From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Boy Who Knew Too Much [3] is the second studio album by singer Mika . It was released on 21 September 2009,[4] under Casablanca / Universal Republic in the United States and Island in the United Kingdom .
Background
Mika worked with producer Greg Wells , who also produced his debut album Life in Cartoon Motion .[1] The album was written in Olympic Studios , London , which began in June 2008. In September 2008 he moved to Rocket Carousel Studios, Los Angeles , where the album was recorded.[1] Mika has described the album's themes as dealing with his teenage years, and "in a sense is kind of part two" of his first album.[5] In contrast to his first album, which "contained innocent fairytales", Mika pitches the new album's songs as "gothic Tim Burton -esque fantasies."[6]
The album was originally titled We Are Golden after the first single from the album, "We Are Golden ". On 20 July 2009 in an on-air interview with DJ Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1 , Mika revealed he was considering renaming the album, because he wanted "something a little more ridiculous."[7] On 6 August 2009 it was confirmed that the album's title would change to The Boy Who Knew Too Much .[8] As with Mika's debut album Life in Cartoon Motion , the album artwork has been designed by Mika's sister (who works under the nom de plume DaWack), the Australian illustrator Sophie Blackall , Airside collaborator Richard Hogg and Mika himself. The artwork has been inspired by children's picture books from the 1940s to 1970s.[9]
Critical response
The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 70/100 from Metacritic.[22]
Singles
"We Are Golden " was the first single from the album. It received its UK radio debut on BBC Radio 2 on 20 July 2009. It peaked at #4 in the UK Singles Chart .
"Rain " was the second UK and German single, released on 23 November 2009 in both digital and physical format.[23] [24] [25] It peaked at #72 in the UK Singles Chart , making it Mika 's first UK single to miss the Top 40. In Germany it peaked at #56.[26] It was released as the third UK single, on 15 February 2010.[27]
"Blame It on the Girls " was the second American and Japanese single from the album.[28] [29] It peaked at #1 in Japan but failed to make any impact in the United States. It was released as the third UK single, on 15 February 2010.[27] It peaked at #72.
The song "Good Gone Girl" charted within the Romanian Top 100 on airplay only, without being released as a single.[30]
Track listing
Deluxe edition bonus tracks Title Writer(s) 13. "Lady Jane" Mika 3:20 14. "Lover Boy" Mika 3:13
Japanese edition bonus track Title Writer(s) 13. "We Are Golden" (Acoustic) Mika 3:08
American deluxe edition bonus DVD: The Boy Who Didn't Know Enough Title Writer(s) 1. "We Are Golden" (The Making of the Video) Mika 3:00 2. "We Are Golden" (Video) Mika 4:02 3. "Making the Parc Des Princes Show " (Video) Mika 15:00 4. "Grace Kelly" (Live from Parc Des Princes) Mika, Jodi Marr, John Merchant, Dan Warner 4:35 5. "Lollipop" (Live from Parc Des Princes) Mika 6:22 6. "Love Today" (Live from Parc Des Princes) Mika 7:08
Asian deluxe edition bonus disc: B-Sides & Rarities [32] [33] Title Writer(s) 1. "Kick Ass (We Are Young) " Mika, Jodi Marr, RedOne 3:14 2. "We Are Golden" (Calvin Harris Remix) Mika 6:58 3. "Rain" (Benny Benassi Remix) Mika 6:10 4. "Blame It On the Girls" (Not On the Starsmith Remix) Mika 6:53 5. "Poker Face" (BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge Session) Stefani Germanotta, Nadir Khayat 3:05 6. "Kick Ass (We Are Young)" (Cutmore Remix) Mika, Jodi Marr, RedOne 3:53 7. "Relax, Take It Easy" (Ashley Beedle's Castro Vocal Discomix) Mika 6:18 8. "Grace Kelly" (Tom Neville Full Vocal Remix) Mika, Jodi Marr, Dan Warner 9:03 9. "Love Today" (Switch Remix) Mika 5:31 10. "Happy Ending" (Kleerup Mix) Mika 6:31 11. "Rain" (P Zombies Remix) Mika 6:34
Summer deluxe edition bonus disc: The Best of Life in Cartoon Motion Title Writer(s) 1. "Any Other World" Mika 4:19 2. "Grace Kelly" Mika, Jodi Marr, Dan Warner 3:07 3. "Lollipop" Mika 3:03 4. "My Interpretation" Mika, Jodi Marr 3:35 5. "Relax, Take It Easy" Mika 3:44 6. "Love Today" Mika 3:55 7. "Happy Ending" (The LA Edit) Mika 3:54 8. "Over My Shoulder" Mika 4:45
Personnel
Additional musicians
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
^ a b c d Allen, Matt (1 June 2009). "Exclusive: Mika's Second Coming Archived 18 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine ", Q Magazine . Retrieved 2009-07-12.
^ Business Wire (14 June 2009). "Global Pop Phenomenon, MIKA, Releases Sophomore Album, WE ARE GOLDEN, 22 September ", Business Wire . Retrieved on 2009-07-14.
^ "Mika | Official Store | Merchandise, T-shirts, Tickets, Albums, MP3 Downloads, Live Album, Posters, Bags, Mikasounds.com" . Mikastore.sandbag.uk.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009 .
^ Medioni, Gilles (11 June 2009). "Exclu Mika: tout sur son nouveau CD... et sa playlist ", L'Express . Retrieved on 2009-07-08.
^ Mazumdar, Tulip (9 June 2009). "Mika pens 'teenage' second album ", BBC Radio 1 . Retrieved on 2009-07-08.
^ Youngs, Ian (21 September 2009). "Entertainment | Mika conquers his growing pains" . BBC News. Retrieved 27 September 2009 .
^ "BBC — Newsbeat — Music — Mika promises fans 'gig at home' " . BBC News. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009 .
^ "MikaSounds / Latest News / The Boy Who Knew Too Much" . Mikasounds.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009 .
^ "MikaSounds / Blog / YO YO! Enough marketing psychobable dish dash! Now I write" . Mikasounds.com. 15 July 2009. Archived from the original on 14 August 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009 .
^ "Critic Reviews for The Boy Who Knew Too Much - Metacritic" . Metacritic . Retrieved 10 April 2015 .
^ The Boy Who Knew Too Much at AllMusic
^ "The Boy Who Knew Too Much · Mika · Music Review Mika: The Boy Who Knew Too Much · Music Review · The A.V. Club" .
^ "The Boy Who Knew Too Much - EW.com" . Entertainment Weekly's EW.com .
^ Caroline Sullivan. "Mika: The Boy Who Knew Too Much" . the Guardian .
^ "Pop & Hiss" .
^ Peter Robinson. "Mika: The Boy Who Knew Too Much" . the Guardian .
^ "Mika" . PopMatters .
^ "Album Reviews, Ratings, and Best New Albums" . Rolling Stone .
^ Sam C. Mac. "Music" . Archived from the original on 23 September 2009.
^ "Mika, 'The Boy Who Knew Too Much' (CasablancaUniversal Republic)" . Spin .
^ "Login" .
^ "The Boy Who Knew Too Much reviews at" . Metacritic.com. 22 September 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2012 .
^ iTunes releases Mika's second single "Rain"
^ "Rain by MIKA: Amazon.co.uk: Music" .
^ "MikaSounds / Latest News / Mika Set To 'Rain' Supreme" . Mikasounds.com. Retrieved 23 May 2010 .
^ [1] Archived 14 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine
^ a b "MikaSounds / Latest News / Next Single - 'Blame It On The Girls' - Out February 15th" . Mikasounds.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 23 May 2010 .
^ Shepherd, Fiona (21 September 2009). "CD review: Mika — The Boy Who Knew Too Much — Scotsman.com News" . Edinburgh: News.scotsman.com. Retrieved 27 September 2009 .
^ "Radio Times - TV listings guide" . RadioTimes .
^ "Topul celor mai difuzate piese în România în 2010" (in Romanian). România Liberă . Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011 . ;
^ "Mika - Boy Who Knew Too Much (Special ed) - Amazon.com Music" .
^ http://image.kyobobook.co.kr/newimages/music/large/6393/2393644.jpg
^ "YESASIA : Mika - The Boy Who Knew Too Much (2CD) (Korea Special Edition) (Korea Version) 鐳射唱片 - MIKA - 西方/世界音樂 - 郵費全免" .
^ "Representando a la Industria Argentina de la Música" . CAPIF. 31 January 2010. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2010 .
^ "Australian Record Industry Association" . Ariacharts.com.au. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2009 .
^ "Ultratop Belgian Charts" . ultratop.be. Retrieved 27 September 2009 .
^ "Ultratop Belgian Charts" . ultratop.be. Retrieved 27 September 2009 .
^ Steffen Hung (6 March 2009). "Dutch charts portal" . dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 27 September 2009 .
^ "Lescharts" . Lescharts. Retrieved 27 September 2009 .
^ "Madonnas Traumstart in den Album-Charts - media control" . Media-control.de. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2010 .
^ ">> IRMA << Irish Charts - Singles, Albums & Compilations >>" . Irma.ie. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 27 September 2009 .
^ Steffen Hung. "Mika - The Boy Who Knew Too Much" . italiancharts.com. Retrieved 23 May 2010 .
^ Steffen Hung. "Mika - The Boy Who Knew Too Much" . mexicancharts.com. Retrieved 23 May 2010 .
^ Steffen Hung. "Mika - The Boy Who Knew Too Much" . norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 23 May 2010 .
^ Steffen Hung. "Mika - The Boy Who Knew Too Much" . portuguesecharts.com. Retrieved 23 May 2010 .
^ "Czech Albums – Top 100" . ČNS IFPI . Retrieved September 25, 2009.
^ "Radio 1 - The Official Chart with Reggie Yates - The Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart" . BBC. 24 February 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010 .
^ "European Top 100 Albums" . Billboard . 31 December 2010.
^ "Le Top de l'année : Top Albums Fusionnés - Année 2009" . SNEP . Retrieved 21 February 2015 .
^ "Swiss Year-End Charts 2009" . Media Control . Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2009 .
^ "Canadian album certifications – Mika – The Boy Who Knew Too Much" . Music Canada . Retrieved 29 June 2012 .
^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2009" . Ultratop . Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 June 2012 .
^ "French album certifications – Mika – The Boy Who Knew Too Much" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique . Retrieved 29 June 2012 .
^ "Italian album certifications – Mika – The Boy Who Knew Too Much" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana . Retrieved 16 November 2015 . Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
^ certyear AND certweek ARE REQUIRED for SPANISH CERTIFICATION.
^ "South Korean album certifications – Mika" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA).
^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (' The Boy Who Knew Too Much' )" . IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 June 2012 .
^ Myers, Justin (1 July 2016). "One hit album wonders – huge albums that were hard acts to follow" . Official Charts Company . Retrieved 30 July 2016 .
^ "British album certifications – Mika – The Boy Who Knew Too Much" . British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 31 July 2016 . Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Boy Who Knew Too Much in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
^ http://moov.hk/moovnow/music/album/albumdetail.do?contributorid=&roleid=&albumid=VAUN00018142A
^ ":: Universal Music Argentina :: Mika :: Noticia" . Universalmusic.com.ar. Retrieved 23 May 2010 .[permanent dead link ]
^ "HYANG MUSIC 향뮤직" .
^ "HYANG MUSIC 향뮤직" .
^ "YESASIA : The Boy Who Knew Too Much (Asia Tour Edition) (2CD+Tofu) 鐳射唱片 - MIKA, 環球唱片(香港) - 西方/世界音樂 - 郵費全免" .
External links
Studio albums Compilation albums Extended plays Singles Concert tours DVDs