Cape Town - Denice Marais is R100 000 shy of competing at the Karaoke World Championships. The last time a South African representative was at the world champs was in 2006.
In a bid to raise funds, the 22-year-old performed on Saturday in her home town, Heidelberg, on the same day of her grandfather’s funeral.
“When he was on his sick bed, he told me I shouldn’t stop singing and I should go on with the gift the Lord has given me,” Marais recalled.
On Monday, Marais will perform in a Riversdale event attended by Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown.
Denice Marais
Having grown up on a farm outside Heidelberg with no formal music training, Marais said she never expected to win the SA Karaoke championships.
“When I won, I started to cry. I couldn’t believe it. For me karaoke is just to enjoy yourself,” she said.
The current karaoke champ needs about R100000 to compete in the 15th annual Karaoke World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, from November 14 to 18.
If she secures the funds and makes it to the championships, her plan is "to give my best, but most of all, to have fun while I work hard".