 years since his bubbly debut, and the ambiguously gay singer-songwriter is back with a grandiose new single.

“We Are Golden,” the title track from his forthcoming sophomore effort, is even more camp than most of his previous hits. The track employs similar Queen-inspired sensibilities, only this time it leans even more towards rock-opera meets Broadway musical. Check it out:

Honestly, I can’t decide how much I like it. It’s almost too much. And now that Mika has out-and-proud American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert invading his musical territory — though admittedly Lambert amps up the glam rock quite a bit more — it will be interesting to see if he can hold his own among gay fans. Time will tell…

The disc drops Sept 22, but in the meantime you can find a free download of the Don Diablo remix over at arjanwrites.com!

Related posts:
Popstar-in-Waiting

mika’s life in cartoon motion is finally released in the u.s. today, so all you american “grace kelly” lovers can finally legally acquire the album in its entirety!

it was five long months ago that i gave you the heads-up on the queen-loving (!) pop phenom. although the album came out in the u.k. a few months ago, i never really commented on cartoon motion as a whole.

well, i think mika was right when he dubbed his debut a ‘marmite’ record. for those of you unfamiliar with the savory spread, it often elicits a strong response, either positive or negative. and i can understand how anyone could either love or hate this record. one could assume by the way i’ve carried on that i’m of the former persuasion, yet that’s not a completely accurate conclusion.

while the disc offers several glorious triumphs — “billy brown,” “relax (take it easy),” “grace kelly” and “happy ending” — there is plenty of mediocrity mucking up the rest of it. and one track that for some reason annoys me to no end.

in the moments of second single “love today” where mika’s falsetto reaches an unflattering shriek, i can suddenly understand the haters (watch the video here). if this were only my second taste of mika, i would have written him off as spotty at best. definitely skip this cringe-inducing misstep.

as for the other sore spots, i agree with the sentiments in “big girl (you are beautiful),” but the disco-lite ditty never really distinguishes itself otherwise. while “any other world” tries to live up to the gorgeous “happy ending,” it’s not nearly as climactic or captivating.

so my advice to you is to embrace the good bits of cartoon motion, but don’t expect to love or hate it all. you’re more likely to be split on it fifty-fifty.

mika has always wanted to be a popstar… and now it looks as if he’ll get his wish.

part scissor sisters, part robbie williams, mika has come up with something that is immediately engaging and gleefully buoyant. take lead single “relax, take it easy,” for example (you can hear it and several other keepers over at mika’s myspace page). it showcases his versatile, distinctive voice – which often veers into an appealing falsetto – over synths and a killer beat. naturally, “relax” sticks around in your head after just one listen, which is the true sign of a good pop song.

if you’re like me, you’re thinking, mika sure sounds gay! yet surprisingly, mika has remained mum on his sexuality. he told one reporter that he used to get called “fag” while he was in school, but then he coyly declined to be labeled one way or the other. never mind the fact that he’s got a song called “grace kelly” (need i say more??).

regardless, i say good luck to him. if you can sing a song and make me smile, that’s more than enough.