biography
It has been 20 years since Samantha Mumba made US Chart history, as the youngest international female soloist to debut on the Billboard Hot 100, with the global hit Gotta Tell You, which has since been named in Billboard’s 100 Greatest Choruses of the 21st Century.
Now, the Grammy-nominated pop princess who had us dancing through the 00’s, has returned having dropped two new singles, ‘Cool’ and ‘Process’ at the end of 2020.
‘Cool’ is a slick slice of electric R&B featuring the powerhouse vocals that are instantly recognizable as Samantha. The track signals a new direction for Samantha and is sure to excite fans of her previous pop smashes, whilst igniting a whole new legion of fans. Process is a heartfelt slow jam anthem that has resonated with people all over the world.
‘Process’ was written by Samantha herself, alongside Grammy-nominated producer Drew “Druski” Scott (Zendaya, Red Velvet), they incorporated Gladys Knight’s protégée Avehre and Joshua Heart with writing Cool and it’s the first time Samantha is releasing music under her own record label, Mumba Music Worldwide.
We weren’t trying to make it sound like my previous music but we weren’t trying to make it sound the opposite either. For me, it was just a blank canvas and it’s very exciting.
As one of only five Irish acts to be nominated for a Grammy Award, Samantha has been one of Ireland’s biggest female exports for nearly two decades.
Successful in just about every area of the entertainment sector, she’s been a multi-million selling recording artist, graced the silver screen as an actress, appeared on billboards as a model and has more recently become a popular TV presenter.
She’s made UK Chart history for having the most Top 10 hits by an Irish female soloist and for having one of the biggest selling albums of the 21st century with her debut album Gotta Tell You selling over 1.7 million copies in the U.K. alone.
Stateside, Samantha’s had a #1 album, more US hits than any other Irish female soloist which include two #1 singles, starred as the lead in Oscar-nominated film The Time Machine and sung on the Legally Blonde soundtrack.
Her entertainment career began when she was signed to Polydor at the age of 15. Her debut album Gotta Tell You soon followed, which found her co-writing over half the album, including smash hits Gotta Tell You and the Grammy-nominated Baby, Come On Over.
Selling more than 5 million copies worldwide, it became one of the biggest selling debut albums of the 2000’s and spawned 5 UK & Irish Top 10 Hits, 5 US Top 40 Hits (including 2 #1’s!) and garnered nominations around the world including Record of The Year, two MOBO’s, a Teen Choice Award, Billboard Music Award and a Grammy.
Following the international success of her debut album, Samantha performed for Her Majesty The Queen, at the Royal Variety Performance at the iconic London Palladium. She recorded tracks for the Legally Blonde soundtrack and duetted with Lulu on her iconic James Bond track To Sir with Love, on An Audience with Lulu.
A natural transition to the silver screen occurred, when in 2002 she was cast to play the character Mara alongside Guy Pearce, in the OSCAR-nominated movie, The Time Machine, directed by Steven Spielberg. Other acting credits include Boy Eats Girl and the female lead in Johnny Was, alongside Vinnie Jones, Roger Daltrey and Patrick Bergin.
Over the years, she has been a panellist on ITV’s flagship daytime panel show Loose Women, been a hot favourite on ITV’s Dancing on Ice and has hosted at the BRIT Awards, Billboard Music Awards and The ELLE Style Awards. Most recently she was a judge alongside Joey Fatone from N*sync and Nadine Coyle from Girls Aloud on Irish show Last Singer Standing.
She has also hosted and performed on her own Disney Channel special with fellow teen sensation Aaron Carter. Samantha then toured with Justin Timberlake and *NSYNC, across America, where she opened their PopOdyssey tour.
An accomplished model, Samantha has been the face of Dior, Reebok, Ultimo and Louise Kennedy and has been an ambassador for Vodafone, Cadbury’s and Just Eat IE.
