- Album list
- Singer Intro
Lou Bega (born David Lubega on 13 April 1975) is a German mambo musician. He is most famous for 'Mambo No. 5', his 1999 remake of the Pérez Prado instrumental from 1949. Bega added his own words to the song and sampled the original version extensively. Bega's musical signature consists of combining musical elements of the 1940s and 1950s with modern beats and grooves.
Bega started his musical career as a rapper. At the age of 13, he founded a hip hop group with two other boys. It would be two years before Bega and his friends' first CD would be released in 1990. While living in Miami he discovered Latin music. After returning to Munich, Bega met his then manager, Goar Biesenkamp, as well as music producers 'Frank Lio' (Achim Kleist) and 'Donald Fact' (Wolfgang von Webenau) (Syndicate Musicproduction), with whom he developed the concept for the song 'Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)'. Bega signed a recording contract to the label Lautstark.
His first single 'Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of...)' became an instant worldwide hit in 1999, charting at No. 1 in most European countries, including Germany, UK, France, and No.3 in the United States. In France, 'Mambo No. 5' spent twenty weeks at No.1. It was also used by the British television broadcaster, Channel 4 for their coverage of Test match cricket between 1999 and 2005.
On 19 July 1999, Bega released his debut album A little bit of Mambo, which peaked at No. 3 both in Bega's native country, Germany and also in the U.S. While it charted moderately in the UK, peaking at only No. 50, it reached No. 1 in Austria, Canada, Finland, Hungary, and Switzerland. The second single, 'I Got a Girl' charted well, entering the Top 10 in some European countries, including France, Finland and Belgium. The third single, 'Tricky, Tricky', achieved No. 18 on the Canadian charts and No. 74 on the U.S. Billboard Charts. In France, Bega did well also with his single 'Mambo Mambo', which reached No. 11 on the French charts.
Bega's second studio album Ladies and Gentlemen was released on 28 May 2001. The album failed to experience success similar to its predecessor in Bega's native market or internationally. It peaked at No. 54 in Germany. It reached No. 23 on Switzerland's album chart. The album produced two singles, 'Just a Gigolo' and 'Gentleman', both of which charted moderately.
Bega released his third studio album Lounatic on 10 May 2005, which failed to enter the charts.
On 21 May 2010, Bega released his fourth album called Free Again, which also didn't find much success on the charts. It only charted in Switzerland peaking at No. 78.
Bega's fifth studio album A Little Bit of 80's was released on 28 June 2013, in Germany on Ariola (Sony music). In his latest material, Bega again covers classic international hits including 'Smooth Operator' (1984)' by Sade, 'I'm So Excited' (1982) by The Pointer Sisters, 'Vamos a la playa' (1983) by Righeira, 'Red Red Wine' (1968) by Neil Diamond and 'Karma Chameleon' (1983) by Culture Club. Bega's first single off his fifth album, however, is 'Give It Up' which was released in Germany on 14 June 2013. The song peaked at No. 6 in Germany.
Live performances
Bega's live shows in Las Vegas, Tokyo, Moscow, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates were hugely successful.[citation needed] He appeared on stage for Royals as well as international corporations. Bega was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Ally McBeal, MAD TV, The Martin Short Show, Motown Live, Jenny Jones, Queen Latifah, Access Hollywood, and others. Bega was also the only artist to be asked to sing a song twice on Germany's headlining show Wetten, dass..? On New Year's Eve 2007 he performed in Poland. He has been Master of Ceremonies at the American Music Awards, the Grammy Awards, the Billboard Radio Awards and at the Love Parade in Berlin. He also performed live on television on the Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway in the United Kingdom on 4 April 2015. In July 2016 Bega performed as a special guest in several of Andre Rieu's famous Maastricht concerts.
Other appearances
Bega sang the theme song for the Disney Channel animated series, Brandy & Mr. Whiskers.
In the computer game Tropico, Bega is one of the characters someone can choose as their dictatorial persona. He was included as part of a licensing deal that also saw Bega's song 'Club Elitaire' integrated into the German release of Tropico. Also, in the Ubi Soft/Disney Interactive video game Walt Disney's The Jungle Book Rhythm n' Groove, Bega participates in a challenge with his namesake. The player dances as King Louie, attempting to dance to Bega's rendition of 'I Wanna Be Like You'. Doing so will unlock a video of him with children dancing to the aforementioned song. Bega also wrote the theme song for the French cartoon series Marsupilami.
Discography
Main article: Lou Bega discography
Studio albums
A Little Bit of Mambo (1999)
Ladies and Gentlemen (2001)
Lounatic (2005)
Free Again (2010)
A Little Bit of 80's (2013)
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