Samantha Mumba
Samantha Mumba | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Dublin, Ireland |
| Years active | 1999–present |
Samantha Mumba is an Grammy nominated, Irish pop singer and actress. She was born in Dublin, Ireland, on January 18 1983. Her mother is Irish and her father is of Zambian descent. Her full name is Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba.
Biography
Samantha was a student at Dublin's renowned Billie Barry Stage School from the age of 3 to 15. In 1998, she was cast as the lead in The Hot Mikado, a jazzy production based on Gilbert and Sullivan's opera. She was also on several Irish television shows on which she used the opportunity to try to get recognised as a singer.
Samantha was eventually discovered at the age of 15 by Irish svengali Louis Walsh (manager of Boyzone and Westlife) in a night club pretending she was an R&B singer from New York recording her debut album with producers in the city. Walsh was impressed by her talent and she was signed to Polydor Records. After signing with Polydor, Samantha spent several months of last year moving between Denmark, Sweden, England and Ireland, co-writing and recording her debut album, "Gotta Tell You". She eventually dropped out of school to focus on her music career because it was becoming a difficult task to stay in school and work on her music, often losing sleep.
Sam's Big Debut
Samantha scored her first hit in 2000 when "Gotta Tell You" shot to the #1 spot on the Irish charts and later reached #2 in the UK. She also scored American success with her debut single, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album was certified 1x Platinum. Five more Top 10 hits followed in the UK and another top 50 hit in the US, leading some to call her the "black Britney Spears" of pop music, puting her in the ranks amongst Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson. Her album to date has sold over 4 million copies world-wide.
Samantha was nominated for a Grammy award for Baby, Come Over (This is our night) in the 'best remixed recording, non-classical' category for the 2002 Grammy Awards, but did not win.
"Woman", The Album That Never Was
In 2002, Samantha was gearing up to release her follow-up album entitled "Woman", but with poor sales of the lead single "I'm Right Here" both in the US and UK, she was dropped from her label and the album was cancelled.
Various Facts
- Samantha is a passionate Arsenal supporter.
- Samantha use to be a Spokeswoman for Hard Rock Cosmetics.
- Samantha is a UNICEF Ambassador
Filmography
In 2002 Samantha switched from music to movies, starring in the screen adaptation of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, in which she plays Mara, an 800th century tribeswoman. Fans can see her in two more movies in 2005 - Boy Eats Girl and Johnny Was.
In 2004 at the premire of 'Spider Man 2' in London, Samantha arrived wearing a Spider Man-themed dress worth $9 Million (£5 million) and is reportly the most expensive dress ever made. The dress has a web-like design and is cover with 3,000 diamonds. She also wore £25 million worth of spider themed diamond jewelery. The dress Was Designed by Scott Henshall.
In 2005 Mumba hit the headlines when Newbridge Silverware dropped her from their lucrative contract deal, as Samantha was failing to wear their merchandise often enough. The model Yasmin Le Bon was subsequently chosen as the face of the jewellery firm.
Samantha is currently working on a television show project pulling stunts and pranks on unsuspecting people. One stunt, which was cover by the media, included her posing as a nun at the Ireland Presidential Convention.
Featured Movies
- 2002 - The Time Machine
- 2003 - Spin The Bottle
- 2005 - Boy Eat Girl
- 2005 - Johnny Was
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Top 200 | US R&B Chart | UK Album Chart | Irish Album Chart | ||
| 2000 | Gotta Tell You | 67 | 17 | 9 | 14 |
| 2002 | *Woman | - | - | - | - |
| 2004 | Samantha Sings Christmas | - | - | - | - |
Additional Info
"Gotta Tell You" US certification 1x "Platinum". 4 Million copies sold world-wide.
"Woman" not released.
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US R&B/Hip-Hop | UK Singles | US Hot Dance Music/Club Play | Irish Single Chart/ | ARIA Chart/ | ||
| 2000 | Gotta Tell You | 4 | 49 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - |
| 2000 | Body II Body | - | - | 5 | - | 2 | - |
| 2001 | Always Come Back To Your Love | - | - | 3 | - | 3 | - |
| 2001 | Baby, Come Over (This is our night) | 49 | - | 5 | 14 | 2 | - |
| 2001 | Lately | - | 49 | 6 | - | - | - |
| 2001 | *Don't Need You To (Tell Me I'm Pretty) | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2002 | I'm Right Here | 80 | - | 5 | - | 3 | 32 |
Additional Info
- "Don't Need You to (Tell Me I'm Pretty)" US Single Sales Chart #60
- "Body II Body" and "Always Come Back To Your Love" not released in US.
- "Don't Need You To (Tell Me I'm Pretty)" not released in UK.
External links
- Samantha Mumba Official Page (Not Updated Anymore)
- Samantha Mumba Lyrics
- Samantha Mumba's Billboard Artist Page
- Samantha's Myspace webpage (Not confirmed if official)