One... Two... Three. Four. Five. What the heck happened to the guy from "Mambo Number 5"?
Seriously? Does anybody know?
Without a doubt, Lou Bega was one of the most beloved musical entertainers just because of 1999's "Mambo Number 5". Even though there were some absolutely terrible songs from the 1990s, at least according to critics, "Mambo Number 5" certainly wasn't. In fact, it's easily one of the catchiest songs of the decade with one of the best music videos. Not only that, but it has staying power. The same can't be said for the singer, at least in the eyes of the mainstream. While it appears as though Lou Bega vanished into total obscurity, the man is still working today. Here's what really happened to him...
His First And Last Hit Song
"Mambo Number 5" is still an incredibly popular karaoke song and it almost always stops a Millennial in their tracks if they hear it in the car. It just has the type of rhythm that snags someone's attention and holds it all the way through the list of women Lou has had relations with. According to Vanity Fair, Lou knows why his song has maintained such a level of popularity.
"There’s two levels. The superficial level that we all enjoy. We dance to it—it’s joyful," Lou Bega said to Vanity Fair. "Then there’s a deeper level. When you actually listen to it as a song, the first verse is about repentance, actually."
He continued by saying, "Mambo makes you happy, Latin music makes you happy, it's sexual, it's erotic, energetic. I think that's the point."
Regardless of why it's remained such a classic, there's just no way that Lou knew he was going to strike gold in the music industry. When he started as a rapper he was still David Lubega. His world changed when a music producer snagged him and introduced him to a catalog of old music which included the instrumental version of "Mambo Number 5" which was written in the late 1940s.
Originally, it was a Cuban piece written by Pérez Prado. A lot of the beat that we know and love was present in 1949, but all of the lyrics were written by Lou and inspired by his real life.
"I dated a lot of pretty nice ladies when I was younger," he once said in an interview. "These names of my past, you know, just came to me and I wrote it down, got the melody and the rest is history."
The old song became the base track of his first and most successful single to date. Not only was it a hit in North America, but it completely took over Europe. It even spent 20 weeks at the top of France's music chart. The release of "Mambo Number 5" was followed by his album, "A Little Bit Of Mambo". The album did fairly well but it was clear that people were really only buying it for "Mambo Number 5". His follow-up album in 2001 was decidedly less successful and his third in 2005 didn't even make the charts.
From there, Lou Bega seemed to drop off the face of the earth. Of course, Lou is far from the only celebrity who has vanished. Even Richard Simmons is nowhere to be found. But for lovers of "Mambo Number 5", the lack of Lou's presence in the industry is a disappointment.
Where Lou Bega Has Disappeared To
There's no doubt that Lou Bega knows that he's never been able to recapture the magic of his first hit. And there's also no question that he knows that North America sees him as a "one-hit wonder". However, the man has continued to work ever since. Sure, his albums haven't lived up to expectations in the U.S. and Canada, but Europe and Latin America love him.
Lou's fifth studio album, "A Little Bit Of '80s", came out in 2013 and did fairly well across the continent, particularly in Germany where his fanbase is absolutely massive. And Lou was smart to do an album covering '80s hits like "Smooth Operator" by Sade, "I'm So Excited" by The Pointer Sisters, and "Karma Chameleon" by Culture Club due to the fact that his German fans adore that type of music.
Still, there's no doubt that Lou is somewhat disappointed that he's been unable to resurrect his career. Nowadays, Lou is open for corporate events and has a fairly large presence on Instagram. He shares quite a bit of his life with his followers. But it's mostly photos of him on vacation with his family, interacting with fans, horseback riding, and flashbacks to when he was one of the biggest musical acts in the world.
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