Johannesburg – She’s one of the most popular female artists in South Africa at the moment, but how well do you actually know Babes Wodumo?
Four die-hard fans were chosen out of thousands to compete on Tropika Smoooth Fan, and ultimately Nthabiseng Senatle was crowned Babes’ “smoothest fan,” winning herself prizes to the value of R25 000.
Nthabiseng also moves on to the final where she will compete against the biggest fans of other celebrity contestants in the hopes of winning R250 000 in cash and a Honda Amaze.
Your knowledge on the Wololo singer not up to par with Nthabiseng?
Here’s seven things you may not have known about Babes:
1. While most people may know her as Babes Wodumo, the star’s real name is actually Bongekile Simelane.
2. The musos stage name means “the famous Babes”. It came about after her friends and family believed she had the same eyes as a member of the music group The Babes. The star added “Wodumo” to her stage name after she became famous for excelling at activities like dancing, acting, soccer and athletics.
3. Fans and local media have affectionately named the star “South Africa’s National Treasure.”
4. Before she broke into the music scene Babes did a course in social work during her one-year stint at university. The star’s career then took off, eventually taking up all of her time.
5. In a bid to get children off the street and onto the stage, Babes started the West Ink Dance Academy – a project she is incredibly passionate about.
6. She's been nominated for international awards which include a BET Award and an MTV EMA Award.
7. Babes was featured on the soundtrack for the major Marvel movie Black Panther where she teamed up with Zacari on a track titled Redemption. Other artists who were on the Black Panther soundtrack included Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd and SZA.
Tropika Smoooth Fan airs every Friday at 18:00 on SABC 1 (DStv 191).
(Photos: Gallo)