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LOYISO BALA

As a teenager Loyiso Bala was classically trained, finishing top of his class, at the prestigious Drakensburg Boys Choir in South Africa. He later became the youngest conductor for the National Youth Choir at the age of 19.

 

Following his overwhelming success with legendary Kwaito act TKZee, he decided to release two singles in his own right, Musukukhala and Silky Soft Skin in 2001. This laid the foundation for his solo career and at the end of 2002 he embarked on a world tour that saw him stopping off in London, America, Asia and the Middle East.

 

It would have been easier to just kick back after the tour, but Loyiso went on to release first and second albums Wine Woman and Song and Amplified in 2003 and 2005 respectively. Right away his music solidified his reputation as South Africa’s king of R&B, with singles such as Girl Without A Name and Gimme The Night.

 

Since then, he has received numerous awards ranging from 5 South African Music Awards - SAMAs, 3 Metro FM Awards, a South African Film and TV Award- SAFTA for Best Musical Score to YOU Magazine’s Sexiest Man, GQ’s Most Stylish Male in the country as well as Men’s Health Best Man for Arts & Culture award. He was even nominated at the MTV Africa Music Awards alongside Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Akon and P Square for Best R&B.

 

Loyiso has performed alongside artists of the highest caliber including Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, John Legend, Brian McKnight, Elton John, Will Smith and Akon but his most memorable performances have been performing for some of the highest dignitaries, such as Nelson Mandela, Richard Branson, Gordon Brown, Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and more.

 

A philanthropist by heart, Loyiso is an ambassador for Nelson Mandela’s 46664 brand, the Smile Foundation, MaAfrika Tikkun, and most recently Cotlands, which sees him supporting several charitable and worthwhile causes.

 

His partnership with 46664 lead him to put on a stellar performance for an audience of over 46,000 at the Nelson Mandela 46664 concert in Hyde Park, London in July 2008, and at Radio City Hall, New York for Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday celebration on the 18th of July 2009.

Loyiso’s third album release showcased the singles I want you, Blow Your Mind (the title track), Take Me Back, Dali Wami and Maybe, which were simultaneously listed on the Top100 radio charts in South Africa in late 2008; a feat that rarely happens.

 

Then in 2010, we saw him developing his career further on multiple levels. Various projects led him to collaborate with artists from India and Kenya, start recording his fourth album and hone in on other skills that made him a favourite choice to be a Master of Ceremony especially in the corporate arena.

 

He was also one of the few local artists chosen to perform alongside Alicia Keys, Shakira, the Black Eyed Peas and John Legend at the FIFA World Cup Kick-Off celebration concert, which took place at Soweto's 30,000-capacity Orlando Stadium on the 10th of June, which was the day before the opening match of the 2010 World Cup.

 

In November 2010 Loyiso released his fourth full-length studio album Full Circle, which includes his hit singles Wrong For You, written by Robin Thicke and Sean Hurley, World of Mine featuring Khuli Chana, and Insanity, which has been a chart topper. For this album he worked with producers both in the United States of America and South Africa.

 

Loyiso’s more recent work saw him executive produce his younger brother’s self titled debut album, PheloB, MCing the 2011 MTN SAMA 17 Friday night awards in addition to performing and presenting at the Saturday night awards, where he was nominated in three categories. Having previously guest judged on South African Idols season VI, he was subsequently chosen to mentor the Top 8 contestants on season VII, which was a first in the history of South African Idols. 

 

He also produced and co-wrote Idols Season VI runner up, Lloyd Cele’s debut album One, which won Lloyd his first SAMA for the Best Pop Album category Loyiso his first SAMA nomination for Best Producer at the MTN SAMA18 awards in 2012.

 

Loyiso just finished his latest project, which is a live Christian Music DVD recording called Love Complete (released in July 2012). This is something he has wanted to do for quite sometime and says: “It is going to be very different to what one may expect; my main focus will be on live performances with my band.” He explains: “Live performances are where I am able to bring everything I love about music together on one great platform”.

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