Overrated | The Voice France / MIKA & OC

5.8 - Live 2. Before the Show

I woke up in my mother's apartment, in my tiny dark room, with children's piano in the corner and walls covered with posters of Christine & The Queens and Mika.
...Mika that I've never met, my memory told me. It was just a dream, it told me. There was no bet, no audition, it was all in my head. And I was no musician, just a student who was going to be dismissed soon, like she was every time.
I watched myself get up, get dressed and head to the college, where I met my friends. I recognized that pity on their faces when I told them about my dream.
- Wish you could really sing, - Justine sighed, - We'd tell everyone that our friend is a superstar.
- Well, for some reason karma decided not to give you a talent, - Andrea shrugged, - You know, you won't go far without a talent.
- We know you want it, - they said, - Maybe it's for the best.
I heard them say something else, but didn't listen. The hopelessness and the horror of the situation was excruciating. There was no way out, I was the outsider again, the weirdo, the lost, the useless. And even Mika didn't seem like a salvation, he only made me envious of his talent. Why was he gifted and I was not? Why did I deserve to be mediocre? Why do I have to feel as if I'm wasted, wasted every day?
There was no answer.

Instead, there is someone persistently shaking me. It takes me a few seconds, then I open my eyes and see the beautiful and worried face of Karen above me.
And the first thing I do is grab her in a hug, because I feel a desperate need to make sure she's real.
- Take your time, - she mumbles in my shoulder, and after I pull away, speaks again: Were you having a nightmare? I came here to wake you up for the rehearsal, and I'm sure you were crying.
Indeed, my pillow is wet, and so are my cheeks, that I hurry to wipe with my blanket.
- The worst of them, - I agree.

Now that I remember my life 6 months ago, I can't believe I survived all this time. College that I hated because I didn't understand anything, mother who I pitied and hated because she was working herself down to the bone and I didn't want to be like her, boyfriends and girlfriends who I dropped because I couldn't feel the same way as they did, and Mika to whom I was holding on just to keep myself from going insane... To think, he was far more important than I thought. He was the only color of my life, kinda like a key to things I truly loved.
And now I think how stupid I was all these years. Should have dropped everything way sooner, go to Paris or even Montreal and start making music. Probably busking, sleeping on benches and making random friends, I don't care. This is how I want to live.
You can tell, I live my dream now, actually. It's like I needed to be even more happier than I was.

And guess what, Mika senses my mood instantly. He reads it as soon as he sees me in the studio.
- What's with the shining and smiling? - he asks while giving me a greeting hug, and by the way I cling to him longer than I always do, finds out another important thing, - And with being unusually huggy? Is it your birthday or something?
- Do I have to have reason to be happy? Well I can find one, - I reply after I finally step away, but just to look at him a bit from afar, - Your fabulous suit, for example.
- It is fabulous, - he gives me a catty smile and proudly adjusts his bowtie, - Turns out all I needed was to show you some Valentino stars and stripes to make you happy!
- Only if there's someone just as great inside them.
Mika looks over my shoulder and shrewdly grins again:
- You know who can surely make you even happier today? ... He's been sneaking around us all the time, so I assume he's got something for you.
I turn around and see a familiar Italian-ish face in the dark of the decorations. Well, of course, Gaspard is being shy again. He catches my look and waves at me.
- Have you seen the guy who takes interviews backstage, by the way? - Mika asks, - The show starts in half an hour and I haven't even stolen his microphone!
This joke comes from the last season, but he's still loyal to it.
- Nope. It's a good reason to walk around and show off your suit, though.
- Damn right it is! See you later.
And so I'm alone with my "soul mate", who walks out of the shadow as soon as Mika is out of sight, and awkwardly offers his hand while we make our way up the terrace.

- Is everything that bad if you won't even sit in your performance? - he wonders, while we're waiting for our turn. Team Mika is the second, and I'm the first again. Garou has just chosen Flori out of the two remaining talents. We shout with the audience, cheering for her little victory.
- Nope, - I say when she leaves the stage, - It's just Castel who got bored and decided we do something different.
- Speaking of boring! You'll miss all the magic of your show, am I right?
And it's true. The only thing that's fated for me tonight is the ceiling of the studio. There's gonna be a projection shining right into my face and I'm strictly forbidden to look at it. The last thing the show wants is a limp and blind singer, they said. And since there's also a camera on the other side, I'll have to pick a spot and stare at it all the time.
- But it gives you a good opportunity to focus on the melody, though, - he continues without waiting for me to reply, - Did Mika tell you that you're pretty imprecise when you try too hard to be emotional?
And this is also true. Andrea sent me a few more tweets with jokes that a bear have danced on my ear (meaning I have no musical hearing) and connecting it to the fact that I was born in the country where all the brown bears typically come from. Funny, right. And lots of people liked these jokes!
- Yeah. That's why half of the audience wants me out, - I snort, - I'm a disaster.
- Beautiful disaster, huh, - Gaspard chuckles, - Because the other half thinks you're extremely underrated and will fight for you till the end. Mika is surely among them.
Underrated, overrated... I remember my recent dream, the way my friends told me things I'm afraid to hear the most, and the thought I hate comes back again - what if I'm overrated and Mika will see it someday, maybe even tonight? What will I do if I lose this round? The more I'm here, the little chance I have to get back to my old life!
- They say I don't have a talent, - I decide to let it out finally, - And I think now - what if they're right? I'm here because I worked hard for the last seven years on my voice, hearing and music skills. Maybe it's not enough to be good. There has to be something else, some gift to be special.
Gaspard looks at me a bit surprised and waits for me to continue. I point at him:
- Take you, for example. You didn't even need practice to come out and sing and please everyone. You're a real talent, a true artist. In fact, I envy you.
He softly chuckles.
- Don't make assumptions before you know the full story, - he says, - What I have is not a talent, it's just a desperate desire to be somebody applied to exploring and practicing non-stop for quite some time. Yes, Alice, practicing. Good singing doesn't come from nowhere. There's no such thing as talent, it's just you being stubborn and passionate. Ask Mika, he'll tell you the same thing.
He nods at the stage in front of us, where Mika is enthusiastically explaining something:
- ...And she catches everything in the air, so the more she's there, the better she'll get! Working with her is quite an experience. I learn a lot myself coaching this girl.
- Assuming there's no other girls in his team, - Gaspard says, - I think they're talking about you, and it's your time now.
I see two staff members already approaching us, so I say my goodbyes and leave.
- Hey, Al, - I hear behind me, - Don't think about this stuff. Just focus, and everything will come naturally, as it has to be.