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Eurovision 2022: How old is Mika and when was Grace Kelly in the charts?

Eurovision 2022 How old is Mika and when was Grace Kelly in the charts
Ca-ching!
Pop star Mika wearing a suit.
Mika is presenting the Eurovision Song Contest this year (Picture: Ida Mae AstuteWalt Disney Television via Getty Images)

Just when we thought Eurovision 2022 couldn’t get better – it was confirmed that Mika will host the international song contest.

The ‘Relax, Take It Easy’ hitmaker will be joined by Italian singer Laura Pausini and TV presenter Alessandro Cattelan, with the trio hosting the semi-final (May 10) and the grand final (May 14).

Although Mika has a full repertoire of bops, including ‘Big Girls (You Are Beautiful)’ and ‘We Are Golden’, the Lebanese-British singer is best known for his smash hit ‘Grace Kelly’.

But how old is pop sensation, and when did his most notable song first enter the charts?

Here is when Mika went identity mad.

How old is Mika?

Mika, or Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr to his parents, was born on August 18, 1983 – making him 38 years old.

Mika with Laura Pausini and Alessandro Cattelan at Eurovision
Marco Piraccini/Archivio Marco Piraccini/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

He was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Mary and Michael Holbrook Penniman.

When Mika was a year old, his family was forced to leave war-torn Lebanon and moved to Paris, France.

It was here that Mika gained his passion for music, learning the piano and writing his first song – a piano instrumental entitled ‘Angry’ – at age seven.

His family moved to London when he was nine years old, where he eventually attended Westminster School and the Royal College of Music.

After he graduated, Mika went on to record his first album at Casablanca Records.

His first single, ‘Relax, Take It Easy’, was released in 2006.

When was Mika’s hit song Grace Kelly in the charts?

Mika’s song ‘Grace Kelly’ first entered the UK’s Official Singles Chart at number three on January 14, 2007.

Feeling old yet?

A week after, it made it to number one, booting X Factor winner Leona Lewis’ A Moment Like This off the top spot.

The song went on to spend five weeks at number one and selling over 604,000 copies and becoming the third biggest-selling single of 2007.

The official music video for the song has had over 53.5 million views on YouTube.

If you’ve forgotten how this particular earworm goes, then why not give it a listen below?

Humphry, we’re leaving.

The Eurovision 2022 semi-final airs tonight on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer at 8pm.

MORE : UK hopeful Sam Ryder worried about getting the dreaded ‘nil points’ in Eurovision

MORE : Eurovision fan or not – here’s everything you need to know before you visit Turin

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