Leon John

Although he was born in Zimbabwe and came of age in Cairo, Egypt - South Africa will soon claim 26 year old singer-songwriter LEON JOHN as their own. With his soulful presence, impactful songwriting style and and nearly 1 million streams across online platforms, it won’t be long before LEON JOHN encapsulates you with his words and melodies.

Inspired by his Karanga and Xhosa roots, LEON JOHN’s music is enchantingly complemented by his evocative and resonant vocals. His absolute adoration of Oliver Mtukudzi’s arrangements and storytelling abilities, the gutsy fearlessness with which Thandiswa Mazwai performs and the brave poetic cadences of Miriam Makeba, always remind and inspire him to remain truthful to those foundations in every note and phrase. Self-taught, he learned most of his singing technique from watching, listening and learning from other singers who he admires and draws inspiration from.

LEON JOHN found out he could sing at the age of 11 when a teacher in his music class asked him to stop singing at the back of the class and forced him to embrace his voice and sing in front of the whole school. At that moment, he fell in love with the stage and never looked back since.

Now 14 years later, the Jozi-based artist’s musical style rests firmly in Pop music whilst he borrows in style from the Soul and RnB genres with elements of American Soul and Gospel music inspirited. He draws inspiration from places, experiences and enigmatic characters and effortlessly translates it into songs, melodies and lyrics.

LEON JOHN has been a feature at a number of reputable venues and events around Johannesburg, including shows at The Orbit and Feel Good Series. Most notable in his rising career so far was his critically acclaimed performance at Absolut One Source Live in collaboration with world renowned creative director Trevor Stuurman and celebrated designer Rich Mnisi; a performance at The Global Citizen Mandela 100 Summit and at the finals of the Afro Punk Battle of the Bands 2018.

LEON JOHN’s debut EP released in 2018, ‘To Be Continued’ has to date received more than 900k streams, with his previous single ‘Somebody’ debuting at #16 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Chart and listed at #1 on Apple Music’s ‘Afro-Soul Hits’ within a week of its release. The single has since amassed over 500k streams across online platforms.

According to GQ Magazine, two words come to mind when describing LEON JOHN: Spirit & Soul.

With the release of his single, PRAY FOR YOU, he brought a new pop power ballad sound with a banging percussive beat and emotive piano accompaniment which commands attention with the first second.

Written in January 2019 between Johannesburg and New York, PRAY FOR YOU was produced by the hands of star producer Bubele Booi who, fresh off of the success of his work on Beyonce’s ‘The Gift’ album, has produced a string of pop hits for other South African artists including Lady Zamar, Ami Faku and Manu Worldstar.

“Songs always seem...