Music is her life, officially
COVER artist Ashleigh Joseph has a smooth voice and hits the high notes of her favourite singers – including Tracy Chapman, Alicia Keys and Ed Sheeran – just right.
The 25-year-old Parlock performer has been creating a buzz on Facebook after a video of her singing Tamia’s Officially Missing You went viral.
Since then, Joseph started her own Facebook page, Music is Life, and has garnered more than 6 000 “likes” and 7 000 followers in less than a month.
“A friend shared my video with the administrator of the popular Dala-U-Crew page and this was in turn uploaded and it instantly went viral,” said Joseph, a beautician.
“I was asked to load more videos and hundreds of song requests started coming through, which led me to start my own page.”
Her father, Gabriel, a musician, discovered her talent when she was 4, which resulted in her joining the church choir.
“I have not stopped singing since.”
By the age of 10 she was performing at corporate and high-profile events, weddings and birthdays. “I featured in a few theatre productions at The Playhouse Company and the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre in Durban and at restaurants and casinos around the city.”
She said her father, among other family members, was her source of inspiration.
“Many people played a role in this, my dad being the main one as our family comes from a line of musicians.”
Her choir mistress, Praline Ross, she said, encouraged her to sing solo in church, and her mother, Debbie, often critiqued her performances.
Her message to those hoping to make a mark in the music industry: “Never give up on your hopes, dreams and passion. Continue to put yourself out there until you are discovered.
“But in all of this, remain humble because we all start off as a ‘nobody’ working to become ‘somebody’.”
Joseph intends to compose her own songs and open a spa.
To watch her perform live, catch her at KuDTa at Wilson’s Wharf on Wednesdays from 6pm to 10pm and at TSD in Springfield every first and last Thursday of the month.