A Cape Town prison guard had her moment in the spotlight when she performed at a Women’s Day concert, years after she put her singing career on pause.
Collinecia Hawker-Antonie this week performed to a crowd of 5 000 at the An Ode To Women 3: The Queens Ball, at the Grand Arena on Monday night.
The concert was hosted by local singing sensations Robin Pieters and Craig Lucas from The Voice SA.
Hawker-Antonie gave up her golden ticket on music reality TV’s Idols in 2016 after she got a job as a correctional officer. She said being on the big stage was a dream come true.
"I cannot describe the adrenaline rush I experienced on that stage. I was overjoyed, and the experience was unique. I loved getting to live my dream,” she continued.
Pieters said when they were choosing artists to form part of the line-up, the goal was to give a platform to artists that hadn’t “been given their flowers”.
“Collinecia performed at one of our shows in February. People did not get to truly experience her back then, so I knew we had to bring her back to the stage,” he said.
“This show was about empowering women and seemed like the perfect chance to do so,” he added.
Pieters said the power in Hawker-Antonie’s voice is what struck him about her talent.
“I was blown away the first time and this time around even more so. This was her moment. Singing is her passion and it’s so tangible when she performs,” he added.
Hawker-Antonie is a qualified police woman and works as a correctional official at Drakenstein Correctional Centre.
Back in 2016 after returning from her Idols audition, she received a call confirming she got the job.
The 28-year-old said she’d applied for the job eight months before the audition for the show but never heard anything back and chose to go ahead with the auditions.
“When I received the call on that Thursday, they told me that I am leaving for Kroonstad in three days for three months of training,” she said.
“That was the biggest decision I have ever had to make in my life. I thought receiving the golden ticket was the start of something new for me.
“But I know of many Idols winners that are sitting at home with no income.
She added: “At the time, it made more sense to take the job because I needed employment. I realised no one can take my voice away, but the job might not always be there.”
“Thankfully I still got to explore my singing in my job whenever the correctional services host events.”
Working as a woman in a male-dominated industry, Hawker-Antonie said her male colleagues were helpful.
“Despite women being outnumbered in this position, when emergencies happen, they have our backs,” she said.
The Paarl singer said she first entered Idols when she was 16-years-old.
“They told me that I have talent, but that I was too young. I thought that after six years, I would try again because I was older by then,” she said.
She said her performance at the concert as well as an appearance on S3’s Expresso last week has left her inundated with calls and requests to perform.
“I’ve been performing here and there and I hope that from here on out, it will become more consistent,” she said.