Songbird Miya (13) is making beautiful waves in the music scene

13-year-old Miya van der Merwe confidently ‘wowed’ those who flocked to the Kraaines Market in Glencoe on March 25. Miya sang a variety of songs and even showed her talent with the ukulele much to the delight of shoppers and her proud parents.
Miya sings in both English and Afrikaans and plans to make more public appearances. Mia has had piano lessons from the age of 3 with ‘Tannie’ Nellie Vermaak, which set a good foundation for what she does now. She started singing in 2020 during lockdown. “She is very musical and just has a love for singing. We thought she had a special voice but wasn’t sure if it was just parents thinking she’s good,” said her mother, Sonette. “During lockdown some of our Afrikaans musicians started online music lessons, called “Sing Aanlyn. Mia was asked to send in an audition and she was selected and tutored by Monique Steyn.”From there she was entered into the reality musical show, Die Kontrak, season 2.
She didn’t get selected but received good feedback from the public. “After that, people heard her singing and started inviting her to sing at weddings, market days, birthdays, etc. Last year she sang at Die Geesfees at Blood River (which also featured Steve Hofmeyr) where a recording company noticed her and invited her to record a song this year which they will promote. She also plays ukelele (the traditional Hawaiian guitar) which she taught herself to play.
Her favourite songs include Where I stand by Mia Wray, Riptide by Vance Joy and Cups by Anna Kendrick.
The young songbird perfectly complemented the market mix of home-produced goodies of which not all were edible