Lou Bega

Biography

David Lubega Balemezi (born 13 April 1975), known professionally as Lou Bega, is a German singer. His 1999 song "Mambo No. 5", a remake of Pérez Prado's 1949 instrumental piece, reached no. 1 in many European countries and was nominated for a Grammy Award. Bega added words to the song and sampled the original version extensively. Bega's signature musical sounds consist of combining musical elements of the 1940s and 1950s with modern beats and grooves.

Personal life

David Lubega Balemezi was born on 13 April 1975 in Munich, Bavaria, in what was then West Germany, to an Italian mother, who came from Sicily, and a Ugandan father. His father Charles went to West Germany in 1972 to study biology at LMU Munich. Until the age of six, Bega spent most of his time with his mother Nicole in Italy. They then lived permanently in Munich, where Bega attended German primary school. As a teenager, he traveled to Miami, Florida, where he found the inspiration for his hit single "Mambo No. 5". Bega also lived in Uganda for six months.
While being interviewed by TV 2 Denmark in 2019 for their documentary series Guds bedste børn, he stated that he was in a hotel room in the Maldives during a storm when he perused the room's Bible and was captivated by it. Upon returning home to Germany, he felt the waiting times for baptism were too long so, after seeing their videos on YouTube, he contacted Danish movement 'The Last Reformation' and was baptized by them.

Career

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 album would be released in 1990. While living in Miami, he discovered Latin music. In 1997, he participated in Goar Biesenkamp's music project Balibu as rapper David Lubega. The Balibu single "Let's Come Together" featuring Lou Bega and the DJ Ole Wierk was released in the fall of 1997 on East West Records/Warner 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". Bega signed a recording contract to the label Lautstark.

His first single "Mambo No. 5" became a world-wide hit in 1999, charting at No. 1 in most European countries, including Germany, UK, and 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×A Little Bit of Mambo19 July 1999 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of…)3:412Baby Keep Smiling3:113Lou’s Café0:584Can I Tico Tico You2:545I Got a Girl3:166Tricky, Tricky3:267Icecream3:518Beauty on the TV-Screen4:0291+1=24:0510The Most Expensive Girl in the World3:4811The Trumpet Part II6:0512Behind Stage1:1713Mambo Mambo3:02, which peaked at No. 3 both in Germany and 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×I Got a Girl30 August 1999 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1I Got a Girl (radio version)3:062I Got a Girl (original radio version)3:203I Got a Girl (extended mix)5:044I Got a Girl (club mix)5:345I Got a Girl (instrumental version)3:05" charted well, entering the Top 10 in some European countries, including France, Finland and Belgium. The third single, "Tricky, Tricky×Tricky, Tricky1999 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Tricky, Tricky (radio version)3:172Tricky, Tricky (extended mix)5:103Tricky, Tricky (Tricky club mix)5:284Tricky, Tricky (instrumental)3:17", 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×Mambo Mambo2000 · Single · SoundtrackSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Mambo Mambo (Radio Version)3:172Baby Keep Smiling3:10", which reached No. 11 on the French charts.
Bega's second studio album Ladies and Gentlemen×Ladies and Gentlemen28 May 2001 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Just a Gigolo / I Ain’t Got Nobody3:492You Are My Sunshine3:313Calling Her0:524God Is a Woman4:065Club Elitaire5:046Money3:087Lady3:278Gentleman3:279People Lovin’ Me3:5110Crash1:1011Shit Happens3:2412Angelina3:1713Yeah Yeah3:5114My Answering Machine0:5015Lonely3:4016Baby Keep Smiling3:36 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, and No. 23 on Switzerland's album chart. The album produced two singles, "Just a Gigolo" and "Gentleman×Gentleman2001 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Gentleman (radio edit)3:292Gentleman (alternative radio edit)3:433Gentleman (Latin version)3:434Club Elitaire5:075Soon3:41", both of which charted moderately.
In 2002, the artist published a compilation titled King of Mambo×King of Mambo8 July 2002 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of…)3:412The Most Expensive Girl in the World3:463Baby Keep Smiling3:384I Got a Girl3:145God Is a Woman4:086People Lovin’ Me3:537Shit Happens3:268Can I Tico Tico You2:549Money3:1010Mambo Mambo3:02111+1=24:0412Beauty on the TV-Screen4:0213Just a Gigolo / I Ain’t Got Nobody3:5014Tricky, Tricky3:25 and two years later another compilation, The best of Lou Bega, with which he regained some of the prominence.
Bega released his third studio album Lounatic×Lounatic11 August 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Mambo vs. Mozart3:422PussyCat3:253Bachata3:234Chocolata3:265Get Better3:476We Makin' Love3:467Return of a Little Bit (Mambo No. 2005)3:398You Wanna Be Americano3:109I Got Style3:2810My Mama3:1911Dance Like an African3:2312Egyptian Queen3:1213Someday3:4114Call Your Name2:5115Thank You3:15 on 10 May 2005, which failed to enter the charts.
On 21 May 2010, Bega released his fourth album titled Free Again×Free Again21 May 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Boyfriend2:532Sweet Like Cola3:253Mommy Is Hot3:524Jump Into My Bed3:355I’m a Singer3:126Beautiful World3:237A Man Is Not a Woman2:578My Day3:119Lucky Punch2:3210You’re a Liar2:44111 No. 12:0112Ballin’3:3613Josephine’s Jeans3:00, which also did not 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 this album, Bega again covered 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 (a remake of which was a hit for UB40 during the 1980s) and "Karma Chameleon" (1983) by Culture Club. Bega's first single off his fifth album was his cover of the 1982 hit "Give It Up×Give It Up14 June 2013 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Give It Up3:302Give It Up (remix)3:45" by KC and the Sunshine Band, which was released in Germany on 14 June 2013. The song peaked at No. 6 in Germany.

In 2019, Bega released "Scatman & Hatman×Scatman & Hatman14 June 2019 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Scatman & Hatman3:21", his first release since 2013. The track uses vocal samples from the 1994 single "Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)" by Scatman John. Shortly after the track's release, he told Jason Lipshutz of Billboard that he was inspired to create the track by the fact that Scatman John died in the same year that "Mambo No. 5" was released, adding,We found out how much [John and I] had in common. The guy died of a brain tumor in 1999 — my own father died of a similar brain tumor in 1999 as well, just four weeks before the mambo came out. And then of course, there's the suits, and the mustaches, and the retro style.

Collaborations

In 2006, Bega recorded a song titled "C'est la Vie" with Edvin Marton and a music video was also filmed. The song has only appeared on Marton's album Stradivarius as a bonus track and was never featured on any of Bega's albums.

Live performances

Bega has 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 the same song twice on Germany's headlining show Wetten, dass..?. On New Year's Eve 2007, he performed in Poland. He has been the MC 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 André Rieu's famous Maastricht concerts. In December 2021, he performed "Mambo No. 5" at a Polish military base during a show for the support of Polish troops deployed against refugees at the Polish-Belarusian border, thanking them for "defending our border".

Appearances in other media

Bega sang the theme song for the Disney Channel animated series Brandy & Mr. Whiskers. Bega also recorded and starred in a music video of a Disney version of "Mambo No. 5" that featured Disney-themed lyrics.
In the video game Tropico, Bega is one of the characters that the player 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.
In the Ubisoft/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.