Music is a way to release or remember

During the day, Nicole Dahn and Henrico Viljoen are selling vehicles at Raceview Motors but whenever they get the chance they are in front of a microphone entertaining others with their beautiful voices.

The Alberton Record visited them to find out more about their lives and careers.

Living his childhood dream

Henrico’s passion for singing formed at a very young age. “I have always had an immense love for singing and music,” he said.

The salesman was born and bred in Alberton and is living in his childhood house in South Crest for the last 40 years.

“I have to privilege to be able to live in the same house where I grew up and where most of my favourite memories have been made.”

After matriculating at Hoërskool Alberton, he enrolled in the national service.

He then started working as a salesman and has never looked back. “I enjoy seeing others happy and sometimes it is when people buy things which make them happy.”

He is the type of person you can connect with on your first meeting. “I enjoy my work and would say that some of my strengths are that I am a level-headed person with a strong and positive personality.”

In his free time, he is out and about singing for others in the Alberton and surrounding areas. The two places where you will see him mostly are at 19th Hole and Boskantoor.

“I enjoy singing all genres, but most of all I enjoy singing golden oldies. Songs by Neil Diamond, Elton John and Kenny Rogers are on my list of songs I like to perform.”

This local singer also writes and sings his songs. “I have 15 lyrical ballads, which I call my own and am planning to write more.”

A highlight of Henrico was in 2004 when he took part in Noot-vir-Noot. “I enjoyed the whole experience and testing out my music knowledge.”

Well-known American singer, Barbara Streisand, is his role model as she has always been so fierce and has great talent.

A big dream and goal for him are to open a singing studio one day.

Falling in love with music

Nicole grew up in Alberton before moving to Meyerton. “We moved so that my sister and I could get our horses, as we always dreamt about.”

She finished her high school career in Meyerton at Hoërskool Dr Malan.

After school, Nicole did a few odd jobs before she got appointed at Raceview Motors. She then moved back to Alberton and has been in the area for the last eight years.

Her love for singing started as she grew up in a family of singers.

“My mother and two sisters were an all-girls singing group called Mystique. They use to travel around with the Stedson Band and were one of the first groups to sing in the Coca-Cola Dome.

“My two cousins, as my sister, are also very talented and when we were little we use to put on performances at the family functions, such as Lion King, Beauty and the Beast even Aladin,” she said.

She loves singing country music, but anything which suits her voice.

“If you ask most people who know me, they will say Tennesse Whiskey from Chris Stapelton is my signature song. I sing a post-modern jukebox cover version of Creep that is also a fan favourite, other than that things like Mustang Sally from the commitments and Walking in Memphis from Cher and Black Velvet – whatever the crowd enjoys.”

“I honestly can’t say I have a favourite artist. I am not moved by an artist as much as a song,” she said.

“A song to me can catch you, depending on what you are feeling in the moment, whether it’s happy, sad, nostalgic, heartbroken or just in a chilled vibe. You will find music that suits your mood.

“Music can make you relax, it can make you cry, laugh or make you remember the best moments of your life, such as a wedding song or what was playing when you met your partner the first time or when your child was born.

This to me makes it a very powerful and beautiful thing,” she explained.

Nicole does gigs mostly in the Alberton area. “I do shows at our local pubs such as 19th Hole Sports Bar, Boskantoor Pub and Grill, TCL and Pappa Joe’s. I have also sung at Southern Suburbs and Mustang Sally’s.

“I haven’t done many shows since becoming a sales representative. It is a very time-consuming profession, but I love my job.”

Nicole entered for Idols when she was younger but unfortunately did not make it to the director’s cut. It was an amazing experience for her.

In 2020 her partner, Korne Coetzer, and some friends convinced her to enter the Onesto competition where she made the Top 8 out of about 170 contestants.

“Korne is the one who kept pushing me to pursue my singing career and he is the reason why I started singing again after a lot of years of not singing at all. He always makes me feel so special when I sing,” she said.

One of her goals is to produce a demo CD with some of her favourite cover songs shortly.

“I also want to create my little music studio  hoatme, where I can do YouTube singing videos and maybe like a podcast.”

Her biggest inspiration in life is her mother, Lize-Mirie Dahn.

Nicole invites those interested in karaoke in Alberton to take part in the karaoke nights at 19th Hole weekly on Wednesday and every Thursday night at Boskantoor and TCL.

“There is so much talent in our area, it is just incredible.”