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Tafadzwa Zimoyo
Acting Entertainment Editor
Not so long ago, 13-year-old Andrea Sibanda of Victoria Falls never missed playing soccer on the streets in the morning with his peers.
From these street forays, Andrea would also sing for his friends apart from playing football, hence they gave him the nickname Savoo The Vocalist.
Whenever he got a chance to sing, Andrea would then introduce himself as “Savoo The Vocalist”.
And don’t forget, he is also in the junior soccer team at school.
But a few months ago, Andrea was just a nonentity, known only to his schoolmates and associates.
He was a young boy coming from a small town, who never dreamt he would travel on an aeroplane, yet alone meet celebrities whom he used to admire, watch on television or hear about.
Now, everyone knows him as an outstanding vocalist and musician from Victoria Falls whose vocal talent has taken him far.
Growing up in Victoria Falls in Chinotimba surburb, Andrea would idolise viewing “The Smoke that Thunders” (Victoria Falls) with his friends.
He never hoped or dreamt that one day he would visit the capital Harare.
But he came to Harare two weeks ago and stayed in the posh location of Borrowdale.
It was a different environment for him.
Andrea is just a teenager, but, oh boy oh, his life has drastically changed.
He is now known throughout the country and beyond simply as Andrea The Vocalist.
Yet, not so many years ago, Andrea would just wake up either go to school, do his homework or play with other children outside the house.
Now, at his young age, he already has an itinerary, a manager, a stylist and works with reputable and renowned personalities who are now in his speed dial.
Andrea is one person who wishes to call and thank United States billionaire chief executive officer of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, given a chance, as the social media has paid off for him.
Yes, he is now an instant celebrity courtesy of social media which has helped to push his career positively.
Anything he posts, courtesy of his manager, attracts a lot of followers including high profile celebrities.
If it was in the late 90s, he would have joined the stars from Mickey Mouse Club members such as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling,Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers and Zac Efron, among others, who started almost the way Andrea did in their careers.
The only difference is Andrea’s story is more like Justin Bieber, who was discovered by American record executive Scooter Braun.
On his part, Andrea was discovered by Tendai Joe, the owner and managing director of JBross Entertainment.
So it happened that last week, Andrea’s vocal talent took him on a maiden tour of South Africa.
The Herald on Saturday Lifestyle caught up with the cheerful lad who shared his journey to stardom.
“I grew up in Chinotimba Township, before we moved to Mkhosana, both in Victoria Falls,” he said. “There are four of us in our family. I am the second born. My siblings are Sithandazile (18), Skhulekile (8) and Micheal, who is just two years old. I love them so much.
“Currently, I am doing Form One at Mkhosana Seventh Day Adventist Secondary School. I have always been asked the question on how I balance my music and school. I only do music during weekends and holidays.
“My dad is strict on that and school comes first and even during holidays I attend extra lessons. I don’t want to sag on education. If I am not serious about school, my dad said my management will not put effort into perfecting my music.”
How then did he end up visiting Harare and South Africa?
“My visit to Harare and South Africa was my first ever,” said Andrea. “I stayed in Borrowdale and it was amazing. I also enjoyed my stay in Sandton, South Africa. It was not only comfortable, but an eye opener as I got to meet big artistes.”
Andrea said his manager planned the trip to South Africa.
“My manager, Tendai Joe, planned this trip to South Africa, including all activities,” he said. “It was sponsored by famous businessman Tinashe Mutarisi whom I first heard of on Facebook then later met him.”
Andrea said the experience was awesome.
“Musically, the experience was exciting because through my management I have managed to grow from a viral sensation boy to a commercial artiste,” he said. “Usually, viral songs disappear quickly when a new trend takes over. I am happy that a year later, my career is going strong with just one song, which was deliberate because I did not want to rush the process.”
The teen sensation said his father was his role model.
“My father is a super hero,” he said.
“He is my role model because he is always calm and he does not drink or smoke. He is very religious. He teaches us to pray and I am what I am because of him.”
Given a chance, Andrea said he would want to collaborate with Blaq Diamond and DJ Maphorisa.
“I love Blaq Diamond and Maphorisa’s music,” he said.
“I would love to collaborate with the two. Luckily, the collabo with DJ Maphorisa has already happened. The Blaq Diamond one is definite, my management has access to them. We were actually supposed to meet them the day before we travelled back to Zimbabwe, but they got busy.”
Asked what he likes, Andrea said he loved to eat chicken the most.
“I like food, especially eating chicken,” he said.
“Not many know that I am a soccer fanatic. If I am not doing homework or music, I will be watching soccer.
“My friends love me so much. I am just a boy next door to them and they are yet to understand my recently achieved celebrity status. I am always in the streets, playing with other kids.”
But how did Andrea come to be known?
“I came across his videos on Tiktok,” said his manager Tendai Joe. “At first I just passed them, until I saw Aubrey saying he was about to release “Uhambo”, without the boy. I didn’t know the name then. I posted on Facebook that I was looking for the boy, and my friend Plot Mhako responded within 30 minutes, saying he knew someone who could help me get to Andrea’s parents.
“I then got in touch with Tinashe of Breeze FM, Tinashe put me in Touch with Tokyo. Tokyo then put me in touch with Andrea’s parents, Mr Ntando Sibanda and Mrs Sinelisiwe Ncube. We had a video call. It was facilitated by Tokyo. The family didn’t have data or phone for calls.
“I asked them to allow me to work with Andrea after sharing my vision with them. They gave me permission to work with Andrea and I immediately hit the ground running. From that day, everything I did was in partnership with Plot Mhako who also offered some free public relations for the boy.”
Tendai said they had a torrid time thinking of a stage name, but settled for Andrea The Vocalist since his name was Andrea Sibanda.
“I then created his social media pages, asked them to shoot me videos that helped verify that indeed it was him and his family, and that was how I established his online footprint.
“One of the videos where he sings with his parents was mostly shared by high profile celebrities. I commissioned that and it went on to get five million views online. I then assembled a team from JBross to write and produce for Andrea. Juizee from South Africa wrote Andrea’s parts, besides the Uhambo chorus which is traditional.
“I executive produced the whole project up to the launch of the song. While doing all that, I was also trying to ensure Andrea got his schooling issues fixed.
“He wasn’t going to school, he had fees owing for the whole year and he was preparing to go to high school.
“So I wanted to use the song as a platform to try and get him a scholarship, but we didn’t succeed. We, however, kept pushing to ensure he got a good school until Ms Miriam Hakata from the United Kingdom came on board and paid his fees for high school. She bought him uniforms and paid fees for three years.
“Another businessman from Mpumalanga, South Africa, sent the family R10 000 so that they could have a decent Christmas. In-between I facilitated other smaller donations.”
Tendai said they assisted Andrea in song writing because he was still young, but his input was respected.
“I do his artiste and repertoire (A&R),” he said.
“I put together teams of songwriters and producers for specific songs, usually with references for him to master. Andrea has very talented songwriters and producers ready to assist him anytime we need him to do production.”
Tendai said they were already working on an extended play.
“He is working on an EP, but we might start by releasing singles,” he said. “We already have his first single off the EP, as soon as we get it mixed and mastered, we are ready to drop it.
“I am sure he is going to introduce the song next Saturday at the Amplifaya Festival in Harare.”
Tendai said they were ensuring a smooth transformation from a 13-year-old Andrea to a full blown musician.
“Andrea is still just a kid, the five days we had him here we always had to remind him that he is no longer just another 13-year-old,” said Tendai.
“If it was possible, I could send you a video where he saw a baby bird during the video shoot and he wanted to play with it, but we were getting ready to shoot his video.
“We understand him and treat him likewise. When you go to Mkhosana Township, you will see him playing soccer with other kids in the streets. But now, there are also people recognising him more and more. We also get to remind him that his talent is what is taking him places.”
Tendai explained about Andrea’s popular song Uhambo, what it means and how it came about.
“Uhambo means journey in English,” he said. “The song talks about how we all die and pass through the graveyard.”
Tendai said Andrea did not feature on any gospel choir, as some were saying on social media after they noticed him singing with a group of people.
“That was not a collaboration,” he said. “The song is called Ngikhokhele.
It is a common song sung in churches across South Africa. It was not even an experience worth writing about, we just wanted him to do a piece backed by a choir, something they do at 12 Apostles Church, the church he attends with his family. So the choir was practising with him.”
Of Andrea’s talent and the future, Tendai said: “Well, we are still trying to guide him with something realistic. He wants to be a doctor, but we do not see him pursuing that considering what he is good at.”
Online Reporter