With just three months since the launch of this amazing competition, Mamelodi Sundowns is shining the spotlight on the September winners of the #SingWithSundowns competition who were announced on Thursday, 01 October.
The #SingWithSundowns competition is an initiative by the Sundown Foundation in partnership with the Motsepe Foundation and was launched in June 2020 as part of the Mamelodi Sundown’s 50th birthday celebrations since it was formed in 1970.
The participants that were crowned as winners for the month of September and rewarded with R30 000 cash are also in the running for the ultimate prize of R1 Million that will be announced in December 2020. These include:
The inspiration behind the song is former coach Pitso Mosimane. The lyrics allude to the fact that the club has become the best team in South Africa because of his great leadership and he hopes that the players will continue to produce great football. Tshepo is a gospel artist and a UNISA graduate in Information Science. “I am not a Sundowns supporter, however, I am honoured to have won for the month of September. I feel blessed to be part of the finalists as I know there were a lot of people who entered the competition. I would like to encourage others to participate in the competition so that they can also be part of Mamelodi Sundown’s 50th birthday celebration. “My plan is to get financial knowledge on how to not misuse my winnings. I would also like to build a library centre for underprivileged kids in my community to have access to books and computers so that they can have quality education.”
Kabelo is a Mamelodi Sundowns fan and was inspired by the team to compose the winning song. He is excited that he won the #SingWithSundowns competition for the month of September in his language category as this is the first competition that he has ever won. “I can’t wait for the big announcement that will be made in December for the grand prize. If I win the 1 million, I plan to build my mother a house in Limpopo, I also want to build my own studio to create more music and invest some of it.”
The song was inspired by the time Mamelodi Sundowns was not performing well. Frans wanted to do a song that will encourage and motivate the team. “Once they started performing well, I knew we were ready for a fight.” He added. Frans is not an artist, he composes songs for Mamelodi Sundowns, especially when they are performing well to celebrate the team’s success. He has been a fan of the club since he was born – his father was a Mamelodi Sundowns supporter, so he grew up as a fan. “After I heard about the competition, I had to do a song for the club without sound or back up. Then one of my family members suggested that we add a beat. He came up with the beat and we mixed the song and recorded with a computer.
Josi has been supplying music for the club for several years and has been entering the competition since June with no success, however he didn’t give up. His winning song is inspired by the love that he has for the club. The winning song was created along side his daughter and he used the drums that they use at the stadiums to create the beat. “It’s a great achievement that I won. I have been supporting the club for the past 20 years and I am so glad that my song will be part of the 50th anniversary song search. I plan to invest in my daughters’ education because that ensures that she will have a great future.”
The family of three took up the challenge and composed the winning song without any music experience. To their surprise, the song was so good that it received the highest number of votes in the Venda language category for the month of September. “We are a family that supports the club and when we heard about the competition, we had to demonstrate our support by composing a song. I am excited and in disbelief that we won, and I appreciate everyone that voted for us. I will share the winning with my daughters and their friends that helped create the song.”
The reason for this song was to celebrate the club’s 50th birthday and to appreciate Mr Motsepe for investing on resources that ensures that the players excel in the game by winning. “I am not the club’s supporter; however, I appreciate the fact that the #SingWithSundowns competition is not only open to Mamelodi Sundowns fans. I still can’t believe that I won. When I heard my name on the radio, I wasn’t sure that it was me, when I received a call confirming that I had won for the month of September, I was shocked. My plan is to go back to school to complete my teaching degree as I had to drop out because I didn’t have funds to complete my studies.”
The inspiration behind the song is the style of football that Mamelodi Sundowns showcases on the field and to demonstrate his appreciation he participated in the #SingWithSundowns competition. As an independent artist, the song he composed is dedicated to the team even though he is not a Mamelodi Sundowns supporter. “I am going to spoil myself with some of the prize money and a portion of the winnings will be used to promote my song for people to vote for me to win the R1 Million. My family home burnt down a few years ago and my family has not recovered from the situation, if I win the R1 Million I will rebuild my home and go to varsity to study music so I can be able to open my record label company.”
A huge Mamelodi Sundowns fan since he was young, he wanted to show appreciation to the team for what they have done for the supporters by winning games. He expresses gratitude to Mr Motsepe for affording music and soccer fans an opportunity to participate in a competition that embraces South African cultures through music.
Stanley is a huge fan of the team for as long as he can remember. His love for the team is what inspired him to participate in the #SingWithSundwons Competition. He is not an artist but loves music. “I am currently studying towards my Honours Degree; the win could have not come at the right time as I need the money to pay towards my school fees. Thank you to Sundowns for this opportunity and for opening it up to everyone and not just limiting it to professional musicians.
The inspiration for his winning song came from his love for the Mamelodi Sundowns team, his culture and upbringing. Durane is an independent recording artist. In creating the song, he collaborated with his two friends, Mary-Lee and Monray. “This win is a step in the right direction for my music career, should I win the R1 Million, my life will be changed completely. I will build a proper music studio and a venue for my music videos.”
Your 11 finalists will now stand a chance to win the grand prize of R1 Million in December. If you want a chance to win too – enter for next month’s round!
