On the 12th of November, Mika released a greatest hits collection called Songbook Vol. 1. So far, the cd will only be released in Italy Pop magpie Mikas bright, kaleidoscopic music has drawn comparisons to everyone from Queen and Elton John to the Scissor Sisters and Rufus Wainwright. Born Michael Holbrook Penniman in Beirut to a Lebanese mother and American father, Mika and his parents moved to Paris while he was still a very young child, and eventually London by the time he was nine years old. The frequent moves, incidents like his father being taken hostage at Kuwaits American Embassy, and bullying at school affected young Mika to the point where he stopped talking and was taken out of school for six months.