A musical magician
AMANDA BLACK: PRINCESS OF HOPE AND SONG
Lift-off for newbie whose debut single, Amazulu, was No 1 on SA charts in July 2016.
Amanda Black has made the transition from being a child too shy to face a live audience into a beautiful 24-year-old songstress who has captured the hearts of the nation.
Born Amanda Anthony in East London, Black is now a platinum-selling artist signed to Ambitious Records.
She received five different nominations at the 16th annual Metro FM Music Awards and her debut single, Amazulu, is up for best song of the year in 2016.
However, life has not always been smooth and prosperous for this talented young singer.
To this day Amanda can recall when she couldn’t even bear to face a crowd, let alone captivate them with her sensuous vocal abilities.
At first she comes across as a spontaneous extrovert, yet after a few minutes her humble, introverted personality gets the better of her.
When she’s asked about herself, her face lights up and she carefully selects the words to describe all that she embodies, finally settling on: “I am a girl from the Eastern Cape, started singing when I was little – mostly at church and family events.
“I remember a time when I was 11 and was meant to perform at a talent show, but when the backing track started, I ran off the stage.
“I am grateful that my friends pushed me to go back on and sing. Without them I don’t think there would be an Amanda Black.”
That talent show prepared her for what the future had in store. In 2015, South Africans were introduced to a beautiful, talented girl dreaming of becoming a star on the international singing competition, SA Idols. Sadly that journey was cut short and Amanda was voted out of the top 10.
But music has always been in her destiny so after completing matric, she enrolled to study music – a decision which was greatly motivated by her mother.
Amanda went to varsity and completed a diploma and is pleased she listened to the words of the wise.
Eager to make a success of herself, the Afro-pop sensation packed her bags and headed to the city of gold and hope, with only one goal in mind – to fake it till she made it – and she did.
“I did not expect 2016 to be my breakout year. I had discussed with my mother that on January 10 I was moving to Joburg (don’t ask me why the 10th, it somehow felt good with my soul).
“It’s only when I was on the bus that it hit me that I was finally going to be an adult.
“On arriving in the big city, I moved in with my cousin and as luck would have it in May I woke up to an e-mail from the Ambitious Records CEO, who asked me what I wanted to do with my talent.
“Two weeks later I was signed to the label and two weeks after that I found myself in a studio recording Amazulu.”
Amazulu debuted at number one on the SA charts in July and launched her to great heights.
Her unique Afo-pop sound has not only differentiated her from other artists in the genre, but has put her up among the legends she admires in the music industry.