[POPFLSHBK] samantha mumba: "gotta tell you"

it's been almost 12 years since "gotta tell you" came out. count 'em. T-W-E-L-V-E. if that makes you feel old, i'm right there with ya. irish songbird samantha mumba, with her throaty, dusky toni braxton-esque vocals, had a worldwide smash in mid- to late-2000 with this tune. i played it ad nauseum when i was in college to the point where my neighbor had to come over and tell me to turn it off. (how rude!) mumba followed this up with a solid album, also called gotta tell you, and couple of minor hits, most notable of which was "baby, come over (this is our night)." she never formally released a second album despite an excellent lead single, "i'm right here," and more or less has since been relegated to obscurity.

during the early '00s, she also tried her hand at acting. that was when i had a chance to meet her. she was on a press tour for the dreadful guy pearce vehicle the time machine. i was the arts & entertainment editor of my college newspaper and i immediately snagged the opportunity to do a Q&A. i haven't seen the film since it came out in 2002, but i do remember she wasn't terrible. before she came into the room for the Q&A, her press rep or manager told the group of reporters that under no circumstances were we to ask about her father. i never found out why.

in person she was shy, reserved; the exact opposite of what you'd expect of a teen pop star. still she was charming and answered each question thoughtfully and politely. once the questions about the film had been exhausted i inquired about her music career. she said she was working on a new album, one that never came to fruition. then i asked if i could break the professional barrier and ask her to autograph my copy of gotta tell you, which i gleefully produced from my backpack.