Nineteen-year-old Hayley Conradie blew the judges away with her performance of the Tina Turner hit ‘Rolling on the River’ at Rest Ur Ass Donkey Sanctuary’s Market Day on Saturday, May 28.
Hayley grew up in Weltevreden Park. “My grandfather built our house and a few other houses in Weltevreden Park. He was actually one of the first people to build in the area,” she said.
She explained that the houses have a very strong Greek influence, and said, “My family on my mother’s side are originally from the island of Cyprus. They emigrated to the UK and then to South Africa. And that’s how we ended up here in Weltevreden Park.”
Her father was born in the Netherlands and Hayley mentioned that she believed her passion for singing came from his side of the family. “His whole family went to Waldorf Schools growing up. They had a very creative education. He influenced me music-wise while growing up,” she said. “I really started getting into singing and performing when I was around 11. I did a few musicals in school and got to experience what it was like to be on stage and perform with a group of other learners,” Hayley added. Her taste in music can be attributed to her mother. “I had a lot of exposure to artists like Joan Armatrading, Nina Simone and Otis Redding.”
Hayley said the song she chose for the singing competition at Rest Ur Ass engaged the audience and it wasn’t a slow song. “I have always thought when I won competitions it’s because the judges connected with the music on the same level. I haven’t had much formal training in singing, so I’ve always believed that I have won competitions because the song I chose was very sad and I had an emotional connection to it. For this competition I chose a happy song because I honestly felt that I didn’t have to be that sad version of myself anymore. I could dance around and be happy in the moment.”
She has been trying to get into the music industry as a freelance vocalist who can be booked for shows or events with or without a band. “I have recently been asked to be the vocalist for a band that I have performed with previously at one of their gigs at Molly Malone’s, a roadhouse on Sunset Boulevard. They are taking a big chance on me and I am so excited.”
One of her goals for the near future is to save up as much as she can, minimise her belongings so everything she needs fits into her backpack, apply for a European passport and travel to Cyprus. There she plans to travel the island and busk on the boulevard along the beach where all the Four Seasons hotels are. “It is the perfect place to sit and play music, with people flipping their two-euro coins in my guitar case. All the little islands around there in the Meditteranean are very student friendly. I plan to become as fluent in Greek as possible,” Hayley concluded.
