Samantha Mumba
Mumba in 2009
Mumba in 2009
Background information
Birth nameSamantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba
Born (1983-01-18) 18 January 1983
Dublin, Ireland
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • dancer
  • actress
  • fashion model
  • TV presenter
Years active1998–present
Labels

Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba[1] (born 18 January 1983)[2] is an Irish singer-songwriter, dancer, actress, fashion model and TV presenter. In 2000, at the age of 17, she shot to fame with the release of her debut single "Gotta Tell You", which reached the top five in Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States. It has since been listed in Billboard's 100 Greatest Choruses of the 21st Century.[3] Her album of the same name was released later that year and reached number four in Ireland and number nine in the UK. She has had seven top five hits in Ireland and six top ten hits in the United Kingdom.

Mumba has also pursued an acting career, making her film debut in the 2002 film The Time Machine, as well as appearing in a number of Irish independent films.[4] She returned to music in 2013, and announced plans to release a second album in 2019; however this never came to fruition. Mumba released the singles "Cool" and "Process" in 2020 and further single “The Lie” in 2023.

Early life and education

Mumba was born in Dublin, Ireland.[5] Her father, Peter Mumba (died March 2020[6]) was from Zambia and was formerly an aircraft engineer;[7] her mother is Irish.

When Mumba was 15 she was discovered on a Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ–Radio Television Ireland) talent show Let Me Entertain You by Irish music executive Louis Walsh (manager of Boyzone and Westlife). Walsh was impressed by her talent and she was signed to Polydor Records.

Mumba subsequently spent several months moving between Denmark, Sweden, UK, and Ireland, where she co-wrote and recorded her debut album, Gotta Tell You. She eventually dropped out of school to focus on her music career, explaining that it was becoming difficult to stay in school and work on her music.[8]

Career

Mumba sings contralto.[9][10] Her first single, "Gotta Tell You", was released in 2000 and peaked at number one in Ireland and New Zealand, number two in the UK, number three in Australia, and number four in the US, as well as reaching the top twenty in several countries across Europe. "Gotta Tell You" has since been listed in Billboard's 100 Catchiest Choruses of the 21st Century[3]

At the age of 17 Mumba released her debut album, Gotta Tell You, in late 2000. The album reached the top ten in both Ireland and the UK, and number 67 on the Billboard 200. Following the success of Gotta Tell You, she was chosen to play Mara in The Time Machine. Directed by Simon Wells, H.G.Wells' great-grandson, Samantha co-starred with Guy Pearce and her real-life brother, Omero. At the Teen Choice Awards in 2001 and 2002, she was nominated for Choice Music: Best Breakout Artist and Choice Movie: Best Breakout Actress for the film The Time Machine, respectively.

Mumba and fellow teen star Aaron Carter performed a concert at Disney MGM Studios for the Disney Channel titled Aaron Carter and Samantha Mumba in Concert, which was then released on DVD. A year later, she and Carter also appeared on an episode of All That.

In 2001, Mumba contributed to the track "You Raise Me Up" by the Celtic Tenors. An EP titled Samantha Sings Christmas was released at Christmas 2001, which included covers of "White Christmas" and "All I Want for Christmas Is You". Samantha Sings Christmas was also included as a bonus disc on some editions of Gotta Tell You.

In 2002, Mumba released a new single "I'm Right Here". The video features Damian Marley, son of Bob Marley. The single became Mumba's fifth UK and Irish top five single. Rumours circulated that Mumba was getting ready to release a second album, Woman and that due to the poor sales of the lead single "I'm Right Here" in the US and a short lived time on the UK chart, she was dropped from her label. However, Mumba has since confirmed she was unable to release any new material anyway, due to contract restrictions following the restructure of Polydor Records, which resulted in her being dropped. In 2007, she stated on the Late Late Show that there never was a second album, and the tracks leaked on the internet were attempts by her to find a new sound.

Mumba's second venture into films was in 2003, where she appeared in the film Spin the Bottle. In October 2006, a compilation album, The Collection, was released. The album features songs from Gotta Tell You, B-sides and two new tracks including her single "I'm Right Here".

Samantha Mumba in December 2009 in Notting Hill, London

In June 2013, Mumba confirmed her musical comeback on Twitter. On 16 August 2013 she appeared on the RTÉ television show The Hit to compete for a spot in the show's final. The song selected for chart battle was "Somebody Like Me" which was released on iTunes immediately afterwards and competed against "Thinking of You" by Irish band Republic of Loose. The song peaked at number five on the Irish Singles Chart, marking her first hit single in 11 years.

On 25 June 2015, Mumba played a gig as part of the Dublin Pride Festival, which was described as “fierce glam altogether”.[11] In early 2017, she participated in a celebrity version of MasterChef Ireland and went on to fill in as co-host on The 6 O'Clock Show while Lucy Kennedy took maternity leave. In 2018, she made her comeback onto British television, firstly as a guest and then a panellist on Loose Women and has confirmed her return to music, sharing pictures of herself in the studio with the likes of Wanya Morris and MNEK. In January 2019 she confirmed that she hoped to release a second album before the end of the year, but this did not happen.[12]

On 27 November 2020, Mumba released the single "Cool", the lead single from her upcoming album, which Mumba has described as "sexy", "different" and "more adult".[13] She followed this with the release of single "Process", a song she had written after the death of her father.[14][15]

In May 2023, Mumba performed at the Birmingham Pride.[16][17] In June 2023, Mumba performed at the Mighty Hoopla music festival in London, where she previewed new song “Run Boy Run”;[18] on 3 June 2023, Mumba released the single "The Lie".[19][20][21]

Modeling

Shortly after the success of Gotta Tell You, Mumba became the face of Reebok appearing in print advertising in the UK and Ireland for the Quest range.[22]

Around the same time, Mumba was also seen as the face of the fashion designer Louise Kennedy's spring/summer collection.[23]

In 2004, she was chosen to model the World's Most Expensive Dress. A £5m diamond cobweb dress, created by Scott Henshall, which was showcased at the London premiere for Spider-Man 2.

Shortly after, she became the face of Dior ambassador and launched the Dior Watch Collection in Ireland.

In 2005, Mumba modelled for the Ultimo Per Amore range, available exclusively at the Irish main-street chain Dunnes Stores.[24]

Personal life

Mumba dated R&B singer Sisqó from 2004 to 2005.[25]

Mumba became engaged to Los Angeles police officer Torray Scales in June 2011.[26][27] The couple married in Los Angeles on 24 February 2012.[28] In September 2014, she announced that she was pregnant with her first child.[29] In February 2015, she escaped uninjured from a three car pile-up in Los Angeles just weeks before her due date.[30] On 3 March 2015, she gave birth to a baby daughter, whom Mumba and her husband named Sage.[31]

Discography

Filmography

Films

Television

Awards and nominations

References

  1. ↑ "RTÉ Two: The Cafe, Samantha Mumba". RTÉ News. 23 September 2005. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
  2. ↑ Rose, Mike (18 January 2023). "Today's famous birthdays list for January 18, 2023 includes celebrities Kevin Costner, Dave Bautista". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Askmen.com: Samantha Mumba Profile". Archived from the original on 26 July 2008.
  4. ↑ Samantha Mumba filmography Archived 21 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine at the Internet Movie Database
  5. ↑ All Music Guide to Soul, p. 486. ISBN 978-0-87930-744-8.
  6. ↑ "Samantha Mumba confirms her father died in March". RTÉ.ie. 17 April 2020.
  7. ↑ "Samantha Mumba Rift With Father". Showbiz Ireland. Archived from the original on 8 May 2008. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
  8. ↑ "Samantha Mumba: Where did it all go wrong?". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  9. ↑ Dean, Maury (2003). Rock N Roll Gold Rush: A Singles Un-Cyclopedia. United States: Algora Publishing. p. 34. ISBN 9780875862279 – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ Scheetz, Cameron (15 August 2020). "What pop culture just screams 2000 to you? – Samantha Mumba". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "Leo Varadkar joins 60,000 revellers at Dublin Pride Festival". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  12. ↑ White, Jack (23 January 2019). "Samantha Mumba talks new music: "It's about how amazing we are as women"". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  13. ↑ "Samantha Mumba Says Her Comeback Single Sounds "Different"". 98fm. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  14. ↑ O'Loughlin, Ciara (18 December 2020). "Samantha Mumba not ready to talk about her father's death as she opens up on 'awful' year". Independent. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  15. ↑ "Samantha Mumba - Process". 14 December 2020.
  16. ↑ Sewell, Chelsie (25 May 2023). "Birmingham Pride 2023: Everything you need to know including how to get there, full line up, & parade info". Birmingham World. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  17. ↑ "The Multi-million-selling recording artist @samanthamumba1 will be performing LIVE at this year's Birmingham Pride supported by HSBC UK". Twitter. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  18. ↑ Hunt, El (5 June 2023). "Mighty Hoopla 2023 review: a joyful celebration of all things pop". NME. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  19. ↑ O'Donohoe, Kerrie (9 June 2023). "Samantha Mumba shares first new single in three years, 'The Lie'". HotPress. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  20. ↑ "Samantha Mumba drops new single The Lie". Retro Pop. 3 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  21. ↑ "Samantha Mumba - The Lie - Single". 3 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  22. ↑ ShowbizIreland: Samantha Mumba's Quest To Be J-LO Archived 19 December 2002 at the Wayback Machine, Showbizireland.com, retrieved 28 May 2008
  23. ↑ "Music3w.com: Samantha Mumba". Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  24. ↑ "BreakingNews.ie – Irish News – Breaking News from Ireland". Breakingnews.iol.ie. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012.
  25. ↑ Lorna Nolan, "Loved-up Samantha won't watch ex Sisqo on CBB" Archived 12 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Herald.ie, 6 January 2010.
  26. ↑ "Samantha Mumba admits she is terrified every time her LAPD officer husband goes to work". Irishexaminer.com. 16 July 2016. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  27. ↑ "Exclusive: "Gotta Tell You" Singer Samantha Mumba Is Engaged!" 23 August 2011, US Magazine
  28. ↑ "Gotta Tell You" Singer Samantha Mumba Marries – See Her Dress! Archived 28 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine 26 February 2012, US Magazine
  29. ↑ 'It's a GIRL': Samantha Mumba announces she's pregnant and expecting first child Archived 5 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine 7 September 2014, GOSS.ie
  30. ↑ "Samantha Mumba in three-car pile up weeks before she is due to give birth". evoke.ie. 11 February 2015. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  31. ↑ "I'm a new Mum-ba! Joy for Samantha as daughter Baby Sage arrives". evoke.ie. 7 March 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  32. ↑ "Pop Awards Winners List | Press". BMI.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  33. ↑ "Page 9 - Smash Hits - Issue 575 - 13th December - 26th December 2000". Flickr.com. 15 July 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  34. ↑ "www.smashhits.net". 5 December 2004. Archived from the original on 5 December 2004. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
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