BMI President & CEO Frances W. Preston congratulates songwriters Pamela Sheyne, Caroline Corr, Sharon Corr and Samantha Mumba at the Awards. Photo BMI/ Brian Rasic

The gala dinner and awards ceremony, held at the Ballroom of London’s Dorchester Hotel and hosted by BMI President & CEO Frances W. Preston with BMI Vice President of European Writer/Publisher Relations Phillip Graham, included the presentation of awards from 2001. Last year’s dinner, scheduled for September 12, was cancelled due to the tragic events in the United States the previous day. Sting’s “Desert Rose,” published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd./Magnetic Music, was recognized as the Robert S. Musel Award 2001 Song of the Year.

Pictured are BMI Senior VP Writer/Publisher Relations Del Bryant, Des’ree, BMI President & CEO Frances W. Preston, and BMI VP Europe Phil Graham.

“Clint Eastwood,” written by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd., and recorded by Gorillaz, was named the 2002 College Song of the Year for the most performances on US college radio. Oasis’s “Go Let It Out,” written by Noel Gallagher and published by Oasis Music/Creation Songs Ltd./Sony/ATV Music Publishing Ltd., was recognized as College Song for the previous year.

Shown at the awards ceremony are BMI VP Europe Phil Graham, BMI President & CEO Frances W. Preston, Paul Herman, and BMI London Associate Director Brandon Bakshi.

UK resident and BMI affiliated composer Michael Kamen was presented with four awards: the special Olympic Flame Award for his theme to the 2002 Winter Olympics, a Cable Award for his score to HBO’s “Band of Brothers,” a four million performance award for “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” and a 2001 Film Music Award for his score to “X-Men.” Receiving three awards were Chris Eaton for his Contemporary Christian songs “Adore,” “Lift Me Up,” and “Live For You” (2001), all published by SGO Music Publishing Ltd.; Pamela Sheyne, with 2001 Pop Awards for “He Loves You Not” and “This Is Me,” published by AppleTreeSongs Ltd. and Warner/Chappell Music Ltd., as well as (2002) “Irresistible” (co-written by Anders Bagge of STIM and co-published by EMI Songs Scandinavia AB, STIM); and Mirwais Ahmadzai (PRS/SACEM), with a 2002 Dance Award and Pop Award for “Don’t Tell Me” and a 2001 Pop Award for “Music,” both published by 1000 Lights Music, Ltd. (SACEM) and Warner/Chappell Music Publishing Ltd. (PRS).

Additional featured awards for 2002 included a TV Music Award to Pete Townshend’s “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and to John Lennon for “Providence”; an Urban Award to Dominic Miller and Sting for “Emotional”; a Country Award to Billy Livsey for “If You Can Do Anything Else”; and Film Music Awards to Rolfe Kent for “Legally Blonde,” David Holmes for “Ocean’s Eleven,” Harry Gregson-Williams for “Shrek” and Paul Oakenfold for “Swordfish.” Featured awards for 2001 included a Dance Award to SIAE’s Massimo Gabutti, Maurizio Lobina, Gianfranco Randone and publisher GZ 2538 for “Blue (Da Ba Dee),” a Film Music Award to Gregson-Williams for “Chicken Run,” and a TV Music Award to Townshend for the “CSI” theme.

Three songs were honored for reaching the five million performance plateau. They were “Daniel” by Sir Elton John and Bernie Taupin, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and “Layla” by Eric Clapton. Sir Elton received three additional multi-million performance certificates (as well as Pop Awards for “I Want Love” and “Someday Out of the Blue”), and John Lennon was honored with seven Million-Air awards, noting a total of more than 21 million performances of those songs. Rod Argent picked up a four million performance award for his “Time of the Season,” and songwriters Ray Davies and Gary Kemp were honored for three million performances of their “You Really Got Me” and “True,” respectively.

High-resolution photos from the event are available for downloading at press.bmi.com.

That image may soon change, thanks to the current success of the 17-year-old Dublin native's debut album, Gotta Tell You, whose seamless combination of youthful energy and sophisticated production has made Mumba one of the pop scene's hottest new performers. The album's effervescent title track is already a Top 10 smash in the U.S., and dance-oriented tunes like "Baby Come Over" and "Body II Body" seem likely to follow in that tune's chart footsteps.

When asked recently what separates her from other contemporary teen divas, Mumba, who co-wrote seven of her album's 12 songs and cites Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson as her favorite vocalists, responds, " There are a lot of female artists my age around at the moment, but they're all American and blonde and blue-eyed and smiley. I'm totally the opposite of that. I want to show a bit more attitude and I have an opinion."

Indeed, the artist's exotic looks (her mother is from Ireland and her father is from Zambia) set her apart from the pack, as does an imposingly soulful vocal persona that belies her tender age. "I've always had a deep, husky voice, even when I was a little girl," she notes. A precocious performer who first took up dancing and singing at the age of three, Mumba attended Dublin's famed Billie Barry Stage School, and subsequently won a lead role in a stage production of the Gilbert and Sullivan update The Hot Mikado. A chance meeting with Boyzone/Westlife manager Louis Walsh led to a berth in Walsh's management stable, ultimately resulting in the high-profile launch of Mumba's recording career.

It's easy to see why impresario Walsh was struck by Mumba's talent, charisma and ambition. Indeed, the artist recently told Entertainment Weekly, "I've got film agents in America now, and I'm going to be working with the Ford modeling agency in the near future."

While the prospect of conquering America might seem like a rather tall order, Samantha Mumba seems unfazed. "It's a big thing, but I'm up for the challenge," she says.