Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 18
  2. Negative: 2 out of 18
  1. Anyone who liked "Life in Cartoon Motion's" bright, brash approach won't be disappointed by The Boy Who Knew Too Much--it's clear Mika knows exactly what he's doing.
  2. Halfway into The Boy Who Knew Too Much, Mika is batting six for six into his technicolor outfield. By track 13, the last track, I want to congratulate Mika on exceeding the pop-tastic qualities of his debut.
  3. Uncut
    40
    But none of it recaptures the sheer commercial inevitability of his debut. [Nov 2009, p. 96]
  4. Q Magazine
    80
    This is as bold, daring and vibrant an album as we'll hear this year. [Oct 2009, p.106]
  5. Mika's faith in the campy excess of Freddie Mercury/Elton John-style pomp pop is bracing. But over the course of an album, the shtick's charm erodes.
  6. Like its predecessor, The Boy Who Knew Too Much is an eclectic work, lurching between exuberant pop, vaudevillian knees-ups, disco and sombre ballads. Mika would probably describe the album as 'kaleidoscopic', but it can come across as scattershot and unfocused.
  7. At the core of these songs are gleaming melodies that rarely fail to hit the mark, which is why even the single 'We Are Golden' is tolerable despite the best efforts of a gang of horribly exuberant kiddie backing singers.
  8. Mika has slapped together a pop-music patchwork capable of appealing to anyone who’s ever liked a song on the radio.
  9. 70
    Nixing the sappy bits that dampened his debut, he rewrites the hooks from your parents' favorite Bon Jovi/Belinda Carlisle hits into earnest proclamations of teenage eccentricity, then waves his jazz hands in naysayers' faces.
  10. By the time the pop-induced sugar rush wears off you realize that, besides being done before, these songs have definitely been done better. Worse yet, all you've got to show for it is a headache.
  11. It's a Technicolor pop explosion designed for throwing your jazz hands into the air.
  12. Too much of Boy is the bad kind of theatrical, less an album than an aural assault.
  13. "Cartoon Motion" was a nice moment for Mika, but this second album does not improve or advance what he did before. In fact, he seems to have regressed through his venture into childhood on The Boy Who Knew Too Much.
  14. If you prefer your pop preternaturally gleeful, Mika is your man. The Boy Who Knew Too Much, his second kaleidoscopic pile-up, is chock-full of bright, brash anthems.
  15. On The Boy Who Knew Too Much, British piano-popper Mika tackles the popular songwriters' gristle of teen angst but filters it through a cracked technicolor symphony of show-tune harmonies, careening falsettos and deliciously manic productions.
  16. Deeper and darker takes longer to charm, which is bad for singles, but should see the album's shelf life extend to long after Mika's novelty has worn off.
  17. On The Boy Who Knew Too Much, this Beirut-born singer comes back strong with another set of over-the-top anthems that proves no one's more entitled to inherit Freddie Mercury's glam-god crown.
  18. His serious moments are as hard to comprehend as a Chuckle Brother tackling a eulogy: you know he must feel emotion because he is a human being, but you are constantly expecting the arrival, stage right, of a pantomime cow.
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 63 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 63
  2. Negative: 10 out of 63
  1. Aug 21, 2020
    10
    I really liked this brilliant album and its themes, the universe of it. I also like the contrast between the dark lyrics and the joyful melody :D
  2. May 4, 2013
    7
    Overall this is a good album. It starts well with songs such as 'We are Golden' and 'Blame it on the Girls' catching on quickly. However theOverall this is a good album. It starts well with songs such as 'We are Golden' and 'Blame it on the Girls' catching on quickly. However the album slowly goes down hill with the songs getting, in my opinion, less catchy and a bit boring the further you go down the album. Full Review »
  3. Oct 9, 2011
    6
    Why there's not more Mikas out there? Great lyrics, mixing comedy and ordinary themes, he could offer a great pop album, that turned out a lotWhy there's not more Mikas out there? Great lyrics, mixing comedy and ordinary themes, he could offer a great pop album, that turned out a lot better than his first one! Watch on "Rain", "Relax, Take It Easy" and "Happy Ending". I know he can do a lot better, and it's a very promising third album coming up! Full Review »