As auditions for the third season of Clash of the Choirs are under way, we look at this season’s choirmasters. This time we have a team of young and old musicians who will assemble choirs from across South Africa and pit them against each other in Joburg.
The choirmasters have been announced and they are Sfiso Ncwane, Busiswa, Bucie, JR, iFani, Kelly Khumalo and Penny Penny.
Let’s start off with Penny Penny. Where did they find this guy? For the kids reading this, Penny Penny is one of South Africa’s pioneering musicians post-1994. With a strong voice that was coupled with a flamboyant dress sense, Penny Penny rose to stardom with his hit song, Shaka Bundu. He could command the stage with his strong dance antics and few people could match him in the genre of Afro-beat. But he then left the public eye and when he re-emerged, it was in politics. With such a rich background, it should be intriguing to see what he has to offer to his choir.
We then have Khumalo who, apart from the controversy that the media seems to like to report on, is an immensely talented individual. With a string of hits over the years and memorable choreography on stage, she has the right tools to lead an inspired team.
But that said, Khumalo has to worry about Busiswa who is that Kalawa chikita with swag and charm. She is the voice we first heard on DJ Zinhle’s song My Name Is and then she went on to do her song Lahla, among a string of other hits. She even showed how diverse her talent is by rapping with Tumi Molekane on the hit, Visa. Her choir is in for a deep education on how to present catchy material on stage.
We can’t forget about Bucie who is the undeniable queen of house music at present. There is a lot of material that she has released in the past five years that has affirmed the Sama winner’s position in South African music. She is beautiful and knows her way around vocals so her team is going to be nothing short of phenomenal.
Then come the rappers. iFani is a rapper, but he can sing, too. He will be what Shugasmakx was to the show last season. Earlier this year, the man made history by going gold on the very day he released his sophomore album. He has a good ear so we will be waiting to see how he composes music through his choir.
JR is one of local hip hop’s hidden treasures. In an interview with DJ Dimplez, the DJ called him “one of the underestimated rappers in SA”. Which is true, because the non-hip hop fan might only remember him from the Make The Circle Bigger days, but his verse on AKA’s All Eyes On Me is the best. Just to show how diverse he is, JR is taking part on Clash of the Choirs.
Finally, we have Ncwane who is the new Lundi. His gospel music infuses choral vocals so he will be at home with this show. Every other artist comes from a genre that rarely uses choirs, so this one is for Ncwane to lose.