The superstar singer on his itinerant childhood, brutally honest mother, and the moment of anger that led him to write Grace Kelly The superstar singer on his itinerant childhood, brutally honest mother, and the moment of anger that led him to write Grace Kelly Born in Beirut in 1983, Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr, otherwise known as Mika , was raised in Paris and London. He attended the Royal College of Music, before his breakthrough in 2007 with debut album Life in Cartoon Motion and its No 1