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. Early life and education 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. Career 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 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