Let's begin by admitting that for the major part of the research that this reporter put in for this interview, Lou Bega's 1999 commercial chartbuster Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit Of...) served as a mental background score of sorts. That's as much as saying that Bega — along with his women, Monica, Erica, Rita, Tina and oh, Sandra in the sun — kept us in high spirits throughout the process. It takes us by no surprise then that the German singer-songwriter instantly picks this track's genre as one among the most cherished ones he has dabbled in (and he has dabbled in abundant.) "People across the world react to Mambo very well. They are joyful and happy [when listening to the genre]," says Bega, who serenaded fans in Romania to Mambo numbers last week. He moves on to new territories in the next few days.

2019 marks the sixth year since Bega rendered a single, and 20th since he became one among the most popular names of the '90s with A Little Bit Of. Even though 1999 earned him the kind of stardom he had, until then, only aspired for, he remembers the year with a hint of grief as well. "My father died three weeks before the release of the song. He never got to see his son finally make it," says the Grammy Award nominee. Much like his father, Bega's music idol, Scatman John (I'm A Scatman fame) too succumbed to brain tumour in 1999. "I never got a chance to meet him. I had always liked his approach. He was an unlikely [addition] to the top music charts then. He was a stutterer, which was considered a weakness, and he was older than the regular [pop icons]." And apart from drawing parallels between the fate that had met John and his own father, Bega sees many a similarity between him and the scatting legend. "We liked to be outsiders, and create [sounds] that are distinctive. You could recognise [our voice when pitted against] other artistes." It's only fitting then that Bega end his dry run at the singles charts with a song that doubles up as a tribute to John.