COMSTOCK PARK — You type in the word “Mike” into Google’s search engine and the most popular name at the top of that list is a 23-year-old singer-songwriter and hip-hop recording artist from Michigan.
It’s neither ESPN’s “Mike and Mike” morning radio program nor former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who is trending upward again following his cameo appearances in both of the “Hangover” films.
It’s not even “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe, from the Discovery Channel series.
Instead, the most searched Mike on the planet at the moment is fast-rising star Mike Posner, from Southfield, who is headlining the first Party in the Park concert Thursday at Fifth Third Ballpark.
The all-ages show, sponsored by WSNX-FM (104.5), includes Big Sean, LMFAO, IYAZ, DJ Jason Veeder and other performances. The concert stage is placed at second base and gates open at 4 p.m.
Posner, with a pair of platinum-selling singles off his debut album, “31 Minutes From Takeoff,” released last summer, insists he hasn’t let instant fame go to his head following the success of chart hits “Cooler Than Me,” “Please Don’t Go” and “Bow Chicka Wow Wow” featuring Lil Wayne.
“My mom is like a thousand times cooler than me right now,” Posner said during a break from his recent tour schedule in Europe.
His first live appearance in the U.S. following the European tour is slated for Fifth Third Ballpark, where the West Michigan Whitecaps, a Class A minor-league affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, play their home games.
Posner, a lifelong Tigers fan, is thrilled to return for a performance in his home state.
“I grew up on Cecil Fielder and Bobby Higginson,” he said of the former Tigers sluggers. “I’m super excited to be back playing a show in the state that raised me and made me what I am. I’ve never been to Fifth Third before, but I can’t wait to celebrate with my home state and my homie Big Sean. It’s going to be special.”
The reaction from European audiences to his music has been incredible, he added.
“It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to play festivals like Glastonbury (England),” said Posner, who performed at famed Hyde Park at the Wireless Festival in London on July 1 before hopping on a plane and returning home. “To be received so warmly there and other places overseas is totally surreal.”
It has been a meteoric rise for Posner since college.
He recorded a mix tape in his dorm room at Duke University, put it up on the Internet and attracted a loyal following of young fans. That led to a record deal while he still was enrolled at the school.
He performed at Bonaroo and took part in the Warped Tour last summer.
He has appeared on “Last Call with Carson Daly,” “Live with Regis and Kelly,” “The Ellen Degeneres Show” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and collaborated with such notable recording artists as Bruno Mars, Wale, Bun B, Saigon, One Be Lo, We The Kings, Eric Holljes and 30H!3.
Posner also has been chosen to headline the 2011 mtvU VMA Tour of Six Flags theme parks July 28 through Aug. 5.
“I made a CD in my dorm room when I was a junior at Duke University,” he said of the process that led to being signed to a major record deal. “One of the songs on it was what ended up being my first single, ‘Cooler Than Me.’ I put it on the Internet, and I guess people liked it. I still don’t really understand it.
“I don’t feel any different than I did three years ago making beats in my mom’s basement.”
Posner said he plans to return to the studio to begin recording a follow-up album later this summer.
“I was planning on taking those few weeks to be in the studio, but it was an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up,” he said of the headliner slot on the mtvU VMA Tour. “I’ve recorded about 30 songs so far.
“I’d like to get that to around 50 and then pick the best 15 to be on the album. Expect me to drop a new mix tape this summer as well.”
Party in the Park
When: 5 p.m. Thursday
Where: Fifth Third Ballpark, 4500 West River Drive, Comstock Park, MI 49321
On the bill: Big Sean, LMFAO, IYAZ, DJ Jason Veeder and others
Tickets: $30 field admission and $25 reserved box seats; prices go up $5 per ticket day of concert; available at ballpark box office, by calling 616-784-4131 or online at fifththirdballpark.com
Source: mlive.com
