‘I Love My Blackness'

She’s the toast of the music scene, but Amanda Black didn’t always feel comfortable in her skin. She talks about accepting herself and making good music.

- Khosi Biyela

IF AT first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again, the saying goes – and no one knows the value of perseverance better than this rising South African star.

Drawing inspiration from American singer and actress Jennifer Hudson, who had her fair share of rejection and disappointment before she became a superstar, Amanda Black shook off a three-time failure on Idols SA to become an award-winning musician.

Many would have thrown in the towel and given up their musical dreams but this tough 23-year-old hung in there and now has an inspiring tale to tell about her triumph over adversity.

Last year she dropped her debut album, Amazulu, and it turned her world upside down, selling more than 40 000 copies and reaching platinum status in its first three weeks.

“I used to tell my mother I wanted to sing just like Whitney Houston and perform on big stages around the world,” she says. “I always knew I was going to be a singer, but I didn’t expect in one year I would become Amanda Amazulu!”

And then came the awards: She won big at the recent Metro FM Music Awards, scooping Best R&B Album and the prestigious Listener’s Choice award.

“I was standing in the crowd when they said my name, but I was sure I heard them call someone else. After a few seconds it hit me that I’d actually won.”

IT WASN’T easy being ousted from Idols SA – especially after the third time-lucky charm didn’t pay off. Amanda made it into the Top 10 on her last try in 2015 and was eliminated in seventh place, but she refused to let it get her down for long.

“When I got home I went on the internet to see who else had been eliminated in seventh place and had still made it big. It turns out Jennifer Hudson was once in the same boat!” she says.