While other people may feel disheartened after not winning a competition, Brenden Praise is not one of them.
He joins the ranks other Idols SA contestants like Shekhinah and Amanda Black who did not win the competition, but with enough talent, care and the right management have managed to create successful careers for themselves.
Brenden Praise is a South African singer, songwriter and producer who rose to fame as a finalist on a season of Idols South Africa. He is known for his soulful and gospel-inspired music, as well as his collaborations with other artists such as Black Motion, Prince Kaybee and Spirit of Praise.
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“My journey began on Idols season nine, in 2013. I decided I would stay after registering for a sound engineering course, to audition at the Sandton Convention Centre, cued all night and wound-up the runner up in the competition.”
The release of the gospel inspired, and spiritual sounding Joy Joy with Black Motion was the first-time people noticed him after a five year wait from the Idols era.
A highlight so far in his career has been, “becoming independent and dropping my first project where I had full control in Mhalamhala which is the album that’s nominated," he gushes.
Brenden is up for a South African Music Award this year. He is nominated in the category for Best Contemporary Faith Album which he has been beaming about since the news was announced this week at the nominee reveal gathering in Jabulani Soweto.
“Honestly it was very affirming, I’m a pretty low-key person so I didn’t even attend the nomination event because I’d be super anxious all day. But I’m really glad to have been considered and recognized,” the 29-year-old from Graskop in Mpumalanga says.
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The journey to this point has been fraught with disappointment but he managed to funnel all of that into his music despite the challenge of having to start over after gaining a level of followers and supporters through a singing competition.
“I think I expected things in the real world to go as well as a TV show that has a lot of people working to get the best out of every aspect. Having to navigate the industry on your own is a whole different task.”
Brenden started out as a soul and R&B singer and on this, his sophomore album, he has kept the soul.
“But I have broadened the way I package my music, allowing for collaborations and not being bound to one sound has opened doors for me.”
He isn’t looking to slow down and has been at work on the next project despite this one gaining him critical acclaim.
“I’m releasing a new song called God You keep on blessing me, that has blown up on TikTok. This is in collaboration with my entity, Free 2 Wrshp.”
He explains that Free 2 Wrshp is a space for people to share a spiritual experience with no judgement.
He is a religious person and tapping into his spirituality through his music is quite possibly what got him in proximity to Black Motion. Anytime he performed Joy Joy with them it was easily the highlight of the set, an uplifting experience with raw percussion and emotion colliding harmoniously.
He has continued to work closely with Mörda.
“[Being] a producer and engineer on Asante 1 and 2 has helped me grow as an all-round musician. I’d say the collaborative relationship I have with Mörda has changed my life,” he says with gratitude.
There are a host of other artists he would like to work with, and he is never too far away from a studio although his lived experiences to fuel his music.
“I think inspiration comes through living; I try to live as normal of a life as I can to have true experiences that I can write from.”
He hopes the fame doesn’t corrupt his character and aims to keep being himself. He’s also aware that music is wrapped in a not so thin veil of business ideals, and he hopes above all else to “keep being more of myself. Being an amazing musician and a sustainable artist are two different things and you should work hard on both.”
