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My Name Is Michael Holbrook

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My Name Is Michael Holbrook
Studio album by
Mika
Released4 October 2019 (2019-10-04)
Recorded2017–2019[1]
GenrePop[2]
Length46:15
LabelRepublic
Producer
Mika chronology
No Place in Heaven
(2015) 		My Name Is Michael Holbrook
(2019) 		Que ta tête fleurisse toujours
(2023)
Singles from My Name Is Michael Holbrook
  1. "Ice Cream"
    Released: 31 May 2019
  2. "Tiny Love"
    Released: 16 August 2019
  3. "Sanremo"
    Released: 6 September 2019

My Name Is Michael Holbrook is the fifth studio album by British singer Mika. It was released on 4 October 2019 through Republic Records. The album was promoted in North America with the Tiny Love Tiny Tour at small venues in New York, Montreal, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Mexico City. The album was also supported by a worldwide tour, known as the Revelation Tour, which started in London[3] on 10 November 2019[4] and extended into the first few months of 2020. It had stops in countries throughout Europe, as well as New Zealand and Australia. The remainder of the tour was cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Singles

[edit]

"Ice Cream" was the lead single released from My Name Is Michael Holbrook, on 31 May 2019.[5] A video, directed by Francesco Calabrese and filmed in Barcelona, Spain, was released 27 June 2019.[6] A behind-the-scenes video[7] for the making of the music video and an animated lyric video, were also released for the song. Rolling Stone called the single "summer anthem bait".[5]

"Tiny Love" was released on 16 August 2019, and its video, directed by W.I.Z., featuring Mika and Ronke Arogundade, was released at the same time.[8] According to Billboard magazine, the single is "an ode to the mundane side of love despite the track's grandiose production, sounding like an early-era Queen B-side."[9] The video was shot in London. Mika has said that he wanted to capture the idea that love can feel enormous, "yet at the same time it's so tiny and imperceivable to others."[9]

The single "Sanremo" was released on 6 September 2019.[10] Billboard called the tune "a shimmering pop jam about finding a place just for you and your lover."[11] The video for Sanremo, also directed by W.I.Z., was released on 4 October 2019. Filmed in black-and-white, the short film is set "in an era when homosexuality, if not illegal, was socially unacceptable, a time of discrimination and persecution," says W.I.Z. In the video, a man (Mika) leaves his wife and daughter behind to visit the clandestine spots of a city where he might find a potential gay lover.[12]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
Gigwise[14]
PopMatters[2]
The Independent[15]
The Sydney Morning Herald[16]

Upon release, My Name Is Michael Holbrook was met with generally positive reviews. At Album of the Year, an online aggregator that collects reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 66 out of 100, based on 5 reviews.

Heather Phares from AllMusic commented that "My Name Is Michael Holbrook is never less than witty and genuine -- and much more enjoyable than if he'd tried to fit into someone else's mold".[13] Matty Pywell of Gigwise gave it a positive review, saying that: "Mika is much better whilst basking in the glory of the sun than in the dank undertones of the city".[14] Brice Ezell from PopMatters said "My Name Is Michael Holbrook doesn't deliver a definitive personal statement on Mika's part, and the production works against his creative vision from time to time. But it does offer half a dozen undeniably catchy jams and a reminder that Mika still ranks up there with the best pop artists of our time".[2]

Track listing

[edit]

Credits adapted from Apple Music.[17]

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Tiny Love"
4:05
2."Ice Cream"
  • Crew
  • Priddy
  • Black
2:46
3."Dear Jealousy"
  • Crew
  • Priddy
  • Moore
3:47
4."Paloma"
  • Penniman Jr.
  • Sneddon
  • Crew
  • Priddy
3:42
5."Sanremo"
  • Penniman Jr.
  • Sneddon
  • Crew
  • Priddy
3:21
6."Tomorrow"Penniman Jr.
  • Crew
  • Priddy
3:49
7."Ready to Call This Love" (featuring Jack Savoretti)
  • Crew
  • Priddy
  • Lorna Blackwood[c]
3:49
8."Cry"
  • Crew
  • Priddy
3:17
9."Platform Ballerinas"
  • Penniman Jr.
  • Wadge
  • Crew
  • Priddy
2:47
10."I Went to Hell Last Night"
  • Penniman Jr.
  • Sneddon
3:48
11."Blue"
  • Penniman Jr.
  • Wadge
Mika3:09
12."Stay High"
  • Penniman Jr.
  • Crew
  • Priddy
  • Crew
  • Priddy
3:30
13."Tiny Love Reprise"
  • Penniman Jr.
  • Sneddon
  • Jodi Marr
  • Crew
  • Priddy
  • Mitchell Yoshida
4:25
Total length:46:15
Japanese edition bonus tracks[18]　
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Sound of an Orchestra"
  • Penniman Jr.
  • George Flint
  • Henry Flint
  • Crew
  • Priddy
  • Mika
2:59
15."It's My House"
Quarmby3:22
Total length:52:45

Charts

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Weekly charts

[edit]
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 38
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 3
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21] 30
France Albums (SNEP)[22] 6
Italian Albums (FIMI)[23] 10
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[24] 100
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 38
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[26] 28
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 10
UK Albums (OCC)[28] 57
US Billboard 200[29] 184

Year-end charts

[edit]
Chart (2019) Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[30] 113
French Albums (SNEP)[31] 140

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Michallon, Clémence (31 May 2019). "Mika announces new album 'My Name is Michael Holbrook' as he unveils single 'Ice Cream'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Brice Ezell (15 October 2019). "Mika Delivers Undeniably Catchy Hooks on 'My Name Is Michael Holbrook'". PopMatters. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Shows". Mika Sounds. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  4. ^ Spruch, Kirsten (31 May 2019). "Mika Announces New Album, Returns With Summery 'Ice Cream': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  5. ^ a b Shaffer, Claire (31 August 2019). "Mika's New Song 'Ice Cream' Is Summer-Anthem Bait". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  6. ^ "MIKA - Ice Cream". 27 June 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ "Mika - Ice Cream (Behind The Scenes)". 19 July 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "MIKA - Tiny Love". 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019 – via YouTube.
  9. ^ a b "Mika Pays Tribute to the Little Things (Literally) in 'Tiny Love' Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  10. ^ "Mika Releases New Song 'Sanremo'". Mika Sounds. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  11. ^ "Mika Goes Cruising for a Forbidden Love in 'Sanremo' Video". Billboard. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Mika Goes Cruising for a Forbidden Love in 'Sanremo' Video". upcoming100.com. Retrieved 16 October 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ a b Heather Phares. My Name Is Michael Holbrook at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Album Review: MIKA - My Name Is Michael Holbrook | Gigwise". Gigwise. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
  15. ^ "Album reviews: Wilco: Ode to Joy, and Mika: My Name is Michael Holbrook". Independent.co.uk. 3 October 2019. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Music reviews: Mika, Mozart, Lucky Oceans, Waed Bouhassoun and more". 11 October 2019.
  17. ^ "My Name Is Michael Holbrook". Apple Music. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  18. ^ "マイ・ネーム・イズ・マイケル・ホルブルック[CD]" (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Ultratop.be – Mika – My Name Is Michael Holbrook" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Mika – My Name Is Michael Holbrook" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  21. ^ "Mika Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  22. ^ "Le Top de la semaine (semaine du 11 octobre)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique. Retrieved 15 October 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  23. ^ "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 40 (dal 04.10.2019 al 10.10.2019)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  24. ^ "Mika". Oricon. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  26. ^ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 41: del 4.10.2019 al 10.10.2019" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  27. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Mika – My Name Is Michael Holbrook". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  28. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  29. ^ "Mika Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  30. ^ "Rapports Annuels 2019". Ultratop. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  31. ^ "Top de l'année Top Albums 2019" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
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