PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA - OCTOBER 05: Dr Tumi & Sbu Noah during Dr Tumi's Gathering of Worshippers held at the Loftus Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Pretoria, South Africa. The event, organized by gospel music megastar, Dr Tumi, in its 3rd edition, featured guest performers such as American stars Fred Hammond and Bishop Cortez Vaughn, as well as local musicians Khuli Chana and Jaziel Brothers. (Photo by Gallo Images/Oupa Bopape)
Gospel musician Sbu Noah has left his fans equally heartbroken and encouraged after sharing he had to overcome negative comments early in his career to get where he is now.
Noah shared a video of Jennifer Lopez responding to how she got over the negativity and said he also went through the same experience.
Lopez said: “I don’t let the opinions of others really influence how I feel about myself. That took a long time because in the early part of my career I did, and it made me feel bad about myself. So I came out and my first song went to number 1, my first album went to number 1 and my first movie went to number 1.
“And then everybody was like ‘she can’t sing, she can’t dance, she can’t act, she is just a pretty face or her butt is big’ or whatever they were saying about me and I started thinking, ‘yeah that’s true’ and it really hurt me for a long time. I just kept going despite the hurt and the pain and I just couldn’t allow myself to let that become who I was.”
For Noah, the negative comment came from someone he looked up to.
He said: “Just keep going! [I] will never forget hearing someone I looked up to saying I can’t sing! [It] broke my heart and frankly, I believed it since it came from them.”
But he couldn’t stop singing, he added, despite the heartbreak and pain he suffered after the negative comment.
“Funny enough, even though I didn’t entirely believe in myself, the more I sang, the more love I received and the more lives I’d touch… but in the midst of all the contradictions and pain, God would always place people, strategically so, who will tell you you’re doing well and keep you going.”
Like Lopez, it took a while for Noah to get where he is now – confidently performing before crowds that usually end up asking for more.
“It’s amazing that an icon like JLo went through the same struggles as some of us! But like she said; no matter the pain, no matter how discouraged you get, just keep going!
“There’s a reason you’re here and doing what you’re doing. Keep working hard. Sooner than later, you’ll start to believe in yourself and when you believe you’re great, you become great so keep going.”
Noah was part of the Joyous Celebration family for a while before releasing his solo album, A David Kind of Psalm, with songs such as Zundikhaphe and Getsemane that are fan favourites.
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