SA: Shekhinah inks deal with Sony

Born Shekhinah Thandi Donnell in 1994, the Durban-born pop and R&B vocalist joins a roster of African A-listers who have also signed deals with Sony. Among these artists are Nigerian musicians Wizkid, Davido and Leriq as well as Tanzania’s Ali Kiba. The record label awarded Kiba recently with a congratulatory plaque for hitting 5 million YouTube hits for his ‘Aje’ video.

Shekhinah broke the news on social via her Instagram account. “@sonymusicafrica and me finally, the results inevitably here will be rosy. Happy to say were in motion and it’s time to snatch people’s wigs and grills. Thanks everyone for their patience and support my album is on its way,” she wrote.

Sony management expressed excitement about having the young female singer on board.

"Shekhinah is undoubtedly one of the most exciting, young, gifted female singer and songwriters on the scene, who is focused on her career,” director of electronic music and A&R at Sony Music Entertainment Africa Spiro Damaskinos said.

“We are very excited to welcome Shekhinah to the Sony Music family and look forward to working closely together to take her music to the continent and beyond."

No strange to South Africa’s music scene, the ‘Back to the Beach’ hitmaker made headlines in 2011 when she landed her first major gig by competing in the country’s seventh season of Idols, where she made it to Top 32. In 2012, she participated in the music competition’s eight season and landed in the top six.

Since then, Shekhinah has established herself as one of South Africa’s most promising young artists. She has also become a household name by performing at various government and corporate functions as well as public events. Her ‘Back to the Beach’ song earned her nominations at the Metro Music Awards and the South African Music Awards. Last year, she won the Best Pop and Alternative prize at the MTV Africa Music Awards.