August 1, 2007 | Celeb Watch

Pop's reigning queen?

Meet Mica Penniman. Also known as Mika. He's the new pop flavor of the month, singing catchy, campy songs with an infectious dance beat.

Commercial record companies once ignored him, finding his music too alternative. They asked him to rework himself into something more palatable for the mass market. Indie labels, on the other hand, felt his work was too melody-based and therefore much too mainstream for their liking. Unwilling to cater to the expectations of either, Mika continued plugging away at the music that best reflected his personal tastes until the rest of the world caught up.

His first big hit, "Grace Kelly," was actually a response to companies' expectations that he should change. He confessed on Towleroad.com, "I wrote “Grace Kelly” as a screw-you song to those label people that wanted me to be somebody I was not. But ironically, one year later, it was the song that got me signed!"

But he's more than just a musician...

He fancies himself a bit of a fine artist. “When I write songs, I draw sketches to go with them. It’s a visual world to step into and to have fun and to play with.” His paintings, drawings and sketches received a special showing at London's Blink Gallery.

He may also be gay. Queer rumors hound the young man, with homo related questioning in interviews and speculation rampant in blogs and gossip columns. "I don’t really discuss that," he says."I don’t feel I really need to. My music speaks for itself. I have total freedom with what I do musically and the way that I live my life. And I feel really comfortable with that."

He's not without his critics. Some accuse him of hypocrisy, fighting on one hand to "be who he is without compromise" while never defining what, exactly, that means. Others think his charm of being sexually ambiguous is, at best, annoying.

"Ultimately it’s someone’s prerogative to disclose their sexuality," Ari Gold, an out musician, told Out Magazine. "But it definitely irks me when someone is deemed more intriguing and press-worthy if he or she refuses to say anything, or later has some splashy coming-out. I personally find artists who aren’t afraid to say they are gay and are willing to risk a little popularity in the hopes of social change far more interesting."

To be fair, Mika may not be willing to discuss his sexuality in public -- which is a decision every individual has the right to make -- but he isn't afraid to infuse his lyrics with some queer content. "Billy Brown" was written about a man's gay affair, for example.  

Oh Billy Brown had lived an ordinary life.
Two kids, a dog, and a cautionary wife.
While it was all going according to plan
Then Billy Brown fell in love with another man

Inspired by everyone from Joan Baez to Elton John to Michael Jackson, Mika hopes to continue to make the music he loves. "These people make amazing pop records that couldn’t be performed by anybody else and that’s what I always wanted to do." 

You go, girl! Or, uhm, straight boy! Or... well... whatever you are!

• Pop's new queen [out.com]
• Mika's arty debut [sky.com]
• Mika To Show Artwork In London Gallery [femalefirst.co.uk]
• Mike's website [mikasounds.com]
• Mika on MySpace [MySpace]