Саманта Мумба: от поп-звезды до многогранной артистки

Irish singer songwriter (born 1983)

Samantha Tamania Anne Cecilia Mumba (born 18 January 1983) 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 Billboards 100 Greatest Choruses of the 21st Century. 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. 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.

Mumba was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her father, Peter Mumba (died March 2020) was from Zambia and was formerly an aircraft engineer; 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.

Mumba sings contralto. 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 Billboards 100 Catchiest Choruses of the 21st Century 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. 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". She followed this with the release of single "Process", a song she had written after the death of her father. In May 2023, Mumba performed at Birmingham Pride. In June 2023, Mumba performed at the Mighty Hoopla music festival in London, where she previewed new song "Run Boy Run"; on 3 June 2023, Mumba released the single "The Lie".

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

Mumba dated R&B singer Sisqó from 2004 to 2005. Mumba became engaged to Los Angeles police officer Torray Scales in June 2011. The couple married in Los Angeles on 24 February 2012. In September 2014, she announced that she was pregnant with her first child. In February 2015, she escaped uninjured from a three car pile up in Los Angeles just weeks before her due date. On 3 March 2015, she gave birth to a baby daughter, whom Mumba and her husband named Sage.