Melrose talent set for national domination.

Fresh-off winning this year’s Joburg’s Talent, South Africa’s newest reality talent contest at the Rand Show, Snethemba Vika is swiftly turning into a seasoned performer.

After a much-needed musical hiatus, the young talent has his sights set on national domination one performance at a time.

“It was really great because at the time I was struggling financially and was unemployed. So, I saw the competition and I decided to take a chance and when I won it changed everything – I had to change where I was staying and start recording my own material. It really opened a lot of doors for me,” Vika said.

Walking away with a whopping grand prize of R50 000, the Melrose resident also bagged the opportunity to hone his craft at Stageworx School of Performing Arts. The performer said his tenure at the performance school was challenging and rapidly turning him into a force to be reckoned with.

“I’ll be a beast next year! I’m working with Stageworx and they’re currently teaching me vocal lessons, dance and live performances. I’m on my way to being a fully-fledged artist and not just someone who just sings.”

Coming from a family of singers and initially starting out as a rapper, Vika realised his crooning capabilities at an early age and quickly tapped into his talents through song covers and collaborations.

“It started a long time ago, it’s a pity my family didn’t notice because everyone can sing at home because it was a normal thing. When I was in high school we started doing shows and I was rapping at that time but I was not comfortable because I felt like I needed to sing and people around me started noticing my voice.

“The songs are still under wraps, some are already recorded while some are in the process of completion and need to be released. I’m hoping that we release some original material next year.

“You know, when it rains it pours and when you’re struggling you’re really struggling – period. However, when things start to open up everything comes into place,” Vika said.

Although Vika is working tirelessly to establish a professional performance career he also holds a full-time job as a junior bookkeeper. He said working with Stageworx makes everything seamless and keeps the balance between his love for performance and his nine-to-five.

“I just can’t do away with music,” he said.