Mika is taking on homophobia in the music world

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October 11, 2019 | Arts / Entertainment

Mika is taking on homophobia in the music world

Openly gay singer Mika took home a Music Award at the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards this week, and revealed that being gay has always been central to his song-writing.

"The idea of sexuality being a part of your process, your identity and your source of inspiration is so important to me,” Mika said. "If I didn’t have music, I would not have been able to understand or deal with my sexuality in the same way. It’s always been at the centre of my writing."

For example, his summer release, 'Ice Cream', is all about "fellatio on the lawn."

But being so open was not always easy. He found a lot of pushback from execs, especially in the US.

"In America it was [an issue]. I’ll always remember some of the comments that were made at the record company," he revealed. "When I was trying to get signed, the head of a very major label said that it [my music] felt ‘a bit too gay’ and he wouldn’t sign me.

"He said that in front of me. My manager, who is now one of the heads of Def Jam, told him to go fuck himself -- this is a guy who founded Loud Records and signed Wu Tang Clan. He isn’t in the industry any more..."

The video for his new single "Sanremo" continues to explore his queer identity. It is set in the 1950s, and follows Mika saying goodbye to his family, then heading out to cruise at an underground bar while avoiding the homophobic police.

"'Sanremo' depicts an era when homosexuality, if not illegal, was socially unacceptable, a time of discrimination and persecution. San Remo represents his utopian dream, a fictional place of liberation and transcendence," W.I.Z., the filmmaker, explained.