Mika explains why he wrote the lyric ‘where have all the gay guys gone?’
Mika has explained the meaning of a new song, that asks the question “where have all the gay guys gone?”.
At the start of new track Good Guys, the out singer questions: “Don’t be offended, this might seem a little wrong… but where have all the gay guys gone?”
Speaking to Gay.com, Mika explained the meaning behind the song, lamenting the disappearance of his gay role models.
He said: “I found myself in very big business—commercial sessions in big studios my first week of writing for the album. I looked around and said, ‘My god, you guys basically write most of the pop music in the world.’
“And they were all eating takeout, two of them had just been to the gym, and I looked at them a minute and said, ‘That’s great, but… where have all the gay guys gone?’
“They looked at me kind of blank-faced. But really, where have they all gone in the tin-pan alley part of pop music—the writing and the production? I found it funny. They didn’t find it funny at all.
“As I sat down to write, I thought about that conversation and realized it wasn’t as jokey or as dumb as it sounded. It was almost like a message to myself. Where are the people that inspired me when I was 15-years-old, all these heroes that I held up so high?
“Where are they now? Why can’t I truly dare to be like them? How do I capture that?
“How do I be in the canon of those men that truly lived their lives without feeling consequences even if they had to deal with them?
“It was an exciting moment for me thinking, Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll go there. Let me try to be like the person I always wished I’d have the courage to be when I was younger.
“The answer is not the objective; It’s the process of asking and the self-confrontation.”
He also spoke about gay singers who fail to mention sexuality in their lyrics to adopt a broader appeal.
He said: “[Historically] music has been one of the few places where, even with an intolerant society, there’s been freedom of expression.
“Now, from a media perspective, it’s a different thing. Within mainstream media, the ideal is a non-reactivity and not even a mention.
“So, no matter the sexuality or the sex that a singer is singing about in a love song for example, it will not affect the format that the song will fall into—it will not infringe upon any part of one’s commercial success or exposure.”
Sam Smith has previously said he doesn’t mention his sexuality in his music so it can appeal to everyone.
