AKA, The Soil, Straatligkinders and BlackByrd
record local songwriters' lyrics
record local songwriters' lyrics
The Sanlam Sing 'it lyric writing competition invited South Africans over the age of 18 to submit their lyrics for top South African artists to record into hit songs. The third instalment of this popular competition, held annually, kicked off in August, with 900 amateur lyric writers submitting thousands of entries over the course of two months.
This year's participating bands, AKA, BlackByrd, The Soil and Straatligkinders, then had to face the daunting task of each selecting only one lyric to turn into a song. And now it is up to the public to vote for their favourite track! The song with the most votes will win the lyricist R50 000 in cold hard cash!Sanlam Sing 'it will also sponsor the winning artist to record the song as a music video.
All four finalists' songs will be aired on MTV (DStv channel 130) during November. And as if seeing your name and song on TV isn't enough, each finalist goes home with R5 000 cash, a set of Monster DNA headphones worth R2 500, and Roland home recording equipment to the value of R3 500, courtesy of Paul Bothner Music.
The competition is a partnership between lead sponsor Sanlam, organisers LitNet and media partner MTV (DStv channel 130). Sanlam Sing 'it aims to showcase the work of amateur lyric writers, and facilitates collaboration between top South African artists and talented writers, giving them exposure and helping them get a foot in the door to enter the local music industry. Jay Jays, Paul Bothner Music and Monster DNA have come on board as retail sponsors and the winning music video will be exclusively aired on MTV early next year.
The songs can be downloaded for FREE at www.facebook.com/singit.co.
To vote:
THE FINALISTS ARE:
For AKA: "Freedom" by Giovanni Coetzee
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Download the song
"It is very challenging for people to write music from their own perspective for another artist. It is refreshing to hear hip hop music with a positive message. Giovanni's song had the most structured and well-written lyrics." – AKA
More about Giovanni: Giovanni is a 27-year-old father of two from Cape Town. He works for the mobile network Mxit. He is passionate about music, especially the process of writing and creating a song. Giovanni is also a pastor and theology graduate planning on establishing his own church soon. He enjoys outdoor sports like trail running and off-road mountain biking.
Download the song
"It is very challenging for people to write music from their own perspective for another artist. It is refreshing to hear hip hop music with a positive message. Giovanni's song had the most structured and well-written lyrics." – AKA
More about Giovanni: Giovanni is a 27-year-old father of two from Cape Town. He works for the mobile network Mxit. He is passionate about music, especially the process of writing and creating a song. Giovanni is also a pastor and theology graduate planning on establishing his own church soon. He enjoys outdoor sports like trail running and off-road mountain biking.
"We had already worked on the melody and we needed lyrics that would give the whole song a happy and playful feel, and Nothando Zungu's lyrics provided that and more. When we sang those lyrics it felt like we had written them – they took us back into the Motown era and resonated with a nostalgia that we sometimes tap into. That's how much we connected with her work. We had lots of fun in the studio recording the song and we can't wait for people to get down to it. We love the song and want it on our second album." – The Soil
More about Nothando: Nothando Zungu is a 24-year-old data collector from Pietermaritzburg. Until this year she has never shared any of the many lyrics she's written. If she wins the competition, she hopes to spend some of the prize money on taking music lessons to help her give life to this secret love affair with music that she's had for many years.
For Straatligkinders: "Plaasvervanger" by Frans van Wyk
For Straatligkinders: "Plaasvervanger" by Frans van Wyk
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Download the song
"The song is definitely one of our funnest and danciest songs we’ve done yet. We wanted to do something different from what we’ve done before and this project was all about having fun and stretching ourselves and crossing borders within our own writing camp. The story behind the song is one of an underdog who lost a love, and I think we can all relate to that at some point in our lives.” – Straatligkinders
More about Frans: Frans van Wyk is a 26-year-old singer-songwriter from Pretoria. He submitted three songs and this was his first year of participating in the competition. Frans is also the lead vocalist in a local band called "Hey, River!".
For BlackByrd: "You're the reason why" by Beulah Lee Harris
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
Download the song
"We immediately fell in love with Beulah Lee Harris's lyrics. They were so simple. So straight to the point and so from the heart! The melody we chose completely marries her words and so we're very proud that we could create something so special with her."
More about Beulah: Beulah Lee Harris is a 49-year-old sales representative from Durban who has been writing songs for more than twenty years. She has entered 21 songs for the Sanlam Sing 'it competition since 2012 and "You're the reason why" is her first song that has ever been recorded by another artist. Beulah has five children and likes to write songs while she's cooking for her family.
For more information on the competition please visit www.facebook.com/singit.
For media-related queries or to request an interview with the artists or finalists, please contact:
Chrizane van Zyl
LitNet Sanlam Sing 'it Project Manager
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