Ones to watch: Mohombi

Swedish-Congolese R&B crooner Mohombi has had a steady rise on the international music circuit over the past seven years.

Since becoming the first signing to RedOne's 2101 Records in a joint venture with Universal Music Group, the star has collaborated with some pretty well-known faces.

With his impending launch in the UK music market coming 2012, here at Digital Spy we made it our mission to fish out some facts about the forthcoming chart-invader.

The 25-year-old's full name is Mohombi Nzasi Moupondo and he grew up in Norsborg, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, before jetting off on his musical career.

Before striking out on his own accord as a solo singer-songwriter, Mohombi was part of the Swedish hip-hop group Avalon from 2004 to 2008.

Since signing to RedOne's 2101 Records and releasing his debut single 'Bumpy Ride' back in August 2010, Mohombi has amassed over 88 million YouTube views.

As well as being guided by the producer who put Lady GaGa on the map, Mohombi has teamed up with a number of international artists including Nelly, Akon and Nicole Scherzinger for a track titled 'Coconut Tree'.

Mohombi's various collaborations and singles have gained him over nine top ten hits across Europe.

He was recently nominated for 'Best Swedish Act' at the MTV 2011 European Music Awards in Belfast.

The star has been signed to Island Records in the UK, who will be working with Mohombi to release some chart-friendly hits throughout 2012.

To celebrate his long-awaited return to the UK, Mohombi is holding a free one-off fan event in London on November 25. For more details. check out Mohombi's official Facebook event page.

Watch the music video for Mohombi's debut single 'Bumpy Rude' below: