Samira is manifesting

Singer-songwriter, TV star, actress, globetrotter and former ballerina, Samira is mighty talented. It’s also safe to say that her schedule is jam-packed. At the time of our chat, she is in Berlin, having flown in straight from a trip to Egypt (as confirmed via an Instagram stalk) and is heading back to London to attend Mighty Hoopla at the weekend. While her face may look familiar from season four of Love Island, the twenty-nine-year-old club-pop artist’s journey extends far beyond reality TV. Once a West End performer, she released her first single ‘I Love Your Smile’ (a cover of Shanice’s ’90s track) in 2022 and her debut EP, Dancefloors & Drama Vol. 1, in 2024.

Now, though, the rest of the south London artist’s summer will focus on promo for her second EP — including tracks she describes as “sunroof down, hair in the wind” and “sexy and seductive” — as well as playing live gigs and releasing her first film acting role, a horror take on an animated Disney classic dubbed Bambi: The Reckoning. All this and continuing to dress impeccably. Besides TV, film and music, fashion is another thing the multi-hyphenate is passionate about (her fashion inspirations include Tracy Beaker and “the whole 2000s Topshop era”, if you were wondering). It’s with her primary love of music, however, that our conversation begins.

Sufiya McNulty: First off, you’re just about to release ‘Missing’ and ‘Cardio’. What can you tell us about those tracks?

Samira: I’ve got so much music coming this summer, and these are the first two off the board! ‘Missing’ is a collab with a really talented producer called Alex Kirsch. It’s a big summer dance track — one of those sunroof down, hair in the wind kinda songs, with really emotive lyrics and a big vocal. It’s such a perfect re- introduction before I head into EP mode. And then we have ‘Cardio’, which is the first track to come from my second EP. I feel like this one is such a turning point for me as an artist. It’s really sexy and seductive, and feels more outrageous than anything I’ve done before. One of my biggest inspirations is Britney, and I was really channelling her when we were putting it together, alongside loads of early 2000s electro and current stuff like Charli XCX and Tove Lo. So there’s a real melting pot of influences there.