Samson primed for fame by success in ‘Popstars’

By Leon Muston Deputy Arts Editor

WHEN the new single Do That Thing by Erin Samson burst onto the Top 40s on both 5fm and Bay FM earlier this month, listeners may have found themselves struggling to place where they’d heard her voice before.

Samson was one of the winners of the first Coca-Cola Popstars reality series and as a result ended up in the group 101, who had a huge hit with Who’s It Gonna Be?

And while 23-year-old Samson may not have been in the public eye much since the demise of 101, she’s kept herself very busy.

When the second season of Popstars took place, Samson became the manager of both spin-off groups Ghetto Lingo and Jamali.

She said: “It was a big change to be on the other side of the industry.

“It was a fun experience, learning something new. Artists forget how important the behind the scenes work can be and just how hard managers work to make sure the group succeeds.”

Although she had handed Jamali over to another management company, she said she’d “remained close friends” with a couple of the group members.

Samson also ventured onto the stage to participate in Fusion, a Bollywood-styled musical production at Gold Reef City.

“I played the sister of the lead character and it was all about arranged marriages and characters who didn’t want to marry the people their parents had chosen for them.”

While she enjoyed the experience of musical theatre, Samson said she was “more interested in performing my own music”.

For the time being Samson is concentrating on recording her debut album which she says will be released through David Gresham Records “within the next two months”.

She said there weren’t any major collaborations recorded yet although she was still hoping to persuade her former 101 bandmates to collaborate on one track.

She said she has kept in regular contact with former 101 partner Kurt Herman “who lives two roads away” from her in Johannesburg.

Samson said the up-tempo R&B single Do That Thing was a good indicator of what the rest of the album would sound like. “It will be an R&B and pop album,” she said. “Don’t expect me to suddenly do a rock song!”

Samson has also signed to a modelling agency and harbours an ambition to design her own line of clothes. She is learning to play the keyboard, and hopes to perform in the Eastern Cape before the end of the year.

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