Soweto Spiritual Singers make history again

Soweto Spiritual Singers are performing in A Choral Celebration, to take place on Saturday September 19 at Nelson Mandela Square. | Supplied

Soweto Spiritual Singers are performing in A Choral Celebration, to take place on Saturday September 19 at Nelson Mandela Square. | Supplied

Published Apr 28, 2024

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Soweto Spiritual Singers has once again cemented itself among musical royalty. This comes after the choir group collaborated with Maroon 5’s PJ Morton.

Morton joined Maroon 5 as a touring member in 2010 and became an official member in 2012 after Jesse Carmichael went on an indefinite hiatus.

The latest collaboration comes after many other international collaborations including the one with R&B sensation R Kelly for the official Opening of the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa.

The collaboration has resulted in the recording of the song “Unity (Simunye)” with five times Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter PJ Morton.

Founded by siblings Nkululeko Vilakazi and well known South African gospel singer Vicky Vilakazi, the group has toured EU and UK since 2019, and also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Speaking to ‘The Star’ on Sunday, Nkululeko said the group is excited over the latest collaboration with the Grammy award-winning artist.

“We are very exited as this is a huge milestone for the choir having collaborated with yet another international artist.

“In fact, we have become the masters of international collaborations and what we have done. Whenever we have do these collaborations, we make sure there is an African sound and we have become ambassadors and we continue to showcase the spirit of ubuntu to the world,” he said.

Last year, the 26-plus group, which includes a five-piece live band, collaborated with Yael Benjamin, a South African Jewish singer who recently featured the ensemble on her debut album titled ‘Fly Away’.

Nkululeko said the song titled ‘Unity’ is all about uniting people of divergent backgrounds.

“The song is about oneness and urges us to leave all the things we do an join hands together and be one.

“We already shot a music video with PJ Morton in Soweto which is what we always do whenever we collaborate with international stars.

“We always bring them to Soweto and to iconic spots in the township to ensure it becomes a cultural destination,” he said.

The Star