I'M BACK in the States after a short visit home.. and full of admiration for
my long-time pal Samantha Mumba.
I got into town just in time to catch Samantha at the Dublin showcase for
her stunning new single, Gotta Tell You, in the city's trendy Sugar Club
last Sunday night.
Watching her perform her songs and shoot through her slick dance routines
with her troupe of male dancers was just mesmerising. Although she's only
starting out, Samantha is already so polished and so professional.
Showcase
I remember when we had our first showcase in the Red Box and how rough and
ready we were at that early stage. By comparison, Samantha was so tight, so
together and her lead vocal was stunning.
The sound she has now is very, very new. She showed the packed club the
other night that she is bursting with talent...and that's at this very early
stage of her career!
Give her another year and she'll be the biggest female solo singer in the
world.
I've known Samantha since we were kids hanging out together at the Billie
Barry stage school. That's where we both got our early training and it's
just amazing that we are now both managed by Ireland's top pop manager Louis
Walsh.
But I could see from those early stages that Samantha was going to achieve
big stuff and now she's on the verge of it.
The media were asking me last Sunday night if we were ever
boyfriend/girlfriend. Well, Samantha has always been like a little sister to
me. She was also best friends with my sister.
But I'm sure that Samantha has no shortage of male admirers because she is
stunning looking and has always been that beautiful. I wish her the best of
luck with gotta tell you. It's a great track and deserves to be Number One.
I CAME home a day early last weekend to attend Samantha's launch, but, to be
honest, I was coming home anyway because I needed a break from the American
promotional tour.
I had got to the stage where I was physically wrecked and emotionally
exhausted. I just couldn't hack the pace and everyone said I should go home
for a quick break, that it would do me good.
Karting
And it has done. I spent three days at home, hanging out with my family and
friends. I went go-karting and I just met a lot of people I haven't seen in
a long time and did a lot of talking.
That's the great thing about being in this band, the people in charge treat
us as human beings and not as robots. They know that there comes a time when
the body can only take so much and they give us a break.
We're in this band for a marathon, not a sprint. We have to pace ourselves
and that why I needed to get home. Now my batteries are totally recharged.
IT was business as usual here in the States while I was away and since I got
back.
Basically, we're going from city to city as we introduce Westlife to new
audiences. So it's been three or four flights a day.
It's manic, but it's all worthwhile when we see how well our single, Swear
It Again, is doing in the American charts. And this is just the beginning.
We're no a lot more confident that Westlife will become a very big band in
the States and that will be really something!
BRYAN is my favourite because he's a fine thing and has the best
personality. I'm very lucky to have a ticket to your concert in Dublin,
which should be the best buzz. Keep up the good work.
Tracey Bartley, Greystones, Co Wicklow.
DEAR Shane, I am your number one fan. You have a beautiful smile and
beautiful eyes and I adore you. You are a living dream. The rest are nice,
but you are the best of all and I'd love to meet you and go to your concert.
I really love you.
Alison O'Flanagan (10), Ballyfermot, Dublin 16.
IAM 10 years old. I am too young to go out with you all. I wish I could be
21 to go out with Nicky, but Nicky has a girlfriend. Do you have a
girlfriend, Shane, because you're my number one.
Emma Kelly, Tuam, Co Galway.
I LOVE your column in the Sunday World and am dead proud of all the success
you've achieved. I would just like to say that your album is out of this
world. It's just brilliant and it makes my hairs stand up on my neck.
Jennifer Hanrahan, Kilcock, Co Kildare.
I LOVE you album, but every time I go to listen to it I can never find it
because my brothers are always playing it. My mam and dad are fans too. My
dad is a courier and he delivered a box to Bryan's house. He said I loved
you a lot and asked for an autograph. Bryan gave it without even thinking
about it.
Jennifer Trimble (11), Swords, Co Dublin.
