SA: Joya Mooi collaborates with Lady Donli on new single Only Water

The track has already gained traction on streaming platforms, featuring on Spotify and Apple Music playlists including R&Beats, New Music Friday across 28 territories, and New in R&B in 26 regions, boosting Joya Mooi’s profile both in Africa and internationally.

‘Only Water’ draws inspiration from Olympic diving legend Greg Louganis, who found sanctuary in water during the late 1980s amid HIV stigma. The song explores themes of refuge, resilience, and emotional release, framing water as a space of safety and introspection.

Built on warm bass, subtle keys, and layered harmonies, the track is described as immersive and contemplative, designed for reflective listening rather than spectacle. Vocally, Joya Mooi and Lady Donli complement each other, allowing their voices to meet without competing and conveying a sense of calm strength and emotional honesty.

The single continues Joya Mooi’s exploration of complex emotions, following previous releases ‘Technicolour’, ‘Pay Day’, and ‘Lookalike’. Across this body of work, she examines the nuance of everyday life, focusing on observation and emotional co-existence rather than resolution. ‘Only Water’ emphasises surrender, trust, and the quiet power of letting go.

Joya Mooi’s songwriting highlights subtle, often overlooked moments, quiet realizations, emotional contradictions, and inherited memories, without forcing closure or spectacle. Lady Donli, meanwhile, brings boldness and directness to the collaboration, blending alternative R&B, soul, funk, and rock while addressing desire, ambition, and self-definition. Together, the artists balance restraint with energy, producing a track grounded in lived experience and emotional clarity.

‘Only Water’ is available to stream across major platforms via Fanlink.

Miranda Magodla, Nomfundo Radebe and Mndeni Mahlangu contributed to this article.​​​​​