Sensational singer Shekhinah Donnell goes international with her new hit-single Let You Know featuring Sketchy Bongo. Shekhinah, who was booted out of Idols SA in 2012, tells Move! about the experience, and how she learnt to understand music and the entertainment industry.
BEING VOTED OUT OF IDOLS
The Durban-born singer is making waves in the international music scene with the hit-single Let You Know despite being eliminated from Idols. “I always knew that I wanted to sing since the Spice Girls era. It is all I wanted to do with my life,” she says. The Back to the Beach hit-maker tells Move! she was very sad when she got kicked out of Idols. However, it did not worry her too much. “I wasn’t the best therefore I got out of the challenge. Being in the game is still wonderful, but I think my fellow contestants were flourishing in their own rights." Shekhinah tells Move! that she appreciates the respect and recognition she got from being a contestant on Idols. The only passion she has ever had in life is to sing so she wasn't going to give up easily. “After being eliminated from the challenge, my path was blurry," says Shekhinah. "I continued with my studies and finished matric. After matric I relocated to Johannesburg and enrolled for a degree in music.”
HER RELATIONSHIP WITH HER ADOPTIVE FATHER
Shekhinah was abandoned by her biological mother at the Addington Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal and adopted by Phil Donell as a baby. “I am grateful to have my dad in my life," she says. "He is the pillar of my strength and my role model. He supported me in everything I wanted to do, most of all with the passion I have for music."
HIGHLIGHTS OF HER CAREER
She describes her music as pop combined with RnB. She tells Move! that the best moment in her career was when she worked with vocalist Kyle Deutsch on the track Back to the Beach. “I love how things are now; the team has been absolutely amazing," she adds. "I won’t say fame has changed me, but my life changed completely." Shekhinah cites the massive recognition she's getting internationally as another highlight in her career. She cannot wait for the market to hear more of her sound. When asked what fans can expect from her in future she tells Move! she won't be releasing an album any time soon as she will be focusing on her music studies at AFDA. "I feel like South African female artists are still lacking in the industry, so my focus now is to get the degree, and afterwards I think I can work on an album. For now I'll release hit singles,” she laughs.
