Get to Know Yandani, the Fresh Face and the Future of Mzansi R&B and Pop
The R&B and pop scenes of South Africa are realms that are ever fecund with fresh faces, new yet ripe vocal pipes, and promising buds awaiting the right time to bloom when the sun hits. Eighteen-year-old singer-songwriter and digital content creator Yandani Shabalala, mononymously known by his first name, is one of these voices who are next in line in the growing crop. With the crooner stepping into the industry with his debut single, “Honeydew”, he is flanked by legions of followers, from the 988K strong following on TikTok to the 122K heads on Instagram. Sweeping in cool and easy like the summer vibes he resembles, the teenage sensation has the country hanging on his lips, awaiting the next note to drop.
The burgeoning Durban-born singer spoke about his early childhood with fondness, recalling how close his love for music had been to him from a young age, manifesting in him mirroring what he heard whenever it came on to him eventually recognising his own abilities.
“I didn’t notice I wanted to be a singer until I was in primary school, around Grades 2 and 3. My mom and dad told me that I must’ve been around six when I fell in love with music. I remember back then being obsessed with singing and also singing along to whatever song was playing at the time. And as time went on, it started to feel like something I wanted to do more and more, until it progressed into something that made me realise that I could do it as a job. Like what?” he said.
Yandani | SUPPLIED
A slice of sunshine served with warm harmonies and youthful spunk, “Honeydew”, released on the 30th of May 2025, is a Yandani’s maiden offering to the world as a solo artist. Venturing into the world of music with his new hybrid pop and R&B single, he cherished the song’s composition, feeling that it was the best selection to introduce him to the world.
“Everytime I listened to the song, it made me feel happy and made me feel like I want to dance. And I love, love, love, love dancing. I also loved everything on the song. I remember when we finished it, I was, like, yeah, this needs to be the first single. But at that time, we were still making more songs, and there something that made me hold “Honeydew” back because I felt like there would be more songs that would top it, but somehow the song stuck with me. That’s when I knew that it should be the first one.
“I liked the song in particular because it showcases my vocal ability, and it’s got good harmonies – I truly think that great harmonies can make a song better than what it already is – so I had a lot of fun with that. It felt like the perfect song to start off with. I enjoyed working on the song and also working with the writer Andrew. It was nice to be in that creative space. Before that time, I’d only been in studio like a few times, so everything was quite new to me. So, it was fun to bounce around ideas and the experience was a ten out of ten for me,” he said.
Listen to “Honeydew”:
Boasting a following of 988K followers on TikTok, Yandani has built for himself a dedicated fanbase with his singing alone. He expressed elation – and surprise – at how quickly everything happened, from recording himself covering favourites and classics to him garnering praise and support from his digital community in spreading his wings and taking to the airwaves.
“Everything with TikTok happened so fast, when I think about it, it just feels so crazy to me. Just to wake up and all of a sudden, I have 500 000 followers. Shocking. That journey on TikTok has been so nice, knowing I have my own group of people and supporters that are there when anything is happening – from when I’m live to teasing “Honeydew”. It’s still strange to me knowing that there are people out there rooting for me because all I do is sing in my room the whole time. I never thought setting up my phone and singing would take me this far. I truly had no idea,” he said.
Shabalala weighed in on the balance between his personal life and his music, speaking about how his family and friends have kept him grounded all along amid the changes and becoming a fast-growing celebrity.
“Despite the changes, everything still feels normal. I have my family that keeps me grounded and I have my group of friends who still know me as the regular Yandani. Nothing crazy. But when I’m in public, it’s still new to me that people actually know me, like what the heck is going on? And I’m not the type of person who leaves the house a lot, so when I leave the house I’m used to not thinking about the fact that I have followers on TikTok and Instagram who might actually recognise me when I’m out in public. When I’m out with my friends or my family and I’m at the mall, I always catch people staring at me, and for a moment I’ll also start looking around too. Like, who are we looking at? I want to see who it is too. Then it dawns on me that they are looking at me, and that they want to talk to me or take pictures. So, I also have to be ready when I go out because I’m not a very social person, but I try my best not to be cold when people come up to me all excited,” he said.
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With the Shabalala blood running through his veins, one might believe that there’s pressure on Yandani’s shoulders to charter the same territories as Joseph Shabalala and Thamsanqa Shabalala, his father and the current leader of the Grammy-winning act Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and his grandpa and the founder of the collective, respectively. Instead of taking it as pressure, however, Yandani admitted that he felt inspired by those who gave him his lineage to pursue his own becoming.
“I never thought much about what type of music I like because I’ve always known since I was a child. It wasn’t difficult because I always knew what I wanted to do as an artist. It’s been inspiring to know that my family has been doing this for years and years and years, but I’ve always been more inspired by the pop and R&B sides of the industry,” he said.
Yandani | SUPPLIED
The rising star spoke about his feelings concerning the R&B and pop spaces of Mzansi.
“I feel like the pop and R&B sides of South Africa are not seen and recognised globally like how it is for amapiano, which is amazing. I want to be part of the people who will put SA pop and R&B on the global map,” he said.
Yandani revealed that he fancied jumping on a yanos beat and flexing his chops in the afropop space someday.
“I do wish to hop on an amapiano track and add some vocals on there. That would be very cool, I think. It’s not something I’ve thought about too deeply, but I have received amapiano beats in the past. I’d also like to do the kind of afropop that Simmy makes. I believe that I’m a versatile artist, and I do believe that I can do so much more in the coming years as soon as I master the sound I’m going for. Then I’ll take it from there,” he said.