Local artist Mercy Masakona Madzivhandila from Lwamondo made the Vhembe communities burst with pride when she returned from the 2022 South African Music Awards (SAMA) with the Best Traditional Song award for the title track on her album Tshihwilili Tshanga. The awards ceremony was held at Sun City in Rustenburg on Sunday, 28 August.
The SAMA awards is a music platform where local artists are encouraged to go beyond their passion to produce music that meets the highest standard and serves as recognition for their hard work. "I feel so humbled. I stood face to face with some of the heavyweights in the music industry, but I am thankful and very excited about winning this award," Madzivhandila said.
The artist is indeed very popular for her music and has travelled to several provinces to perform. She has previously won other music awards; this is her eighth award. "I feel like a living legend. This award gives me hope yet again to continue to strive to produce the best of songs to all my fans who support and love my music."
She says that, when she started making music, she did not this would become her lifelong career. "Here I am today, bagging awards which I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever achieve. I think this is a sign that I am doing a good job. I sing what is relevant to people's lives, something that empowers them," she says.
Madzivhandila says determining how the fans rate an artist's music can be very difficult sometimes, but the fact that they voted for her speaks volumes as to how they feel about her music. "I want to thank all of my fans from the bottom of my heart for their support."