When I look back at the movies, shows, and music I liked in high school, almost all of it is embarrassing now. But if there's one thing from those awkward years that I'm not ashamed of, it's my love for pop singer Mika, whose debut album, Life in Cartoon Motion, was released in 2007. I first discovered Mika when my cousin was driving my sister and me to see Shrek the Third. (Unlike Mika's album, that film has not stood the test of time. Or any test, really.) I thought "Love Today" was out-of-this-world fun, and I immediately bought the CD — yes, it was a physical CD back then. The album topped charts in the U.K., even if Americans hadn't yet caught onto Mika's brilliance. For someone like me, accustomed to whatever was on the small-town Southern radio at the time, the album was unlike anything I'd ever heard. And while I may not have realized it then, Life in Cartoon Motion would become a lot more than a fun CD to listen to in the car. The messages behind Mika's music helped shape who I'd become as I internalized them during those formative years. At first, I was drawn to the album because of its upbeat songs. The first single, "Grace Kelly," was so weird that it was impossible to explain to any of my friends, although I definitely tried. I knew pop music as including artists like Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne (I know), and this was a different ballgame entirely. The chorus of "Lollipop" was made to sing along to, which is likely part of the reason it was eventually covered in 2015's Pitch Perfect 2.