Thobela FM’s song of the year drama continues

Limpopo Artist Movement (LAM) reportedly wrote a letter to the Summer Song of the Year competition founder, Owen Ndlovu, asking him to freeze the prizes worth R250,000 until an investigation into the competition was complete.

At this point, the competition’s winner is Master KG, whose song Skeleton Move was apparently voted song of the year. He is supposed to receive a R150,000 car and R100,000 cash prize in February.

However, Thobela FM received a backlash from South Africans who said King Monada’s Malwedhe deserved to take the top spot.

Read more: Ukhozi FM’s song of the year sparks tribalism debate

The radio station’s DJs, Makwena “Kwenisto” Makgaga and Alpheus “DJ Boeli” Mailula, reportedly declared Skeleton Move the winner before an official announcement was made.

The Sowetan reported on Monday that Skeleton Move received 160,000 votes while Malwedhe took the second spot with 151,000 votes.

LAM chairperson Mphoza Mashabela told the publication: “We want Thobela FM to explain how it selected its top 10. Thobela FM stole King Monada’s dream. We’re receiving complaints from Limpopo residents asking why Thobela is failing them. Most of them said they voted for King Monada and the song was a national anthem. SABC DJs should not be taking sides. It is against policy.”

Monada’s fans caused an uproar on social media when his song was also not voted the number one song on Ukhozi FM, sparking a debate on tribalism. Some said the reason he was not voted number one was that he was from Limpopo.

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