Top artists to perform at Miss South Africa finale

Those booked to perform include Boity, Elaine, Heavy K, Lloyiso, Makhadzi, Nadia Nakai, Ndoni & Rouge

By CityLIfe Arts Writer

Some of South Africa’s top musical talents are set to perform in what promises to be a dazzling Miss South Africa 2022 finale, which will take place on Saturday, August 13, at Sun International’s flagship venue, the SunBet Arena, Time Square, Pretoria.

The artists – all industry heavyweights – are chart-topping rappers Boity and Rouge; R&B hit makers Elaine and Heavy K; Lloyiso who last year made his international debut with the single Seasons which had 16 million streams; African queen Makhadzi  who was the most streamed female artist on Apple Music for 2021; hip-hop performer Nadia Nakai, star the Netflix reality show Young, Famous & African; Ndoni whose debut EP is scheduled for release later this year and rapper Rouge.

Says Relebogile Mabotja, Black Swan Media Executive Producer and Miss South Africa 2022 live pageant producer: “We are very excited about the entertainment lined up for this year’s Miss South Africa finale. We really wanted to present something new, something classic, something fresh and something unexpected in the pageant world but in line with our messaging. Having the range of performers that we lined up grace our stage is only fitting for a night where we crown our next Miss South Africa. It will be a big night of enthralling performances and audiences can expect to move and to be moved during the show.”

Elaine is delighted to be part of the show: “I am so excited to be performing at this year’s Miss South Africa pageant. This is going to be my first time performing at a pageant so it’s going to be a very special moment for me and I can’t wait to share it with you all. See you there!”

Meet the performers:

Boity. Potchefstroom-born Boity Thulo made her rapping debut on the Migos Culture Tour in South Africa in 2017 and a year later released her debut single Wuz Dat which became the first ever single by a female rapper in South Africa to be certified platinum and the best-selling single of all time by a female rapper in the country. It also won ‘Best Collaboration’ at the 2018 South African Hip Hop Awards making her the first lead female rapper to achieve this. In December 2020 she released the EP 4436 which was later nominated for Best Hip Hop album at the 27th South African Music Awards. In July 2019, Thulo was named by Forbes magazine in the 30 under 30 creatives category for her contribution to the music and entertainment sector.

Elaine. Ndivhuwo Elaine Mukheli – aka Elaine – started singing at age six and participated in the school choir and various talent competitions. In 2014 she received a gold medal at the 8th World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia and began writing her own music while still at high school. Her debut single, Slip Away was released in April 2019 followed by I Just Wanna Know and her debut EP, Elements, which clocked one million accumulative streams within two weeks of its initial release and reached No.1 on the album charts in South Africa. The EP spawned the single You’re the One, which topped both iTunes and Apple Music single charts and earned Elaine her first number one on the Metro FM Top 40. The music video for You’re the One was viewed 100 000 times within 24 hours of release. In July 2020 Elements was certified platinum and nominated for Best R&B/Soul Album at the 26th South African Music Awards. In November 2020, Elaine was nominated in the Best Female Southern Africa category at the African Muzik Magazine Awards.

Heavy K. Mkhululi Siqula – professionally known as Heavy-K – was born in Gqeberha in 1991. In 2012 he moved to Johannesburg to pursue his career in music and released his debut studio album Respect the Drumboss 2013 in January 2013. In 2014 he produced Bucie’s single Easy to Love followed a year later by the release of his own single, Umoya. He was nominated for Best Collaboration and Best Dance Album for Respect the Drumboss 2015 at the Metro FM Awards. He released his third studio album, titled 1950, in 2016, followed by a slew of chart-topping singles including Inde, Sphum’ elokshini and Uyeke as well as best-selling albums Respect the Drumboss 2018, Khusta and Respect the Drumboss 21 (10 Years edition). Last year Heavy K also released a remix of the song Shivers in collaboration with Ed Sheeran.

Lloyiso. Lloyiso wields the kind of voice that instantly tugs at heartstrings and makes you stop what you’re doing and sing along. Hailing from just outside of Gqeberha, the singer/ songwriter/producer conveys emotion in its purest form through his music. As a kid he looked forward to music in church on Sundays and discovered the likes of Jennifer Hudson through his sister. Every morning, he sang as soon as he woke up and got ready for school and regularly serenaded an imaginary crowd in the backyard. At 16 he placed fifth on South African Idol and continued to perform anywhere he could, even singing in exchange for dinner at local pubs. Lloyiso amplified his voice globally by posting covers on Facebook before embracing YouTube, gaining the endorsement of everyone from Kygo to Tyga. Nailing viral renditions of Rihanna, Billie Eilish, Lewis Capaldi and more, he launched his TikTok account in 2020, generating tens of millions of views and attracting the attention of labels worldwide. He previewed his debut single Seasons on the social media platform and incited a flurry of anticipation before the official release in October last year.

Makhadzi. Makhadzi’s singing career began at the age of 13 when she used to perform at taxi ranks but it wasn’t until she was 21 that she garnered widespread attention after she released her first single Tshanda Vhuya. In 2019, Makhadzi was featured by Master KG on a song titled Tshikwama, released off the album Jerusalema and a year later released her debut album Kokovha for which achieved gold status. In April 2021, Makhadzi released a number of singles, including Mjolo, Ghanama, Tchukutsha and Lady Du as well as her second album African Queen and featured on Salungano, a collaboration single with Kabza De Small. She received a nomination for Best Female Artist in South Africa at the 2021 All Africa Music Awards. Her EP, Pain Ya Jealous was released in March this year and was certified gold in South Africa.

Nadia Nakai, one of South Africa’s most successful hip hop recording artists, grew up in Johannesburg after attending high school in Kenya. She made her first TV appearance on the e.tv hip hop show Shiz Niz where she won the Mixtape 101 competition, making her the first female to do so. She rose to prominence in 2013 when she released her debut single Like Me and since then has recorded several smash hits including Whatever, Saka Wena and The Man (featuring Cassper Nyovest). Her first EP Bragga was released in September 2016. In 2018 she hosted the red carpet special for MTV Africa at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Her debut album Nadia Naked was released in June 2019 and the following year she released a documentary on Showmax about the making of the album. In May 2020, she took home the Best Female Artist award at the All-Africa Music Awards and was awarded the most stylish performing artist at the 2020 SA Style Awards. Last year Nakai hosted the first season of Channel O’s Gen-Z South Africa and at the 2021 South African Hip Hop Awards, she was nominated for ‘Artist of the Decade’. More recently, she appeared in the Netflix reality show Young, Famous & African.

Ndoni. Born in Newlands West in Durban, Ndoni – real name Phumzile Mseleku – made headlines after giving birth before the live shows of season 16 of Idols SA in which she was a top 5 finalist. Says Ndoni: “Singing was something I wanted to do ever since I was young. When I turned 16, I got up the courage to enter Idols SA but I was rejected.

I returned when I was 18 and again when I was 22 until I finally got the opportunity to sing for the judges at the age of 25.” Although she didn’t win, she dominated the airwaves with two smash hits – Emakhaya by Oskido and Phakeme by Heavy K. Ndoni will be releasing her new single Angifuni Omunye featuring De Mthuda and Da Muzical Chef, shortly and plans to drop her debut EP later this year.

Rouge. Deko Barbara-Jessica Wedi – aka Rouge – is of DR Congolese descent although she was born in Pretoria. She started song writing at the age of 12 and rapping at the age of 19 and at 22 released two singles, Party and Mi Corazon. In 2015 AKA featured Rouge alongside other female rappers in the remix of his song Baddest and a year later she released Mbongo Zaka” featuring Moozlie, which became her first song to top the charts on all major radio stations across South Africa. Rouge was listed as one of six best female rappers in Africa by hip hop website Creative-Hiphop in 2017. That same year she released her debut album The New Era Sessions and premiered a short film for the album as a video anthology and drama on MTV Base. She released five singles from the album. The film won several accolades, including a South African Film and Television Award for ‘Best Micro Budget Film’ and a South African Music Award for ‘Best Music Video of the Year.’

Miss South Africa 2022 will be broadcast live on M-Net (DStv Channel 101) and Mzansi Magic (DStv Channel 161) on Saturday, August 13, from 18h30 and streamed for an international audience on the Miss South Africa app. In addition to the pageant finale, fans can also watch live red carpet coverage and an interview with the newly crowned Miss South Africa exclusively on the Miss South Africa app. Download the Miss South Africa App for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play store.

Tickets for the pageant can be purchased from the Miss South Africa app and website as well as from Ticketmaster. General access tickets cost from R250 to R450 while VIP tickets are R1 500 and include a red-carpet and pre-event celebration.

Miss South Africa 2022 will take home prizes and sponsorships worth more than R3 million. The Top 10 competing for the crown are: Anarzade Omar, Ayanda Thabethe, Itumeleng Parage, Keaoleboga Nkashe, Lebogang Mahlangu, Luvé Meyer, Luyanda Zuma, Ndavi Nokeri, Pearl Ntshehi and Tamsyn Jack.
 
Miss South Africa is presented by Weil Entertainment in association with M-Net, Mzansi Magic and Sun International.