Happy Ending (Mika song)

Background and composition

Mika described the story behind the song:

It's about a few things. In a way, it's a kind of sad break-up song like 'My Interpretation'. But, at the same time, it's about a lot of other things. I'll never forget when I was actually recording this song in Los Angeles, I would take this drive from where I was staying to the studio, which wasn't in the city and the amount of homeless people I saw on the way was absolutely shocking. Those horrible images of homelessness that I would see every morning really connected with that song. So it just comes to show you that a bright song in a certain mindset had a meaning that really evolves and changes as time goes by. I think that it is very important that other listeners find their own meaning to songs. So many people are very openly suggestive to the point of being abstract. It's the most powerful thing when that becomes the song.

The woman singing with Mika in “Happy Ending” on the album is Ida Falk Winland, an opera singer and former classmate of Mika from the Royal College of Music.

Critical reception

The song received critical acclaim. Christian John Wikane from PopMatters commented about his voice on the track, writing that "Like a choirboy singing by candlelight, Mika awakes goose bumps with the chilling purity of his voice." Graham Griffith from About.com was succinct, writing that the song is "gorgeous", while Lizzie Ennever from BBC Music described it as a "lovely, piano-led" song.

John Murphy from musicOMH wrote an extense article about the song. He wrote that it "sees a wonderful vocal performance from Mika, sounding eerily like early Michael Jackson at one point, and working extraordinarily well with his backing vocals. It's the sort of song you can imagine playing over the final scene of an 'emotional' drama on TV."

Music video

The music video starts with a piano playing on its own, then the camera shows Mika on the bed. He is singing and has a pink balloon attached on his arm and while he is floating above, it reveals Mika with a pink suit. His room walls are shown full of pictures that start moving their mouths and singing with Mika. Mika passes through white balloons, which show all the times he felt different emotions. The video ends with Mika singing, and gloved hands resembling singing faces. He smiles as the screen goes black. The music video was directed by AlexandLiane.

Popular culture

• The song was featured on The CW shows Gossip Girl (2007–2012) and Privileged (2008–2009). The song was also used in the season and series finale for another The CW show, Hellcats, in 2011.
• The song was used for a contemporary dance performed by Natalli and Vincent on So You Think You Can Dance Canada in 2008.
• The song was used in a commercial for Kookmin Bank.
• The song could often be heard on The X Factor in the UK after 2007 during the audition rounds.
• A cappella group Noteworthy chose the song as their Swan Song on NBC's The Sing-Off in 2009
• The instrumental version of the song was featured in the second series of Supersize vs Superskinny in 2009.
• Part of the song was featured in The Axis of Awesome's 2011 song "Four Chords", as an example of a song that uses the I–V–vi–IV progression.
• The song was featured in a Pantene shampoo and conditioner advertisement in 2010, and until 2012 in Asia.
• The song was used in a 2015 campaign for Si by Giorgio Armani featuring Cate Blanchett.

Track listings

UK CD single

1. "Happy Ending" (LA Edit) – 3:32
2. "Grace Kelly" (Acoustic) – 3:04
3. "Happy Ending" (The Kleerup Mix) – 4:16

Limited-edition 7-inch vinyl

1. "Happy Ending" (LA Edit) – 3:32
2. "Love Today" (Acoustic) – 2:57

UK 12-inch single

1. "Happy Ending" (Quentin Harris Remix) – 8:32
2. "Happy Ending" (Quentin Harris Instrumental) – 8:14
3. "Happy Ending" (This Time Of Night Remix) – 5:40
4. "Happy Ending" (Trail Mix) – 4:20

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

References

1. link. (21 August 2007 . Retrieved 26 August 2007.)
2. [http://www.themusicnetwork.com.au/20.0.html "Australian music Network"] {{webarchive. link. (7 March 2008 . ''The Music Network''. Retrieved 16 October 2007.)
3. [http://www.heraldsunhit.com.au/product/happy_ending_1596150_49159.html] {{Webarchive. link. (26 December 2007 [[Herald Sun]] HiT. Retrieved on 5 November 2007.)
4. (30 November 2023). "Happy Ending — Mika". [[Last.fm]].
5. Wikane, Christian John. (26 March 2007). "Mika: Life in Cartoon Motion < PopMatters". [[PopMatters]].
6. "MIKA - Life in Cartoon Motion". [[About.com]].
7. Ennever, Lizzie. (2 February 2007). "BBC - Music - Review of Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion". [[BBC]].
8. Murphy, John. (5 February 2007). "Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion | album reviews | musicOMH". [[MusicOMH]].
9. "Mika: Happy Ending (Video 2007) - IMDb".
10. "Giorgio Armani Si TV Spot, 'Si to Life' Feat. Cate Blanchett, Song by MIKA".
11. "2008/7. heti Editors' Choice Top 40 slágerlista". [[Association of Hungarian Record Companies.
12. (20 October 2007). "Top 50 Airplay Chart".
13. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2007". Australian Recording Industry Association.
14. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2007". Official Charts Company.
15. "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2008". Australian Recording Industry Association.
16. "Jaaroverzichten 2008". Ultratop.
17. "Rapports Annuels 2008". Ultratop.
18. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2008". Dutch Top 40.
19. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2008". MegaCharts.
20. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2008".