NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- Mika knows how to dress for the occasion . Mika 's new album , `` The Boy Who Knew Too Much , '' acknowledges some of his teen issues . The singer showed up to CNN.com 's interview in bright blue felt suspenders , or `` braces '' as they 're called in his UK homeland ; `` suspenders '' are the naughty things ladies wear to keep their stockings up . `` On CNN you 've got a thing about suspenders , do n't you ? '' he says , referring to Larry King 's penchant for wearing them . ( CNN International anchor Richard Quest is fond of suspenders as well . ) `` So I thought , why not join the ranks ? '' Not that Mika , born Michael Holbrook Penniman , likes to do what everyone else is doing . His 2007 breakout album , `` Life in Cartoon Motion , '' introduced him as an eccentric , wild-haired singer with a falsetto voice that might 've seemed out of place on the modern pop scene . But he certainly commanded attention . Watch Mika hold the scene » . Fueled by peppy hits such as `` Love Today '' and `` Grace Kelly , '' Mika 's bejeweled star shot high , with more than 6 million albums sold worldwide and top fashion designers wanting to dress him ( Christian Louboutin designs shoes for the 6-foot-4 singer ) . Mika , 26 , now has a follow-up album , `` The Boy Who Knew Too Much , '' which addresses some of the awkwardness he experienced as a teen . `` I was terrified of talking to people , '' he says . `` I was a bit of a loner . I 'm angry with myself about that . I wish I had more guts when I was younger because then I would 've said things to people 's faces instead of just running away all the time . '' No matter . Now he just turns his gripes into songs . `` If you put a message and a catchy melody together , suddenly they want to listen to what you 're saying . That 's the thing about pop music : it hoodwinks you into listening to it before you even know what it 's talking about . I guess that 's why I fell in love with it . It 's funny because I think when you look at most of the people in the world who write pop music , they were never popular when they were younger . '' Tracking Mika . Mika kicks off a 10-city North American tour in Toronto , Canada , on October 12 . Check his Web site for dates , or just listen out for the `` doom da da di da di doom da da di da di . '' Like pop , like comics . Mika and his sister do all the illustrations for his album artwork and posters . Says Mika : `` I 'm a big illustration and comic book fan . In my eyes , comic books and illustration are the same kind of art forms . They 're immediate . It has to hit you really fast . Pop music works from the same principles . In comic books , you always have black outlines . It 's almost like the melody of a pop song is the black outlines you find in a comic book . '' Mum kills the fun . Mika had booked a luxury home in Beverly Hills , California , as a base to record his new album . But two days before he was to move in , his mother put the kibosh on the plans and insisted her son work from the same dingy apartment he recorded his debut . `` Mum said the more money you spend on your comfort , the worse your album will be . You make the choice . '' He relented . Was it worth it ? `` No ! I still wish I stayed in the big fancy house . It would 've been a lot more fun ! '' How high can he go ? Mika : `` Some people say I 've got a five-octave range , which is ridiculous . That would mean I 'd sing like Mariah Carey or that alien in 'The Fifth Element . ' And I 'm nothing like that blue alien . I 've got a range of about 3 1/2 octaves . ''
Mika 's new album is ` ` The Boy Who Knew Too Much '' Speaking of ` ` ' ' '' says it is about awkward times as youth . He 's had great success now , almost recorded new album in plush bed . Mother said he should n't , that comfort would make the album worse .