to a query in an interview as to what constituted the elements of a good song: "You got to have a chorus and a verse". Many songs incorporate a bridge section following the second chorus section (most notably "25 Minutes", "That's Why (You Go Away)", "Someday", "Paint My Love", "Blue Night" etc.). Many songs also contain instrumental solos, more commonly, guitar (e.g. "Someday", "That's Why (You Go Away)", "How Many Hours", "The Actor", "Something You Should Know", "Breaking My Heart", "Watch Your Back" etc.) and sometimes the keyboard (e.g. "Messages"), following the second chorus or following the bridge, in case the latter is present. Vocal harmonies also constitute a common feature of their songs. Lentz admits that they never really jam to come out with or develop upon a song and most of MLTR's songs are written and composed by Jascha Richter on the piano. According to Richter, however, after he has written the song, Lentz takes the ideas further and makes it into a final production. Lentz insists that MLTR do not fit to any genre of music except for having a classic pop-sound. Further, he believes the secret behind MLTR's sustained music career is the non-conformance to any musical trends; "We never tried to follow trends. I think that's the reason we are still around. There's been trip hop, grunge, pop. We never fitted into these trends. What seems to be tough then is now our strength. They're just songs. The songs don't belong to a musical wave." Michael Learns to Rock have cited their influences to be Supertramp, Elton John, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Eagles, Billy Joel, ABBA, Bee Gees and "all the bands that write good lyrics" (as Mikkel Lentz puts it tongue-in-cheek). Lentz, however, denies the influence of Michael Jackson on their music. However, Jascha Richter reveals on his Facebook page in response to a fan's query that Michael Jackson's music did influence their music, especially the latter's Bad album which was released in the year preceding MLTR's formation. Also, Jascha Richter has cited Talk Talk, a-ha and Eurythmics to be his influences. A-ha's international success, in spite of originating from the small Scandinavian country of Norway, instilled the self-belief in the MLTR members that even they, hailing from a similarly small Scandinavian country (Denmark), could carve out a career for themselves in international music. Despite being branded simplistic, easy-listening and sometimes,