Mikko Blaze

The Minnesota Music Note - Ep 44 - World Karaoke Champion, Drag Performer & Musician | Mikko Blaze

4mo ago

Fun facts from the interview

• Mikko won the 2018 Karaoke World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, after winning the U.S. national solo title.
• With duet partner Beth, Mikko won the U.S. national duet title and then took silver at the world finals in Helsinki.
• The world title came with a 2019 trip to Tokyo, where Mikko sang two original songs on Japanese national TV.
• Mikko won $1,000 in a karaoke contest at the Minnesota State Fair in 2016, sang with Hurricane Karaoke, and was asked to join the band soon after.
• Hurricane Karaoke is a live band that backs karaoke singers at weddings and corporate parties. In Hurricane Blaze, Mikko sings the whole night.
• Whale Tale has five singers and can switch songs on the fly, once jumping from a Bill Withers tune into Rage Against the Machine.
• Mikko sang a Prince song to a sold-out crowd at First Avenue, and was so nervous backstage about messing up the lyrics.
• During a Pride show at First Avenue, Mikko was pulled onstage as a dancer for Lizzo.
• Mikko grew up singing R&B, and only learned rock songs like Iron Maiden after joining Hurricane Karaoke.
• Mikko speaks fluent English and Spanish, and read 131 books in one year to build vocabulary for songwriting.
• Mikko's goal is an album with songs that make people cry and songs that make them dance.
• Recommended Whale Tale guitarist Michael and a punk rocker named Tim as future guests.