MIKA on Being Tormented by His Teacher & Finding Safety in Music
episodePreviously titled “MIKA On Being Tormented by His Teacher & Finding Safety in Music” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 2, 2026
Transcript
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How did Mika's childhood in Beirut shape his identity?
Coming up in this episode of Great Company.
You don't understand that this is wrong. You don't understand that it's not your fault. So I shut down. He's an idiot, he's stupid, he's a waste of space, public humiliation, bullying. I would literally put my head in between the two speakers, put music on and put it as loud as possible. What, to escape the... Just to feel, yeah, something. I mean, that's worse than bad. I didn't realize that that was not wrong. Hi, I'm Mika and I'm in great company.
Platinum selling pop star Mika.
Mika.
Mika! Mika!
Every single thing that was important in my life is associated to embarrassment. Get out of here. My mother's obsession. Just try and get someone to sign me. She said, all right, now I'm going to drive you and we're going to go to Warner Music and you're going to get someone to listen to it. She made me gate crash Diana Ross's Christmas party and I sang to Shaka Khan.
What did that teach you?
I shouldn't even be saying this.
What traumatic experiences did Mika face with his teacher?
When you talk about your mom, your whole body opens up.
She was extraordinary. One thing that I'm so happy about is that I managed to take her on that journey that she always dreamt of.
You losing your mom must have been so tough.
Oh, it was so tough. You said, you said, when I lost my mother, it felt like losing my compass. I think we all kind of feel that at one point or another. If I don't have that compass, what am I going to do now to make sure I'm going the right way?
You feel life changing in front of you and it's quite a scary time. How did you know things were falling apart? I was... Hello everyone, my name is Jamie Lang and this is Great Company.
Great Company
Hey guys, welcome back to Great Company. Now, this episode today is going to absolutely blow your mind because we have the singer-songwriter Mika on the show. Now, Mika and I first met, we met when we hosted the Attitude Awards together. Right now, if you know what the Attitude Awards are, you're probably wondering why was I hosting it because Mika loved the podcast. He thought we'd make great hosts together, so invited me to go and do it. I was really touched by that.
How did music provide comfort during Mika's struggles?
And since then, we've become friends. Now, this episode is amazing because Mika is an amazing storyteller and his life is fascinating for so many reasons. He grew up in Beirut and his family had to leave because the civil war broke out. His father was held hostage. Yes, hostage. Okay. And his mom took the family away and had to bring them up by herself. Mika found music and he fell in love with music. And that was kind of his escape. He called it a hug, which you will find out all in the episode. Now, he's gone on to sell millions of albums. He was nominated for a Grammy. And so many of us have loved and listened and just fallen for everything that he's about. And this episode doesn't disappoint. Now, before we start, I just want to ask one favor.
And that is if you could please subscribe to the show. Now, the reason that does so much for us is because this show is completely free and we want to keep it that way.
What bold steps did Mika take to pursue his music career?
You don't have to pay anything. And the reason we can keep it free is because you subscribe. So if you haven't subscribed, you just click that button and it does us wonders. It keeps us getting the guests that we want to get and keep making the show that we want to make for you guys. If you can do that one thing, thank you so much. Okay. Enjoy this incredible episode of Great Company with Mika.
Hi, I'm Mika and I'm in Great Company. Can we just talk about the fact that we met because, uh, yes, my partner and I, who, you know, we listened to your podcast. So all those, I've not done many, hardly any, uh, you know, you were very much present. And I also then very rudely announced to everybody and you that he listens also to your wife's podcast, but to fall asleep.
Yeah, to fall asleep.
To fall asleep. I have to wait. The amount of times I wake up in the middle of the night and he's like... Like that. And your wife is somewhere in the bed. And I'm just like, can I just shut her up? And I'm just like, literally, and he's just snoring and she's somewhere in the bed.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did Mika's childhood in Beirut shape his identity?
0:00–0:59
2
What traumatic experiences did Mika face with his teacher?
0:59–2:05
3
How did music provide comfort during Mika's struggles?
2:05–2:53
4
What bold steps did Mika take to pursue his music career?
2:53–4:24
5
How has Mika celebrated his sexuality through his music?
4:24–5:54
6
What role does embarrassment play in Mika's life and career?
5:54–7:30
7
How did Mika's relationship with his mother influence his music?
7:30–9:20
8
What insights does Mika offer about finding safety in creativity?
9:20–1:03:09
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Great Company with Jamie Laing
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