Mika: didn't he do well!

Not a pic from tonight... but close enough!

Picture the scene: meeting up in the Black Cap wondering what time Mika will actually be on stage. A count of how many songs on the album and we surmise it'll be a 9.00pm start and he'll be finished by 10.00pm. Bless him. He came on at 9.30pm and did his album justice until at least 10.30pm.

Mika is a performer with longevity. You could see it within the first 30 seconds of his biggest gig so far. He is now officially part of the UK pop aristocracy. So much so, that if you'd said he'd been building up to this gig for only half a year (in public anyway), I wouldn't have believed you. Mika looks and sounds so comfortable on stage, so EARLY in his career it's fantastic to witness.

There was no stylistic concert-improving performances of the songs on the album. They were performed verbatim - by an unbelievably energetic band, loved the bouncy drummer girl. Since each song has their own unique character, that didn't matter. Performing them live, Mika only proved how good a songwriter he really is.

The biggest cheers and singalongs were for Big Girl (a future single, no doubt... probably Xmas party time, i bet you!), Billy Brown, Relax and, of course, Grace Kelly. Lollipop, the next single was the encore, surprisingly, but as the glitter machines exploded and the giant balloons rained down in front of loads of cameras, we realised we were part of the next video. I'm still picking glitter out of my knickers! Honest!

The crowd were loud and jumping from the minute he stepped out on stage. If anything, the quieter, more emotional songs like Happy Ending and more especially Love Today had the audience perplexed. Where was bouncy Mika? In time - this is his first 'big' tour after all - Mika's performance will have light and shade, but at the moment, just be happy with Life In Cartoon Motion...