Sunday Sounds: June 28, 2020, “Grace Kelly”
Samantha Colleran, June 2020
Today is the last Sunday of June, so we’re ending the month with the breakout track from MIKA titled “Grace Kelly”. Prior to writing this song, MIKA had a lot of trouble breaking through in the music scene, it took him a long time to score a record deal. He was viewed as too poppy for the indie scene, and the mainstream scene found him too strange. Right before he wrote this song, an executive told him he would never sell any records. Fueled by anger, MIKA penned the lyrics and it became one of his most successful hits.
The song is named after actress-turned-princess Grace Kelly. Throughout the song, there are spoken parts which are direct quotes from the movie The Country Girl, the movie that earned Grace Kelly an Oscar win against Judy Garland in 1954. The lyrics “I tried to be like Grace Kelly, mm/ But her looks were too sad, ah” refers to the fact that she gave up her Hollywood fame in order to marry Rainier III and became Princess of Monaco in 1956. Giving up her career in show business led to an unfulfilling life, and MIKA makes it clear he doesn’t want to give up his dream of being a successful musician. He doesn’t want to fit the mold that executives think he should conform to, so he gives different suggestions of things he can do or be in order to please those who tell him to change his image, ultimately deciding to stay true to himself. It’s a strong statement about the industry and choosing to create your own path despite people telling you that you’ll never make it. This song allowed MIKA to make a name in the industry by being himself, which is the perfect way to prove to those who doubted him that he made it. Check out the song below, and let me know your thoughts in the comments!
That was great 👍🏻 I would never have heard this were it not for this blog and I love
that !!! Really good exposition on Mica, too.
Great blog. xx celia
That was fun!