Self-absorbed and awkwardly exhibitionistic, Mika would be the Brüno of platinum piano pop if he didn’t ground his giddiness with old-fashioned chops. This Beirut-born Brit’s songwriting craft and vocal dazzle may be flagrantly uncool, but they’re also refreshingly unencumbered: Nixing the sappy bits that dampened his debut, he rewrites the hooks from your parents’ favorite Bon Jovi/Belinda Carlisle hits into earnest proclamations of teenage eccentricity, then waves his jazz hands in naysayers’ faces.
WATCH: Mika, “We Are Golden”
