27 January 2026 - MIKA - Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)

Most of you don't know who MIKA is.  

Or what the Butterfly Lounge is.

You're about to. 

The Butterfly Lounge was a nightclub in Orange County, California.  It closed in 2014 after a short run, and left a cultural impact.  It was known to be a size acceptance club, where skinny women were turned away.  

It also wasn't classy.  It was next to a highway and smelled of sweat and stale beer.  But that was part of its charm!!

MIKA - the stage name of Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr.- happened to be flying to Los Angeles and, the night before his flight, he couldn't sleep.  So he turned on Channel 4 and saw a documentary in the middle of the night about The Butterfly Lounge, which he thought was spectacular.  So, he wrote the song THAT NIGHT.

He wrote the song because Victoria Wood went to the Butterfly Lounge.

Released as a single in 2007, it was a UK hit - and got a mixed reception because, well, something something making the world go 'round. 

So, from his debut album, Life In Cartoon Motion, here's MIKA. 

You know, MIKA had a new album out last week. Hyperlove.  Go listen to it. It's pretty good. 

That doesn't mean he doesn't perform this very fun song live, still. This performance is from 2023.

Of course the crowd loves it.

And of course he still holds the Butterfly Lounge in high regard. 

Also, I LOVE that he's got the balls to go right into the crowd.

 

That's a thing he does (and did in 2025, too!).

And now I want to go to a MIKA show.