37-422: David Lubega Balemezi (born 13 April 1975), better known by his stage name 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
74-563: 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 . Studio albums Mambo No. 5#Lou Bega version " Mambo No. 5 " is an instrumental mambo and jazz dance song originally composed and recorded by Cuban musician Dámaso Pérez Prado in 1949 and released
111-455: 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
148-580: 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
185-480: A novelty version of the song sung by British actor Neil Morrissey , who provided the voice of Bob for children's television show Bob the Builder . It features background vocals from Rob Rackstraw and Kate Harbour , who voiced several other characters on the show. This cover radically changed the lyrics to fit the theme of the show, making numerous references to construction, repairs and roadway maintenance, as well as
222-454: A parody of the song called "Mambo Nr 6" to number 17 on the Dutch Top 40 . The lyrics referred to the medicine prescribed to him, which causes hallucinations of the girls he mentions in the song. A parody of commercials for the fictional product is also heard. Smooth Operator " Smooth Operator " is a song by English band Sade from their debut studio album, Diamond Life (1984), and
259-476: A professional criminal. In one scene, he displays a gun to an interested customer, and in others, he appears to be a pimp. Apparently, he succeeds in evading law enforcement, who have him under surveillance. In the video, the operator cheats on Sade with a waitress of the nightclub (played by actress Amanda Pays ). However, as revealed in the extended version of the video which contains the composition "Red Eye" (the next song on 12-inch single), Sade, cooperating with
296-569: 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. 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
333-546: 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". Bega sang the theme song for the Disney Channel animated series Brandy & Mr. Whiskers . Bega also recorded and starred in
370-538: 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. During interviews with him that TV 2 Denmark did in 2019 for their documentary series Guds bedste børn , he stated that he was in a hotel room on the Maldives during a storm when he checked out the room's Bible and was captivated by it. Upon returning home to Germany, he felt
407-416: Is noted for Adu's spoken recitation in the song's introduction. Some radio edits have omitted the spoken introduction and proceeded with the opening sung line of the title of the album, "Diamond Life". Some radio edits have shortened the instrumental saxophone solo, as well as the first repeat of the lines that come after the chorus portions. The song's sheet music is in the key of D minor ( D dorian for
SECTION 10
#1733085359817444-682: Is on the Latin-music map. For this we have to thank the Ugandan-Italian Bega and his German producing team, who have hit pay dirt by tacking new lyrics onto an old Perez Prado song. While purists scream murder, the upbeat tune and bouncy, '80s-style synthesizers will rule weddings for years to come." The song became the subject of a seven-year copyright trial between Prado's estate, the music publisher Peermusic , and Bega's producers. Bega had only used riffs (which by German law cannot be registered for copyright) from Prado's original and written
481-454: Is popular with women and breaks many hearts. The lyrics "Coast to coast, LA to Chicago , western male / Across the north and south, to Key Largo , love for sale" imply that he also uses women to obtain his income. It is also clear that he does not hold sincere affection for these women, as Adu sings near the end, "his heart is cold". The video to this song reinforces the message and the operator, played by actor Michael Feast , appears to be
518-707: The 1940s and 1950s with modern beats and grooves. David Lubega Balemezi was born on 13 April 1975 in Munich , Bavaria , 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 the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Until age six, Bega spent most of his time with his mother Nicole in Italy, then they lived permanently in Munich, where Bega attended German primary school. As
555-496: 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, and No. 23 on Switzerland's album chart. The album produced two singles, "Just a Gigolo" and "Gentleman", both of which charted moderately. In 2002,
592-698: 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
629-633: The UK chart with more than one single. Following the 11 September attacks , the song was removed from the BBC Radio 2 playlist due to its lyrics about building construction, with the station's executive music producer Colin Martin describing the song as being "too frivolous in light of the news that was breaking". The song earned a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 12 October 2001 for shipping over 400,000 units. At
666-473: The US charts, and their most successful single internationally. Ray St. John , who co-wrote "Smooth Operator" with Sade Adu , was previously a member of Adu's former band Pride, although he was not a member of the band Sade. The pair co-wrote the song in 1982 while still members of Pride, but did not get around to recording it. "Smooth Operator" is about a fashionable con-man who moves within high social circles. He
703-588: The United Kingdom, North America, and Oceania. In France, it set a record by staying at number one for 20 weeks. The song reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 2 November 1999, giving Bega his only top-40 hit in the United States. Elisabeth Vincentelli from Entertainment Weekly rated the song with a B minus, adding, "All of a sudden, mambo is hot again, and the unlikely city of Munich
740-584: The album's second US single. The song became Sade's first top-10 entry in the US, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in May 1985. It spent 13 weeks in the top 40, and also topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks. Although " Your Love Is King " remains Sade's highest-peaking single in the UK to date, "Smooth Operator" is the band's breakthrough single on
777-547: The artist published a compilation titled King of Mambo 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 on 10 May 2005, which failed to enter the charts. On 21 May 2010, Bega released his fourth album titled Free Again , 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
SECTION 20
#1733085359817814-621: The court's final ruling declared it a new song co-written by Prado and Bega. The accompanying music video for "Mambo No. 5", directed by Joern Heitmann, features Lou Bega singing and dancing with flappers . An alternate music video aired on Disney Channel , featuring clips from various Disney films and television series, with newly recorded lyrics by Bega dealing with the featured characters. Sales figures based on certification alone. Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. On 3 September 2001, BBC Records released
851-622: The end of 2001, it was ranked as the UK's 17th-best-selling single. In Ireland, the song first appeared on the Irish Singles Chart at number 13 on 13 September and peaked at number four the following week. It remained in the top 50 for 10 weeks in total. At the end of the year, the song came in at number 42 on Ireland's year-end chart. "Mambo No. 5" debuted at number three on the Australian Singles Chart on 4 November 2001 and reached number two on 18 November. After staying at
888-507: The entire lyrics, so Bega's producers went to court in order to gain access to all the song's proceedings from Peermusic representing Prado's estate. However, after seven years the Federal Court of Justice of Germany ruled in favor of Peermusic and Prado's estate in 2008, based upon the fact that Bega's producers had sought a royalty agreement with Peermusic prior to releasing the song. Because of Bega's significant contributions to his version,
925-502: The intro). Tanya Rena Jefferson of AXS stated: "The warm tonal voice of Sade sings about a smooth operator con artist lover boy. 'Smooth Operator' reached number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts in 1985." Sophie Heawood of The Guardian commented: "Arguably the band's signature single, the accuracy with which its suave music, complete with sax solo, conveyed the business-class lifestyle of its subject set
962-484: The next year. German singer Lou Bega sampled the original for a new song released under the same name on Bega's 1999 debut album, A Little Bit of Mambo . German singer Lou Bega recorded a cover of the song and released it in April 1999 as the first single from his debut album, A Little Bit of Mambo (1999). His version became a summer hit during 1999 in most of Europe. Later that year, it experienced success in
999-444: The police, hides behind the nightclub equipment and sees the criminal return to the club. Then she bumps into a box, causing a noise, and the criminal chases after her. When the police arrive outside, he tries to escape from them from rooftop to rooftop until he is shot and then falls from a rooftop to his death. The video was directed by Julien Temple , who would later cast Sade in his 1986 film musical Absolute Beginners . This song
1036-489: The position for another week, the song descended the chart, spending nine more weeks in the top 50. It was Australia's 26th-most-successful hit of the year and shipped over 70,000 copies, allowing it to receive a platinum certification from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Shipments figures based on certification alone. In 1999, Dutch TV character Ome Henk took
1073-470: The show's characters. The women's names from Bega's version are also replaced with types of construction supplies and building tasks, e.g. , timber, saw, waterproofing and tiling. On 9 September 2001, the song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart , becoming Bob the Builder's second number-one single on the listing after " Can We Fix It? ". In doing so, Bob became the first novelty act to top
1110-627: 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, 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 Germany and
1147-576: The tone for how they would be perceived over their entire career. As a credo, 'We move in space with minimum waste and maximum joy' remains revelatory." Frank Guan of Vulture commented: "Along with an ace lead saxophone and winding bass line, the secret to success for Sade's biggest early hit is hiding in plain sight: the heartless playboy traversing cities and continents in search of pleasure that she narrates serves as an allegory for Global Capitalism, but also for herself: her international range and her voice – every time she croons 'smooth operator', there's
Lou Bega - Misplaced Pages Continue
1184-470: The waiting times to be baptized were long, and contacted the Danish movement The Last Reformation after seeing their videos on YouTube , where he was baptized. Parts of the conversion process and later missionary work were brought up in the movie The Last Reformation: The Life , which was commissioned by The Last Reformation themselves. Bega started his musical career as a rapper. At the age of 13, he founded
1221-879: 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
1258-477: Was co-written by Sade and Ray St. John . It was released as the album's third single in the United Kingdom as a 7-inch single with "Spirit" as its B-side , and as a 12-inch maxi single with "Smooth Operator" and "Red Eye" on side A and "Spirit" on side B. Released on 28 August 1984, it reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart . In the United States, "Smooth Operator" was released in February 1985, serving as
1295-481: Was his cover of the 1982 hit " Give It Up " 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", 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
1332-429: 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. In 2006, Bega recorded
1369-459: 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
#816183