BM

Bolia Matundu (born 12 July 1992), also known by the initialism BM, is a Congolese-born, British singer-songwriter, dancer, director and record producer. Born in Kinshasa and raised in London, Matundu is considered one of the influential figures in 21st-century ndombolo music.

Matundu rose to prominence with his 2015 hit single "Ebebi" from his eponymous debut studio album, which gained international acclaim and amassed significant viewership on YouTube. His subsequent hit single "Rosalina" (2018), along with its remix featuring Awilo Longomba released that same year, enjoyed continent-wide success, giving rise to the viral "Rosalina dance challenge" trend that rapidly proliferated across social media platforms and was embraced by various celebrities.

Early life, education and career Bolia Matundu was born on 12 July 1992 in Kinshasa, in what was then Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), and later moved to England at the age of seven.

He attended Carshalton College in Carshalton, England, where he obtained a BTEC national diploma in Music Technology in 2010. His commitment and enthusiasm were commended by his tutors, particularly his use of Additional Learner Support to strengthen his literacy skills. Your Local Guardian reported that he achieved top marks in his program. It included guest appearances by Dymunds, Will Son, DJ Leo, Champion, Freezah Sterling, and Yemo. The remix was a massive hit in Uganda and Kenya. On 25 December, he released a remix of "Rosalina" featuring Awilo Longomba, which garnered broad acclaim and set off a chain of dance challenge videos similar to the original. The remix made the "Top 10 hits that made people dance in 2018" list by Music in Africa. A month later, on 14 April, while Western musicians were increasingly "sampling and recycling Congolese guitar riffs into uninspired pop and urban tracks", BM released "Kanda", an ndombolo single with Celeo Scram. and "Ye Le" on 6 October, with the latter going viral through the trending #YeleChallenge. Later releases included "Nyla" (2023), the instrumental "Intro" (2023), and "Selfie" (2024).

Other ventures BM serves as a director of the dating show Pop the Balloon or Find Love, hosted by his wife Arlette Amuli. The program features a panel of singles who decide whether to continue engaging with a contestant by keeping their balloon intact or "popping" it to indicate disinterest. The show airs weekly on YouTube.

In April 2025, a live adaptation titled Pop The Balloon Live premiered on Netflix, hosted by actress Yvonne Orji. BM and Arlette Amuli served as executive producers, alongside Bonnie Biggs, Dan Adler, Ellen Rocamora, and Matt Sharp.

In March 2026, the couple launched Luv or Pop, a dating app modeled on the balloon-popping concept of their show. Rather than swiping between profiles, users keep balloons for potential matches and pop those representing people they are not interested in. The app also includes Match Lock, a feature that suspends other conversations when two users choose to pursue their connection exclusively.

Discography

Album

2016: Ebebi

Singles