Samantha Gongol
- Composer
- Actress
- Writer
Samantha Gongol is quite a multi-talented personality - she is not only a musician and a vocalist, but also a songwriter and a composer who is perhaps best known for being one half of the American music duo named Marian Hill, which is widely recognized for its debut EP entitled "Act One" as well as for some hit singles such as "One Time" and "Down".
Samantha Lee Gongol was born on the 14th April 1990, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania USA. During her childhood, Samantha was an avid athlete as she excelled at field hockey. Speaking about her educational background, Samantha matriculated from Haverford High School in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, before she enrolled at New York University where she studied music business.
Samantha began her professional career in the music industry in New York City as a songwriter. However, in 2013 she reunited with her high school friend, American production artist Jeremy Lloyd, with whom she formed the Marian Hill music duo. The band's name comes from the combination of names of the characters from the 1957 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical production "The Music Man" - Marian Paroo and Prof. Harold Hill. Their first song, entitled "Whiskey", was written by their mutual efforts, and was released through several music streaming services shortly after their reunion.
The debut EP of Marian Hill, simply entitled "Play" was released in 2013 and, apart from Samantha and Jeremy, it also featured jazz instrumentals from Steve Davit. The album received a warm reception by the audience, and was described as 'crisp and spare electro-R&B' by The New York Times. Two years later in February 2015, the duo released another EP - "Sway" - which produced the hit single entitled "One Time" which peaked at No. 38 at the Billboard's Top 40 Alternative songs. To a greater prominence Samantha as well as Marian Hill came in September 2015, when she and Jeremy appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden (2015). All these endeavors helped Samantha Gongol to establish herself as a successful musician, which led her to work on the original soundtrack of the 2015 adventure drama movie Jem and the Holograms (2015).
In June 2016, Marian Hill released its debut studio album entitled "Act One", which was a genuine commercial success, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 40 Alternative as well as at No. 5 on its Top 40 Rock songs chart. Additionally, "Act One" produced several hit singles such as "I Want You" and "I Know Why", as well as "Down" which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and later earned Platinum ratings for selling more than one million copies.
Into the limelight Marian Hill came in early 2017 when the above-mentioned hit single "Down" was used in the video commercial for Apple's iPhone 7, which was played during the National Football League's playoff game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks. On the 9th December 2017, Samantha Gongol performed the US national anthem at the opening of the Major League Soccer Cup game between the Toronto and the Seattle Sounders Football Clubs.
In early 2018, Samantha's song "Ta Meilleure Ennemie (Pearls)" was featured in the Hollywood blockbuster movie from the eponymous franchise Fifty Shades Freed (2018), which certainly helped her to boost her popularity. In May that year Marian Hill released its most recent studio album, entitled "Unusual", which has been a moderate commercial success so far by peaking at No. 13 on Billboard's Top 40 Alternative songs chart.
Samantha began her professional career in the music industry in New York City as a songwriter. However, in 2013 she reunited with her high school friend, American production artist Jeremy Lloyd, with whom she formed the Marian Hill music duo. The band's name comes from the combination of names of the characters from the 1957 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical production "The Music Man" - Marian Paroo and Prof. Harold Hill. Their first song, entitled "Whiskey", was written by their mutual efforts, and was released through several music streaming services shortly after their reunion.
The debut EP of Marian Hill, simply entitled "Play" was released in 2013 and, apart from Samantha and Jeremy, it also featured jazz instrumentals from Steve Davit. The album received a warm reception by the audience, and was described as 'crisp and spare electro-R&B' by The New York Times. Two years later in February 2015, the duo released another EP - "Sway" - which produced the hit single entitled "One Time" which peaked at No. 38 at the Billboard's Top 40 Alternative songs. To a greater prominence Samantha as well as Marian Hill came in September 2015, when she and Jeremy appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden (2015). All these endeavors helped Samantha Gongol to establish herself as a successful musician, which led her to work on the original soundtrack of the 2015 adventure drama movie Jem and the Holograms (2015).
In June 2016, Marian Hill released its debut studio album entitled "Act One", which was a genuine commercial success, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Top 40 Alternative as well as at No. 5 on its Top 40 Rock songs chart. Additionally, "Act One" produced several hit singles such as "I Want You" and "I Know Why", as well as "Down" which peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and later earned Platinum ratings for selling more than one million copies.
Into the limelight Marian Hill came in early 2017 when the above-mentioned hit single "Down" was used in the video commercial for Apple's iPhone 7, which was played during the National Football League's playoff game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks. On the 9th December 2017, Samantha Gongol performed the US national anthem at the opening of the Major League Soccer Cup game between the Toronto and the Seattle Sounders Football Clubs.
In early 2018, Samantha's song "Ta Meilleure Ennemie (Pearls)" was featured in the Hollywood blockbuster movie from the eponymous franchise Fifty Shades Freed (2018), which certainly helped her to boost her popularity. In May that year Marian Hill released its most recent studio album, entitled "Unusual", which has been a moderate commercial success so far by peaking at No. 13 on Billboard's Top 40 Alternative songs chart.
