Nov 5
MIKA’s “Modern Times”: Queer Pop’s Cathedral Cry for Connection
READ TIME: 3 MIN.
It’s nearly two decades since MIKA burst onto the queer pop scene with “Life in Cartoon Motion,” painting the charts in vibrant, unapologetic technicolor. Now, as the world spins faster and the grind grows heavier, the British-Lebanese icon returns with “Modern Times”—a single that’s not just a bop, but a beacon, inviting LGBTQ+ fans into a cathedral of sound and spirit .
“The song for me is like a treadmill, and that treadmill is life, life in all its good and all its bad,” MIKA confides. “Modern Times is a cathedral-like cry, for faith and spirit, resisting the grind and weight of life and the passing of time.” In the age of endless scrolling and algorithmic anxiety, who among us hasn’t felt the press of that treadmill? For queer audiences, especially, MIKA’s words thrum with extra resonance—a reminder that our joy, our longing, and our resistance are all part of the rhythm.
“Modern Times” launches with five layered piano lines, described as “the turning cogs of a mechanical machine that beats the rhythm of a heartbeat” . It’s a sonic metaphor for the intricate machinery of modern queer existence: we hustle, we hope, we dream—and along the way, we find each other.
Produced in collaboration with Nick Littlemore of Empire of the Sun, the track bridges continents and genres, a global pop conversation that’s as diverse as the LGBTQ+ community itself . The accompanying music video, shot in Vienna by Rupert Höller, is an avant-garde feast, swirling with myth and desire—a visual playground where difference is celebrated and fantasy is real .
“Modern Times” sets the stage for MIKA’s forthcoming seventh studio album, written in bursts of creativity from Los Angeles and New York to the hills of Tuscany and skyscrapers of Bangkok . This album is, in MIKA’s own words, “one that means so much to me… the amount of amazing, talented people that have come together all across the world to make this record that I really believe means so much to all of us.”
The anticipation is amplified by the announcement of The Spinning Out Tour, MIKA’s largest-ever European arena run, kicking off February 2026 with major dates at London’s OVO Arena Wembley and Manchester’s AO Arena . For many queer fans, these shows are more than concerts—they’re communal rituals, places where the pop spectacle becomes a celebration of chosen family and collective courage.
Since his dazzling debut, MIKA has been a torchbearer for queer representation in mainstream music—his flamboyant performances and open embrace of difference have made him an icon for LGBTQ+ listeners worldwide . With hits like “Grace Kelly” and “We Are Golden,” MIKA’s discography is a soundtrack to queer coming-of-age, heartbreak, and hope.
His previous album, *Que ta tête fleurisse toujours,* was a French-language triumph, debuting Top 5 in France and earning Gold certification . That record’s success, coupled with recent accolades like the Nordoff & Robbins Global Impact Award and his role as co-host of the 2025 Attitude Awards, underscores his ongoing commitment to visibility and empowerment .
In a social climate where anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and legislation still threaten hard-won rights and visibility, the defiant optimism of “Modern Times” feels radical. MIKA’s music—layered, theatrical, unabashedly emotional—offers queer audiences sanctuary and solidarity. The single’s “cathedral-like cry for faith and spirit” isn’t just poetic; it’s political, reminding us that joy is resistance and connection is survival .
As we approach the end of 2025, queer pop is more than entertainment—it’s a lifeline, a mirror, a megaphone. MIKA’s return is a rallying call: “As time goes on and life gets more confusing and sometimes overwhelming, we look further than the world around us, into the world of mythology, desire and dreams” . For every LGBTQ+ person seeking meaning in the madness, “Modern Times” offers hope wrapped in melody.
As MIKA gears up for his Spinning Out Tour, the excitement is palpable. The arenas he’ll fill are more than venues—they’re temples of queer resilience, echoing with every “cathedral cry” of faith, spirit, and solidarity . If you’re booking tickets or streaming the single, know that you’re joining a movement: one that dances, dreams, and refuses to be ground down by the treadmill of modern life.
So crank up “Modern Times,” let the rhythm carry you, and remember: in the pop cathedral MIKA builds, every queer heart is sacred—and every beat is a testament to survival, self-love, and the power of community.
