BY Nkosazana Ngwadla
When these five young men started their music group in 2018 while still in high school, they had no idea how far it was going to take them. Now, just four years later, they find themselves entertaining global audiences, and sharing a stage with the legendary American singer and actress, Jennifer Hudson.
The quintet first started posting videos of their beautiful harmonies on YouTube, while in their school classrooms – the videos blew up as they grew more popular and started releasing more singing videos.
A few years later, The Joy now boasts over 400 thousand followers on Tik Tok, with a recent video even reaching over 4 million views.
Over the past few weeks, The Joy have released a brand-new single that showcases a deeper, richer side to their sound and appeared on one of the most iconic UK music television shows of the past three decades.
Titled “Egoli” their new single maintains the quintet’s roots in traditional Zulu music and modern acapella, but the Tiago Correia Paulo-produced track brings in Maskandi-influenced guitarwork and delicate production flourishes to create a truly wonderful listening experience.
On November 12th The Joy appeared on the iconic UK music show Later…with Jools Holland; it was for a one-off live recorded specially for Jool’s 30th Birthday Bash filmed at London’s Eventim Apollo.
They performed their debut single “Isencane Lengane” on an episode of the show that also featured Michael Kiwanuka, Mercury Prize winner, Benjamin Clementine, and Swedish sisters, First Aid Kit.
Just as their slogan says, life made them friends, music made them brothers – we can’t help but be inspired by their talent, hard work, and tenacity! They are Fuse Favorites, hands down!
