Samira Mighty
Samira is manifesting
I found it daunting when I first started, but I love being in the studio now, whether it's with a legend like Cutfather, or someone up and coming. I learned so much from working with Cutfather and his team in particular. They're so focused and work so hard, they'd think nothing of doing an eighteen-hour session and getting three songs out of it.
Amara Okafor · 31 August 2026
Biography
Ahead of her second EP, the multi-talented artist talks seductive singles, indie horrors and channelling her inner Britney.
Singer-songwriter, TV star, actress, globetrotter and former ballerina, Samira Mighty is mighty talented. It's also safe to say that Mighty's 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 Mighty: 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 reintroduction 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.
Sufiya McNulty: You've moved into a real club-driven sound. What are your favourite club anthems?
Samira Mighty: My music has always been driven by club culture to a certain extent. Across my catalogue you can hear bits of house and drum and bass — even things like reggaeton and garage. It's the main reason why I called my last EP Dancefloors & Drama. I think this EP really takes it up a notch, though. I love clubbing and dance music. There are so many classics that are just staples for me in this area, from 'Gypsy Woman' to 'How Deep Is Your Love' by Calvin [Harris], right through to '365' by Charli XCX and Shygirl, who I can't get enough of at the moment.
Sufiya McNulty: What's your all-time favourite club night or venue?
Samira Mighty: I'm so busy at the moment that I don't get out as much as I like to, but when I do, I might end up at FOLD, or at Drumsheds if I'm after a big day out. I really miss Printworks — it was such an iconic club. I'd love them to open that back up. My go-to place since I was eighteen is The Box in Soho. It's still one of my favourite spots.
Sufiya McNulty: You've been busy working with some amazing talent, including Cutfather, who's worked with everyone from Kylie Minogue to Christina Aguilera. What's that been like for you?
Samira Mighty: I found it daunting when I first started, but I love being in the studio now, whether it's with a legend like Cutfather, or someone up and coming. I learned so much from working with Cutfather and his team in particular. They're so focused and work so hard, they'd think nothing of doing an eighteen-hour session and getting three songs out of it.
Sufiya McNulty: You also recently shot your first acting role in the indie horror, Bambi: The Reckoning. What was that experience like?
Samira Mighty: You also recently shot your first acting role in the indie horror, Bambi: The Reckoning. What was that experience like? It was such an interesting experience. It really took me out of my comfort zone — lots of night shoots and really physically demanding scenes, alongside having to constantly learn new scripts. It was so much fun, but lots of hard work.
Sufiya McNulty: What's your all-time favourite horror film?
Samira Mighty: I absolutely love Midsommar. It's so visually stunning and I love anything weird and culty.
Sufiya McNulty: As well as film, you've also been on the West End. What show was your favourite to star in? Would you ever go back to theatre?
Samira Mighty: I really can't pick between Mamma Mia and Dreamgirls! Mamma Mia was my West End debut, and I was so excited to be in a show that I loved growing up, and where I was such a huge fan of the music — they are such feel-good songs, and pop music doesn't really get much better than ABBA. Dreamgirls, on the other hand, was such a huge production that really gave glitz and glam and the vocals. I'm so busy with my music, but I'd love to do something in the West End again at some point. There are so many newer shows that weren't there when I was in the industry that I'd love to play the lead in.
Sufiya McNulty: Do you think ballet and dance training gave you a unique foundation for everything you do now?
Samira Mighty: The main thing my ballet and dance training gave me is discipline. To be a ballet dancer, you are training to be an athlete. You have to be strong-minded as well as strong-bodied and I've taken this discipline with me throughout my whole adult life. It's helped me in aspects of my personal life, it helped me when I was working in the TV industry and it's definitely helped me now I'm an artist. It's given me thick skin and a sense of determination. In ballet school, if you wanted to be at the top, you had to keep working as hard as you could, and that's exactly the ethos I have with my career now.
Sufiya McNulty: On another note, you also dress impeccably. What influences the way you dress?
Samira Mighty: Thank you! I just love how you can use fashion to express who you are, and just be yourself with it. For me, my fashion very much changes depending on how I feel that day. Some days I'll feel more girly and I'll gravitate towards clothes that are more colourful and cutesy, and the next day my mood may have changed and I'll wear something that's more grungy and masculine. I grew up watching artists from Freddie Mercury to Britney really use fashion as a way to create their own iconic branding, and that's definitely something I'm influenced by. But, equally, I'm inspired by TV shows I watched growing up like Tracy Beaker, and the whole 2000s Topshop era — that time period was really formative to me in developing my sense of style.
Sufiya McNulty: So, what's on the cards for your summer?
Samira Mighty: Music, music and more music! There are more tracks to come from the EP throughout the summer, and there's a whole summer of promo to come alongside that. I really love these songs, so I'm so excited to finally get them out there. There'll be some more live dates to come, which we're just setting up now, and hopefully a bit of travel, as well. I'm off to Mighty Hoopla this weekend, which I'm really looking forward to — I'm manifesting playing there next summer!
Sufiya McNulty: What else are you manifesting for this next chapter of your life?
Samira Mighty: I still feel like I have so many goals to hit. I'm working so hard at the moment, so I'm manifesting a really busy career, meeting lots of new people, starting new adventures and producing some of the best music I've ever done. I love doing this so much. I want to be doing this for a very long time.
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