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Trust Khosa
Consistency, passion and resilience define Shower Power. Over the past three decades, this remarkable acapella group has nurtured gifted composers, phenomenal songwriters, and a galaxy of beautiful voices, all dedicated to singing for the Lord.
They have truly been in the musical trenches for 33 years, and their contributions to the evolution and growing appeal of acapella music have made it enjoyable and accessible to many.
They have become a cherished part of the Zimbabwean musical landscape.
Now regarded as an institution, Shower Power deserves recognition for its enduring impact. Since 1992, the group has glorified the Lord with their well-coordinated voices, powerful compositions, and spiritually uplifting tracks, which often leave listeners yearning for paradise.
Taking The Herald Arts down memory lane, group spokesperson Mandikudza Sithole reckons the group is here to stay for years.
“Shower Power is short for ‘Shower the Holy Ghost Power.’ Shower Power started as a church group in 1992 but was established as an institution in 2004 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Precisely, Shower Power is a group of Seventh-day Adventists who believe in the soon coming of the Saviour, Jesus Christ,” narrated Sithole.
The 54-year-old, who has been with the group in various capacities, shared how they were assembled.
“The group was initially formed in 1992 as a group of boys singing in church and had different names before eventually settling on Shower Power. The secret behind our consistency, I would say, is just keeping our heads down, staying humble, working hard, growing organically, and depending on God for everything, because we’re a gospel outfit,” he shared.
Sithole strongly believes that God is behind the group’s ascendancy and longevity.
Outlining the group’s vision, Sithole noted that they are on the right course.
“The vision for the group is to be effective in transforming lives internationally for Christ because we are a gospel outfit.
‘We preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and hopefully, if members could do this full-time and have enough funding to pursue what they love on a daily basis, that would be fantastic, coming from the proceeds of the ministry. So the vision is to just keep doing it until Jesus comes,” he emphasised.
Being an institution, Sithole clarified the nature and structure of the group.
“Well, strictly speaking, there are no founding members still in the group. I came in the second generation of Shower Power in 1997, five years after the group started. I’m the longest-serving member from the second generation to the current generation in terms of active membership. I’m no longer singing actively, but I’m involved in helping the group administratively.”
He continued:”I am Mandikudza Sithole. In the third and fourth generations of Shower Power came Jeremiah Janda, who is the second longest-serving member.
“For me, it’s been about 27 or 28 years. Jerry has been around for about 22 or 23 years. So, we have members from the second and fourth generations still with us.”
“The albums that have been recorded so far include ‘Shower Power Experience’ from the early 90s, around 1993 or 1994, followed by ‘Time Has Run Out’ in 1996, ‘God In His Mercy’ in 1999, ‘Spirit of God’ in 2001, and ‘Today,’ released around 2004. We also have ‘Holy Life’ (2005), ‘Shower Power Hymns,’ ‘The Journey’ (2012), ‘Latter Rain’ (2015), ‘Salting the Earth’ (2017), and ‘Royal Royal Diadem,’ which came out in 2022,” he stressed.
Reflecting on their long journey, Sithole expressed pride in their success.
“Some of the major highlights of the group include many testimonies of people saying they became Christians and Seventh-day Adventists because of our music.
“Those are great achievements—transforming lives. People wanting to commit suicide have listened to our music, and it changed their minds. We’ve also travelled extensively, performing in the United States in front of a stadium full of close to 5,000 people, and have shared the stage with great stars like Donnie McClurkin, Steve Darmody, Andre Crouch, Dr Tumi, and Oliver Mtukudzi during the HIFA days.”
He added that they have received several awards, including American Awards and CASA Awards for Best A Cappella and Best African A Cappella Album.
“We’ve had a couple of NAMA nominations as well, and we’ve traveled all around the continent—from Southern Africa to Malawi, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa, and East Africa, including Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania. Performing has been a great experience and a wonderful journey.”
He also revealed how the group composes their songs, especially learning from their pioneers. “We now have 12 albums, and God gives us inspiration,” he explained.
Like any other institution, they are not spared from the challenges facing the sector.
“We have many challenges. Initially, when we started this ministry, acapella was not accepted. It was too contemporary for the church at that time. We had to fight against that, and we overcame it since we started in our 20s,” said Sithole.
“When we started recording, we were given just enough money to record but couldn’t release anything initially. We had to compose jingles for a company called Tel Access, which provided us with the funds to produce the first batch of 50 CDs. From the 50, we then made 100, and from the 100, we made 200 until we reached 2,000, especially with the album called ‘God In His Mercy.'”
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