Zolani Mahola aka The One Who Sings.
Zolani Mahola is a South African Storyteller - she is a singer, actress and Inspiration Speaker. Born in Port Elizabeth in 1981, she studied Theatre and Performance at the University of Cape Town where she met musicians with whom she would later form pan-African multi-cultural supergroup Freshlyground in 2002.
17 years and 7 albums later Freshlyground has become a household name in South Africa and is one of Africa’s most acclaimed and successful bands. They have captured the heart of the continent and have claimed global recognition.
One highlight of their near two decade career was a collaboration with pop superstar Shakira with whom they recorded the official song for the FIFA World Cup in 2010; performing it at the opening and closing ceremony for a global audience of over a billion people. The band has to date opened stages for and collaborated with such artists as Stevie Wonder, BB King, Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Robbie Williams, Oliver Mtukudzi and Vusi Mahlasela to name but a few.
Zolani Mahola is well loved and respected by South Africans for unifying the country through music and bridging social, racial and cultural divides through her commentary both artistically and as a thought leader. Zolani’s spheres of interest lie in elevating the sanctity of the time of childhood - this includes how children are educated and raised in society; our connection to Nature and in the power of our Chosen Story in .
As part of her solo work, Zolani has staged a tribute show to Ella Fitzgerald (2004). She is recognized for her lead role as Boniswa in the inspirational SABC drama series Tsha Tsha (2003 - 2005) and her starring role in the feature film Cold Harbour (2014). She has been a judge on the acapella show The Sing-Off (2009) and guest judge on Idols (2010) and The Voice (2016), encouraging uniqueness and a good work ethic in the contestants. She sang the lead in a new South African musical “Calling Me Home” (2017) at Joburg Theatre.