Samantha Mumba
Encyclopedia
Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba (born 18 January 1983) is an Irish singer and actress.

Her first album was released in 2000. Her most notable role was Mara in the 2002 film The Time Machine
The Time Machine (2002 film)
The Time Machine is a 2002 American science fiction film loosely adapted from the 1895 novel of the same name by H. G. Wells, and the 1960 film screenplay by David Duncan...

. She has also appeared in a number of Irish independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...

s.

Early life, education and early career

Mumba was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her father, Peter Mumba, is from Zambia and was formerly an aircraft engineer, her mother is Irish. Mumba attended Dublin's Billie Barry Stage School from the age of three to fifteen. When Mumba was 15 she was discovered on an RTÉ TV talent show Let Me Entertain You by Irish music Svengali Louis Walsh
Louis Walsh
Louis Walsh is an Irish music manager and judge on the British television talent show The X Factor.-Band manager:...

 (manager of Boyzone
Boyzone
Boyzone are an Irish boy band comprising Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating,Shane Lynch, and formerly Stephen Gately. Boyzone have 19 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 21 singles in the Ire charts. The group currently have 6 UK number one singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12...

 and Westlife
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...

). Walsh was impressed by her talent and she was signed to Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...

. She subsequently spent several months moving between Denmark, Sweden, the UK and Ireland, where she co-wrote and recorded her debut album, Gotta Tell You
Gotta Tell You
"Gotta Tell You" is the debut single by Irish singer Samantha Mumba, released in 2000. The song was written and produced by the Swedish team BAG & Arnthor . It was an international hit, peaking at number four on the U.S...

. 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.

1999–01: Debut Album

Samantha sings contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...

. Mumba's first single, "Gotta Tell You", was released in 2000 and reached No. 1 in the Irish charts. It later reached No. 2 in the British charts. Mumba also had success in the USA, with the song peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

. The album Gotta Tell You stayed on the charts for six months and was eventually certified platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...

 for sales of 1 million copies. Five more Top 10 hits followed in the UK and she had another top 50 hit in the US. Another hit from this album was "Baby, Come Over (This Is Our Night)
Baby, Come Over (This Is Our Night)
"Baby, Come on Over" is a single released by Irish pop singer Samantha Mumba. It was released as the fourth single internationally and the second single in the USA. It was taken from her debut album Gotta Tell You....

", a remixed version of "Baby, Come on Over" and features on the US edition of the album. To date, her first album has sold over 4 million copies worldwide. In 2001, Mumba contributed to the track "You Raise Me Up" by the Celtic Tenors
Celtic Tenors
The Celtic Tenors began life as the Three Irish Tenors on RTE's Theatre Nights on October 1995. The group at that time consisted of James Nelson, Niall Morris and Paul Hennessey....

. An EP titled Samantha Sings Christmas
Samantha Sings Christmas
Samantha Sings Christmas is a Christmas EP by Irish singer Samantha Mumba. The EP consists of 6 tracks mastered by Phil Coutour. It was available in Irish and UK newspapers as a promotion...

was released at Christmas 2001; it is also a bonus disc on rare special editions of Gotta Tell You.

2002–07: The Collection

In 2002, Mumba released a new single "I'm Right Here
I'm Right Here
"I'm Right Here" is a song by Samantha Mumba, the first single release from her aborted second album Woman . The single had poor sales despite its high #5 chart position in the UK, and it flopped on the US Hot 100 but reached #24 on the US Dance Chart. The poor performance of this single is...

" with a laid-back sound. The video features Damien Marley, son of Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...

. The single became Mumba's fifth UK top 5 single and her fifth top 40 single in Ireland. In the US and Germany, the song was less successful, peaking at 80 and 81.

Rumors circulated that Mumba was getting ready to release a second album, Woman, but due to the poor sales of the lead single "I'm Right Here
I'm Right Here
"I'm Right Here" is a song by Samantha Mumba, the first single release from her aborted second album Woman . The single had poor sales despite its high #5 chart position in the UK, and it flopped on the US Hot 100 but reached #24 on the US Dance Chart. The poor performance of this single is...

" in the US and a short lived time on the UK chart, she was dropped from her label, but Mumba stated on the Late Late Show (February 3, 2007) that there never was a second album, and the tracks leaked on the internet were attempts by her to find a new sound.

In December 2005, she collaborated with Filipino R&B singer Jay-R to sing Just the Way You Are.

On October 23, 2006, a compilation album, The Collection
The Collection (Samantha Mumba album)
The Collection is a compilation album from Irish recording artist Samantha Mumba. It is only her second album to be released worldwide, after her planned 2002 follow-up to her debut, Woman, was cancelled due to poor sales of lead single "I'm Right Here"...

, was released. The album features songs from Gotta Tell You
Gotta Tell You (album)
Gotta Tell You is the first album by Irish pop star Samantha Mumba, released in 2000 in the U.K. by Polydor Records, Interscope Records, Wildcard Records and A&M Records...

, B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

s and two new tracks including her single "I'm Right Here
I'm Right Here
"I'm Right Here" is a song by Samantha Mumba, the first single release from her aborted second album Woman . The single had poor sales despite its high #5 chart position in the UK, and it flopped on the US Hot 100 but reached #24 on the US Dance Chart. The poor performance of this single is...

".

The singer sold just a handful of tickets for a highly-publicised comeback concert in Dublin, which lead to it being cancelled in February 2007.

2008–10: Dancing on Ice and retirement from music

On 17 January 2008, Mumba appeared on UK daytime TV show Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...

. After discussing her time away from the music scene, and her appearance on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 reality TV show Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...

, which ended after three weeks, the singer stated that she had almost finished recording a new album, and hoped it would be released in summer 2008.

Irish DJ Micky Modelle
Micky Modelle
Micky Modelle is a Disc jockey and Record producer from Ireland, born in 1972.-Career:He came in to the media spotlight in 2006, when he had he had a top ten hit with Flemish singer Jessy, Dancing in the Dark was originally released by Jessy in 2004 in Belgium. However after meeting jessy, he...

 made a remix of Mumba's hit song "Gotta Tell You" and Mumba re-recorded some of the vocals to fit the song. A video for it was filmed in London and Belfast and was premiered in June 2008. The song failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

 but did however chart at Number 36 on the UK Dance Chart
UK Dance Chart
The UK Dance Chart is a chart compiled by The Official Charts Company from sales in record stores and digital downloads. Although the chart does not currently receive any airplay on the radio or television, the chart can be viewed on the BBC Radio 1 and The Official Charts Company website.Digital...

.

In a January 2009 interview, Mumba suggested that the new album would be released early in 2010, but it never surfaced and in late 2010, Mumba confirmed she would no longer be releasing new material and would be concentrating on her acting career.

Modelling

Shortly after the success of Gotta Tell You
Gotta Tell You
"Gotta Tell You" is the debut single by Irish singer Samantha Mumba, released in 2000. The song was written and produced by the Swedish team BAG & Arnthor . It was an international hit, peaking at number four on the U.S...

, Mumba was seen as the face of the fashion designer Louise Kennedy
Louise Kennedy
Louise Summers is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by actress Roxanne McKee. The character first appeared in February 2005 as the feisty, glamorous girlfriend of Darren Osborne. McKee has been nominated for several awards for her portrayal of the...

's spring/summer collection.

She also became a Dior
Dior
Dior can mean:* Christian Dior SA, a French clothing retailer* In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth legendarium:**Dior Eluchíl, a Half-elven of the First Age**Dior , a Steward of GondorDior is a surname, and may refer to:...

 ambassador when she launched the Dior Watch Collection in Ireland. Around the same time, Mumba also became the face of Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...

 appearing in print advertising in the UK and Ireland for the Quest range.

In 2005, Mumba modeled for the Ultimo Per Amore range, available exclusively at the Irish main-street chain Dunnes Stores
Dunnes Stores
Dunnes Stores, also known as Dunnes, is a supermarket and clothing retail chain, that is based in Dublin, Ireland.The chain primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain has operations in Great Britain and Spain...

.

Acting career

In 1998, Mumba was cast as the lead in The Hot Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...

, a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

y production based on Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...

's opera. After her second album Woman was cancelled, Mumba's music career was put on hold and she began auditioning for films. Before that, in 2001, following her international success with Gotta Tell You, Arnold Leibovit
Arnold Leibovit
Arnold Leibovit is an award-winning writer, producer, and director of feature films and musical productions. An acting member of the Producers Guild of America, he has written, directed, and produced several feature films, including The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal, a biopic of George Pal, and...

 picked her to play Mara in The Time Machine
The Time Machine (2002 film)
The Time Machine is a 2002 American science fiction film loosely adapted from the 1895 novel of the same name by H. G. Wells, and the 1960 film screenplay by David Duncan...

. Mara is a girl who is part of a human civilization which has regressed to a hunter/gatherer lifestyle in the year AD 802,701. She co-starred with Guy Pearce
Guy Pearce
Guy Edward Pearce is an English-born Australian actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's Memento, Lieutenant Ed Exley in L.A...

 and her real-life brother, Omero. The movie earned $56,684,819 in the US. Mumba's second venture into films was in 2003, where she appeared in the film Spin the Bottle
Spin the Bottle (2003 film)
Spin the Bottle is a 2003 Irish film by director Ian Fitzgibbon. It was released in 2003.- Plot :The film is a story about a man named Rats who tries to form a band after being released from Mountjoy Prison to get money for a pilgrimage to Lourdes....

.

In 2005, Mumba took on the lead role of Jessica in the Irish film Boy Eats Girl
Boy Eats Girl
Boy Eats Girl is a 2005 horror film directed by Stephen Bradley and starring Samantha Mumba, produced and shot in Ireland. The plot tells of a teenage boy who comes back to life as a zombie, similar to the plot of the American film My Boyfriend's Back....

. The film was a box office failure in Ireland, making a little over €1 million despite its €5 million budget.

In 2006, Mumba starred in the thriller Nailed, playing the character Sapphire. Mumba also co-starred in Johnny Was
Johnny Was
Johnny Was is an Irish/British gangster movie directed by Mark Hammond, written by Brendan Foley, and made in 2005 by Ben Katz Productions, Borderline Productions and Nordisk Film...

, a British/Irish gangster movie. 2007 saw Mumba filming her part in the movie 3 Crosses.

Television

In 2001, Mumba and fellow teen star Aaron Carter
Aaron Carter
Aaron Charles Carter is an American singer. He came to fame as a pop and hip hop singer in the late 1990s, establishing himself as a star among pre-teen and teenage audiences during the early-first decade of the 21st century....

 performed a concert at Disney MGM Studios for the Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...

 titled Aaron Carter and Samantha Mumba In Concert. She performed three songs, "Gotta Tell You", "Baby Come On Over
Baby, Come Over (This Is Our Night)
"Baby, Come on Over" is a single released by Irish pop singer Samantha Mumba. It was released as the fourth single internationally and the second single in the USA. It was taken from her debut album Gotta Tell You....

", and "Don't Need You To (Tell Me I'm Pretty)
Don't Need You To (Tell Me I'm Pretty)
"Don't Need You To " is a single by Irish pop singer Samantha Mumba. The single was released exclusively in the USA only. It was the third and final single from the singer in the USA. It was also the official second single to be released from the original motion picture soundtrack to Legally Blonde...

". A year later, she and Carter also appeared on an episode of All That
All That
All That is an American live-action, sketch comedy-variety show that aired on the Nickelodeon cable television network featuring short comedic sketches and weekly musical guests. The theme song for All That was performed by TLC...

.

Mumba confirmed on The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...

, 9 February 2007, that a camera crew has been following her on and off for six months for a reality TV show which was shown on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 at the end of March 2007. The show was called Get Your Act Together with Harvey Goldsmith and follows Mumba's attempts to revive her music career with Harvey Goldsmith
Harvey Goldsmith
Harvey Goldsmith CBE is a British performing arts promoter. He is best known as promoter of rock concerts, charity concerts, television broadcasts for the Prince's Trust and more recently the Teenage Cancer Trust shows at the Royal Albert Hall.During early 2007 he appeared on the Channel 4...

 as her mentor.

Mumba also starred on the 2008 series of Dancing on Ice
Dancing on Ice (UK)
Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...

. She was eliminated in week 3.

Mumba was on The Saturday Night Show
The Saturday Night Show
The Saturday Night Show is an Irish chat show hosted by Brendan O'Connor that has been broadcast on RTÉ One since 2010. The show features guest interviews, audience participation and live music...

in November 2011.

Return to acting

After a near three-year hiatus from the big screen, it was announced in 2009 that Mumba will star in the upcoming Irish horror movie Loftus Hall
Loftus Hall
Loftus Hall is a large mansion house on the Hook peninsula, County Wexford, Ireland that is said to have been haunted both by the devil and by the ghost of a young woman....

alongside Keith Duffy
Keith Duffy
Keith Peter Thomas Francis John Duffy is an Irish singer-songwriter, actor, drummer, dancer and television presenter. He began his career as part of Boyzone in the 1990s. In the 2000s, he achieved critical acclaim for his acting roles, particularly in soap operas such as Coronation Street and Fair...

 and Adelaide Clemens
Adelaide Clemens
Adelaide Clemens is an Australian actress. She was nominated for a Logie Award in 2008 for her role in the television series Love My Way. Clemens has appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and will portray Heather Mason in the upcoming horror film Silent Hill: Revelation 3D.-Career:Clemens began...

, due for release in cinemas October 2011.

Personal life

Mumba currently resides in Los Angeles, with her policeman boyfriend Torray Scales.

In August 2011, it was announced that she is engaged to Torray Scales. They are said to marry in Los Angeles in 2012.

Discography

  • 2000: Gotta Tell You
    Gotta Tell You
    "Gotta Tell You" is the debut single by Irish singer Samantha Mumba, released in 2000. The song was written and produced by the Swedish team BAG & Arnthor . It was an international hit, peaking at number four on the U.S...

  • 2001: Samantha Sings Christmas EP
    Samantha Sings Christmas
    Samantha Sings Christmas is a Christmas EP by Irish singer Samantha Mumba. The EP consists of 6 tracks mastered by Phil Coutour. It was available in Irish and UK newspapers as a promotion...

  • 2006: The Collection
    The Collection (Samantha Mumba album)
    The Collection is a compilation album from Irish recording artist Samantha Mumba. It is only her second album to be released worldwide, after her planned 2002 follow-up to her debut, Woman, was cancelled due to poor sales of lead single "I'm Right Here"...


Films

  • The Time Machine
    The Time Machine (2002 film)
    The Time Machine is a 2002 American science fiction film loosely adapted from the 1895 novel of the same name by H. G. Wells, and the 1960 film screenplay by David Duncan...

    (2002)
  • Spin The Bottle
    Spin the Bottle (2003 film)
    Spin the Bottle is a 2003 Irish film by director Ian Fitzgibbon. It was released in 2003.- Plot :The film is a story about a man named Rats who tries to form a band after being released from Mountjoy Prison to get money for a pilgrimage to Lourdes....

    (2003)
  • Boy Eats Girl
    Boy Eats Girl
    Boy Eats Girl is a 2005 horror film directed by Stephen Bradley and starring Samantha Mumba, produced and shot in Ireland. The plot tells of a teenage boy who comes back to life as a zombie, similar to the plot of the American film My Boyfriend's Back....

    (2005)
  • Nailed (2006)
  • Johnny Was
    Johnny Was
    Johnny Was is an Irish/British gangster movie directed by Mark Hammond, written by Brendan Foley, and made in 2005 by Ben Katz Productions, Borderline Productions and Nordisk Film...

    (2006)
  • 3 Crosses (2007)
  • Shifter (2007)
  • Loftus Hall
    Loftus Hall
    Loftus Hall is a large mansion house on the Hook peninsula, County Wexford, Ireland that is said to have been haunted both by the devil and by the ghost of a young woman....

    (2011)

Television

  • Get Your Act Together with Harvey Goldsmith
    Get Your Act Together with Harvey Goldsmith
    Get Your Act Together with Harvey Goldsmith is a Channel 4 television programme in which promoter Harvey Goldsmith is given six months to help revive the fortunes of six entertainment businesses or performers....

    (2008)
  • Dancing On Ice
    Dancing on Ice (UK)
    Dancing on Ice is a British television show co-hosted by Christine Bleakley and Philip Schofield, in which celebrities and their professional partners figure skate in front of a panel of judges. The format, devised by LWT and Granada Television, has been a prime-time hit in eight different...

    (2008)

Awards and nominations

  • Grammy Award
    Grammy Award
    A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

    • 2001, Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical (Nominated)
  • Meteor Music Awards
    Meteor Music Awards
    The Meteor Ireland Music Awards are a group of music awards in Ireland...

    • 2002, Best Female Singer (Won)
  • MOBO Awards
    MOBO Awards
    The Music of Black Origin Awards, established in 1995 by Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell, are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music....

    • 2001, Best Album, Gotta Tell You
      Gotta Tell You
      "Gotta Tell You" is the debut single by Irish singer Samantha Mumba, released in 2000. The song was written and produced by the Swedish team BAG & Arnthor . It was an international hit, peaking at number four on the U.S...

      (Nominated)
    • 2000, Best Video, "Gotta Tell You" (Nominated)
  • Smash Hits
    Smash Hits
    Smash Hits was a pop music based magazine, aimed at teenagers and young adults and originally published in the United Kingdom by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006 and was issued fortnightly for most of that time...

    • Poll Winners' Party Best New Female (Won)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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