MIKA review: ‘An unforgettable, feel-good experience from an elite showman’
“Some days everything feels the wrong way around and you are seconds away from spinning out of control; do we embrace it?” asked MIKA at Manchester’s AO Arena on Wednesday evening. Judging by the various wheels on stage, ranging from a stage-sized Ferris wheel to clockwork wheels and even a human-sized hamster wheel, Manchester wouldn’t have it any other way, as the AO Arena was treated to an unforgettable, feel-good experience from an elite showman in what was MIKA’s first-ever arena-headlining show.
Since breaking through into the mainstream with his UK chart-topping, multi-platinum debut album, ‘Life in Cartoon Motion’, MIKA has become an artist renowned for his vivid imagination and commanding showmanship, garnering comparisons to the late great Freddie Mercury, but the 42-year-old’s journey to becoming an arena-headlining act in the UK has certainly been a unique one.
The artist’s second studio album ‘The Boy Who Knew Too Much’ went platinum in the United Kingdom, but the two follow-ups – ‘The Origin of Love’ and ‘No Place In Heaven’ – were more successful in the European market, leading to the artist’s decision to channel his focus on mainland Europe, where he later featured on both ‘X-Factor Italia’ and the French version of ‘The Voice’, and in 2023, released a French-language record in ‘Que ta tête fleurisse toujours’..
However, thanks to Channel 4’s competition TV series ‘The Piano’, MIKA has become fully reconnected with the UK market. ‘Hyperlove’ became his first English-language album in seven years upon its release in January, and last night’s performance at AO Arena, the first of two arena-headlining shows in the UK in 2026, saw the 42-year-old in fine form from the outset as he opened the set, hoisted above the stage in a human-sized hamster wheel for a thrillingly flawless rendition of ‘Modern Times’. The dark, hypnotic synths of ‘Eleven’ were unleashed soon after, leaving the audience immersed in the world the artist has created, and the funky, driving bass lines of ‘Relax, Take It Easy’ were another major highlight in an energetic opening from a powerhouse performer.
Surrounded by the elaborate staging that included the aforementioned collection of wheels and two staircases positioned on either side to add to the unique feel of the evening, there are few live experiences comparable to the spectacle of a MIKA performance. The pulsating ‘Spinning Out’ saw the 42-year-old harnessed inside a rotating hamster wheel; the sugary ‘Lollipop’ saw the singer decked out in a pink suit and jokingly raised a toast to those enjoying their “£15 pints”, all while narrating a childlike story.
‘Popular Song’, a surprise rendition in Manchester, saw the singer unveil a large, inflatable rainbow all while playing conductor on a raucous singalong. The introduction to the all-time classic ‘Grace Kelly’ felt like a moment befitting rock theatricality as darkness filled the arena for an interlude that consisted of hard-hitting drumming and a punchy guitar line before the sight of MIKA standing beside a gigantic megaphone appeared, leading into a spine-tingling rendition of the aforementioned ‘Grace Kelly’.
‘Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)’ felt like a celebratory moment of defiance as the singer climbed through the crowd in both the stands, whom he affectionately referred to as angels, and the standing pit, or hell as he referred to it, for what was the most euphoric singalong of the evening. The tear-jerking balladry of ‘Happy Ending’ was a lights-on moment that felt wholly intimate despite being performed to an audience of 20,000+, and the magnitude of the occasion seemingly dawned on the singer himself as he basked in a well-earned standing ovation at the end of the track.
Rather fittingly, the 42-year-old launched the encore with the French chart-topper ‘Elle me Dit’. Did the majority of the audience understand the language? Unlikely, but was the vibe understood? Perfectly, it was a moment of spirit, feeling and a feel-good moment, and few provide them better than MIKA. Until the end of the performance, the wit, charm, charisma and humour were in abundance as the singer jokingly declared, “If you see me in the supermarket wearing this suit. You would probably phone the police,” to a collection of laughs when touching on his sparkly green suit before a one-two punch of ‘Love Today’ and ‘Yo-Yo’ wrapped up a thrilling evening that underlined that no matter how you are feeling, there’s nothing that’ll cheer you up more than a MIKA performance.