- Idols SA season 15 runner up Snenhlanhla ‘Sneziey’ Msomi’s is kicking off her first music tour on 26 April 2024 for her EP Sibonga Umusa.
- She fostered her love for gospel music through singing in the church and performing in competitions like Clash of the Choirs.
- Sneziey’s first love lies in theatre and stage performance. She’s performed in productions like Mandela the musical in London.
- She has survived through reproductive issues and has a nine-month-old baby girl.
Half a decade ago, Snenhlanhla ‘Sneziey’ Msomi was just another hopeful on the 2019 season of Idols SA that almost found her way to the top as season 15 runner-up with her big voice and enduring faith.
The South African Music Award-nominated gospel singer now has a successful debut album and EP under her belt, the latter of which has earned her more than one million streams.
Sneziey is set to embark on her first-ever nationwide tour starting off in her hometown Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, kicking off on 26 April 2024.
But before she burst into the mainstream with her debut album Izulu, the 29-year-old’s humble beginnings as an only child brought up by her grandmother and uncles gave her a complex and varied perspective on life.
From the streets of Umlazi, a star was born
Sneziey’s upbringing was one of challenges and lessons learnt. Born from a teen mother who passed away at just 23 years old, Sneziey was brought up as her grandmother’s daughter surrounded by her mother’s brothers who weren’t much older than her.
Performance, theatre and the stage were creative outlets Sneziey always held dear to her.
From singing in the church choir from seven years old, being on the winning team of Clash of the Choirs in 2014 and using the money to help pay for bills at home to performing in Mandela the musical in London in 2022, it gave Sneziey a nuanced perspective of life.
Sneziey consistently refers to her spirituality in her daily life and her music, so much so that her repertoire of performing gospel during her time competing in Idols SA after not knowing a single trending pop song on the list while shooting the show is what made her stand out.
Sneziey tells TRUELOVE that, “I studied music, but I’ve always had a thing for theatre … and as much as I want to be a singer, I studied jazz, but I have a thing of I want to do theatre, yabo. I think it was just a matter of how do I do it. And mina ngaseMlazi and the only place that had a theatre was KwaMashu and uMashu noMlazi are far apart … But now in 2022 I did a musical. I feel like it’s the highlight ye-career yami to be honest with you.
“And as much as I do have Idols, but doing theatre for me was like, this is home. It felt like home. When I say it was my first love, stage TV was my first love. As an actress, not as a singer. So, I did Mandela the musical in London … I feel like more than anything, it’s me being able to taste almost everything that I’ve always longed for nge-career yami and I trust and strongly believe it’s just the beginning.”
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Bringing the gospel sounds of her inner most thoughts to Mzansi
Sneziey’s personal and professional life has had quite the trajectory since Idols SA.
Dealing with a skyrocketing career and adoring listeners itching for new offerings while at the same time coming to terms with serious implications like a miscarriage and fibroids in her uterus has not only influenced her music but has also strengthened her faith.
“The songs on the EP are literally idiary yami. Thixo Wamadinga Ethu is a song that I wrote in hospital. It was literally me having a moment of, ‘God, I’m going through so much, I can’t even pray. I’m hurting, I just lost umntwana … but Nkulunkulu, how did you allow that?’
“So, since I can't utter any words, I’m going to put this into writing. Not knowing at some point I’ll have a melody in my head ringing Thixo Wamadinga Ethu and then when I went back I was like, okay this is the song,” she reveals.
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The gift of motherhood
Sneziey’s challenges with conception weren’t left unrewarded.
The Kungumusa hitmaker welcomed her baby girl Owomusa Ziyana Vusani in June 2023 and with her little one cooing in the background, she explains to us how grateful to have such a sweet baby, especially after difficulties during her pregnancy.
“My baby was growing with two fibroids in my womb and had a big fibroid sized of an orange in my placenta, which was depriving uZiyana 90 percent of oxygen. So, Ziyana lived on 10 percent oxygen, which is why we named her Owomusa because we got her by grace, like it can only be grace. Nothing can explain how she lived.”
