From recording captivating covers of her favourite artists in her bedroom to becoming the first-ever female South African artist to be featured on the Spotify Single Programme, rising musician Lusanda is set to amplify her voice on a global scale!
Johannesburg, South Africa (28 May 2025) – Rising South African singer and songwriter Lusanda Ngcbo, who goes by the mononym Lusanda, has emerged as the first-ever female South African artist to be featured on the Spotify Single Programme with her rendition of Mad World!
Born in Durban and raised in Johannesburg, Lusanda didn’t set out to be a singer. In fact, for most of her life, the 24-year-old artist thought her future was in dance.
Her earliest memories are those filled with music and movement. In her Spotify profile, she shares about growing up dancing (a classically trained ballerina since age five), playing marimbas, and singing in choirs before eventually enrolling in choreography studies at the University of Cape Town. Music was always in the background, but it wasn’t until she started posting TikTok covers that her voice found its way to the forefront.
Lusanda initially captured the internet’s attention through a series of TikTok covers that showcased her smooth vocals and talent for merging R&B with pop, rap, and Amapiano genres.
In 2023, a particularly spontaneous upload, a cover of Outkast’s iconic song Hey Ya, signalled a new phase in her life. The video swiftly went viral, racking up millions of views in just a few weeks and attracting offers from music producers.
Spotify Single is a global initiative that provides artists with a platform to create and share original music recordings, including reimagined versions of their own songs and covers of songs they admire.
Lusanda, known for her emotionally resonant vocals, transforms Gary Jules’ version of the Tears for Fears classic into something uniquely her own and infuses Mad World with a deeply personal and distinctly South African essence.
“I wanted to add colour through my voice,” Lusanda states, and she accomplishes this with remarkable clarity and control, solidifying her position as a standout voice from the region.
With more original music forthcoming, Lusanda is set to take the South African music scene by storm.
Sources: Spotify
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