Famed songwriter MIKA (or Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr. if you prefer) released his latest single yesterday, titled “Yo Yo“. It’s all ready for his job as host of the Eurovision song contest tonight (which will be centred in the country of last year’s winners – Italy) as the singer is expected to perform the track on the night.
Described as a “dance-driven alt-pop song“ by NME, MIKA said that with the track he wished to “write a song that could make you cry and dance at the same time. It’s a song to make the world, in all its harshness, feel better. Something that will always be there to comfort you. I wrote this for you, as you listen in your room, or in a club: it doesn’t matter it’s just about you.”
If you like the track then be sure to tune in for his performance on tonight’s Eurovision Song Contest, which starts on BBC One at 8pm. MIKA will be presenting alongside the Italian singer Laura Pausini and Alessandro Cattelan. Among their other special guests will include last year’s winners Måneskin, who will be performing their latest single “Supermodel“.
Some of the contestants include the UK’s very own Sam Ryder, who gained fame on TikTok posting videos of himself singing songs such as Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time“. Apparently many say he has a good chance of even bagging first prize, but not as much as the Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine, whose song is called “Stefania”.
Of course, recent political events on the world stage can’t have been ignored, with Kalush Orchestra’s Oleh Psiuk having his say on what it means to represent his country during a time of crisis. “To represent Ukraine in the international arena is always a responsibility, but to represent it during the war is just the highest responsibility possible.”
As for MIKA, he hasn’t released a new studio album since 2019’s My Name is Michael Holbrook, and he only had one single to his name last year, so this latest offering should be exciting news for fans of the “Grace Kelly“ star. He’s also got some tour dates lined up around Europe, visiting the likes of Switzerland, France and Italy between June and September. If you fancy looking into some of these, you can find tickets here. As for those of you who don’t fancy switching countries to see him, he’ll be performing in London’s Roundhouse venue this July 3rd.
