Durban songbird creates award-winning tunes

WITH the lockdown blues and Covid-19 pandemic drastically affecting performers across the board, talented Durban songbird, Haylea Heyns used the time to stay positive, create more music and connect with her audiences through online platforms.

The ambitious artist, who was the recipient of this year’s Durban Artist of The Year award, said, ”Performing online has its challenges, but it has definitely opened up a broader, more global audience, which has been awesome. It is really difficult to stay inspired sometimes, especially with live music having been put on pause. This makes me really sad, and I just wish things could return to normal. I will continue to write and produce music until that time comes. I can’t wait till it does.”

Speaking about the award, Heyns said the category she won was based on innovation, impact, visibility, popularity, originality and relevance.

ALSO READ:How you can show your support for Haylea

Winners were chosen based on 40% of the judges’ votes and 60% of the public votes. Despite the challenges, Heyns said there have been some big highlights too.

She released a new single at the end of 2020, and flew to Cape Town to perform live on the Afternoon Express show on SABC 3.

“I collaborated with South African DJ and producer, Mark Stent, and wrote and sang on a track for him which he released on his new album, Sugar. This album has just been nominated for a South African Music Award for best pop album,” said Heyns.

Heyns added that she was recently contacted by the organisers of City Awards who notified her that she had been nominated for the Artist of the Year award and that her original song, Gaining Ground, had been nominated for the Song of the Year award (for the local Durban section, called 031 Awards).

City Awards is South Africa’s largest chain of award shows, celebrating the achievements of individuals in the entertainment industry.

When asked about how Covid-19 affected her work she said, “Covid crushed the music industry. Performers who were relying on live gigs to earn a living are really struggling. I am not singing live at all and have had to take on more writing work to pay the bills. But I am hopeful that the industry will get back on its feet, and I can’t wait for the day when it does!” 

She said she is conscious about not growing despondent or getting stuck in a rut.

“Even though I can’t perform live, I have been making sure that I engage with my followers on social media so they know I am still here, and I have been using this time to write and produce loads of music,” she said.

She is currently working on a new single called “Sorry” which is expected to be released soon.

“The single will be available on all digital music streaming platforms from 18 June, including Spotify, iTunes, and Deezer. I have just shot the music video for it on Durban beachfront, and I can’t wait to share it with you. Make sure you’re following me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tik Tok for exciting things to come,” she said.

Do you want to receive news alerts via Telegram? Send us a message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535. You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple