Singing her own TUNE

Award-winning singer and actor Busisiwe Thwala - aka Cici - is living proof of the power of 'dancing through the pain'. And she's only just starting to spread her wings...

- Christi Nortier

Cici was not a chatty child, but she felt she had plenty to say. And she learnt early on that expression came much more naturally when she had a backing track. "My parents were both pastors, so I grew up singing. My love for performing music was nurtured in the church and school choirs."

She was also drawn to the heartfelt storytelling of country music and Dolly Parton was an early idol. But her biggest musical influence was her late older brother, Sbongiseni. "He used to play me his music, like Mariah Carey and Bon Jovi, and exposed me to different genres. He'd perform at local events and try to be like Usher. The crowd would go crazy, and I always thought: I want that!"

Who is she?

Cici started writing songs by tweaking the lyrics or tempo of tracks she already liked. When she began weaving in her own stories and feelings into it, that's when she discovered the gift of storytelling through music. Now, creating songs with meaning is her main objective.

"I always found that music was the one thing that either made me feel better or was able to help me to express myself and what I was feeling in that moment. Sometimes there are things you don't know how to say, but music can express how it feels. It can resonate with people, and they apply the message to their own life."

At 16, Cici had already made it to the top 32 in Idols SA and the second round of Afrikaans singing contest Supersterre. "Those competitions were exciting but also scary because, looking back, I wasn't ready. But they prepared me for what was to come."

After school, she enrolled for a Bachelor of Dramatic Arts degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. However, due to financial difficulties, she had to leave her studies at the beginning of her third year and took up a job as a promoter, and then started an office job.