Promoting and Supporting Talented
Entertainers
Sindi Nene
Television
Sindi was then approached by Mnet to make a cameo appearance as herself on one of their then new soapieThe Wild where she appeared on two episodes performing two of her original songs ‘NguweWedwa’ and ‘Goddess’. This received a lot of buzz in the media as most people thought that she had joined The Wild as a full time actress something which her Idol VI contender Gail Nkoanehad done. ‘Having the opportunity to work with people like Connie Ferguson and ShonaFerguson was like a little girl’s dream come true’ she commented about her experience on The Wild. She constantly appears on different music shows on television and has presented awards as a guest presenter.
Endorsements
In October 2011, Sindi was approached by international cellphonemaker Alcatel One Touch to become their brand ambassador in Southern Africa in a 6 month contract which they ended up extending for another 6 months by signing an addendum this saw Sindi’sAcatelOne Touch advertorial being featured in Cosmopolitan Magazine for two months, a glimpse of the Alcatel One Touch 810 handset can be seen on Sindi’smusic video of her first single. At the beginning of 2012 she also entered into a contract with BellazaraHair for 12 months as their brand ambassador.
Drama QueenIn August 2012 Sindi was contracted to be the main lead in the theatre musical ‘Drama Queen’, a play that celebrated the life of the late Lebo Mathosa, the play was directed by the legendary South African playwriterand actor SelloMaakeKaNcubeand saw Sindi playing Lebo Mathosaalong with a number of other casted members. Sindi’sperformance in this 6 week play garnered massive media attention and her performance received positive reviews as many of the people who watched the play commented on her saying she gave an outstanding performance and brought to life the spirit of Lebo Mathosa. Despite the outstanding performances from Sindi and her fellow cast members, the play’s script was heavily criticized by the media saying that it was thin and that the director hadn’t told the story in a way that reflected Lebo Mathosa. ‘Being a part of this musical play has been an amazing experience because as opposed to my experience of being on a big stage and having LED screens magnify my actions, I have to exaggerate them even more now that I’m acting and sing to the audience without the support of the technical infrastructure I’m used to having’ Sindi commented on her experience of acting in Drama Queen.
National Anthem
Later that year Sindi had the opportunity to perform and sing the England National anthem ‘God Save The Queen’ in front of millions of Rugby viewers worldwide who were watching the South Africa vsEngland international test match. Sindi sang the anthem live and her rendition was commented upon in the TheGuardian newspaper in UK.
Present
Sindi is currently working on her documentary project called ‘Living The Dream’ which focuses on her life as a South African artist as well as working on her next musical project due for release mid 2013 and she is also building her entertainment company Oga Sounds. ‘Sindi’sbusiness is blooming’ drum magazine commented on a cover featured article that they wrote on her business in January 2013.
Artistry & musical influences
Sindi cites artists such as Michael Jackson and Beyonceas her entertaining performer influences, EsperanaSpalding as her bass guitar player influence, Rachelle Ferrelleas her jazz piano and vocal influences, Jill Scott as her NeyoSoul influences and the likes of Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and Alicia Keys for her urban pop vocal influences. She took an interest in studying Jazz and Popular music at university as a way of learning and experimenting with music from the jazz roots going all the way up to urban pop sounds of today. She learnt how to play bass guitar, drums and piano as a way of exploring her compositional skills whilst she was still in university and has used her skills to perform, write and compose music for her various projects since she was a student to now as a professional musician.
Sindi Nene on Drama Queen performance (2012)
Philanthropy In 2011 Sindi offered her services as a performer and public figure to the AIDS Foundation of South Africa to help raise awareness on the pandemic through media conferences, public performances and appearances. In 2012 Sindi worked closely with the Fieldband Foundation which helps keep children off the streets through teaching them musical and life skills and from 2013 Sindi has partnered with the Pink Drive Organization in a campaign to raise funds towards the breast cancer awareness cause where she will host 3 shows from June and will donate all ticket proceedings from the shows to Pink Drive.