LOYISO BIOGRAPHY

As a teenager Loyiso Bala was classically trained, finishing top of his class, at the prestigious Drakensberg Boys Choir in South Africa. He later on became the youngest conductor of the National Youth Choir at the age of 19.

This laid the foundation for his solo career and at the end of 2002, where he embarked on a world tour that saw him stopping off in London, America, Asia and the Middle East. Right away his music solidified his reputation as South Africa’s king of R&B, with singles such as Girl Without A Name and Gimme The Night. His first album sold triple-platinum.

Since then, he has received numerous awards ranging from 5 South African Music Awards - SAMAs, 3 Metro FM Awards, a South African Film and TV Award- SAFTA for Best Musical Score.

He was also voted in as You Magazine’s sexiest man, GQ’s most stylish man and Mens Health’s best man.

Loyiso has performed alongside artists of the highest caliber including Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, John Legend, Brian McKnight, Elton John, Will Smith and Akon but his most memorable performances have been performing for some of the highest dignitaries, such as Nelson Mandela, Richard Branson, Gordon Brown, Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and many more.

A philanthropist at heart, Loyiso is an ambassador for Nelson Mandela’s 46664 brand, the Smile Foundation, Afrika Tikkun, Cotlands and the South African Field Band Foundation, which sees him supporting several charitable and worthwhile causes. Most recently he was also appointed the national UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). In this role he raises awareness around HIV testing and disclosure, reduction of stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV, and gender inequality, including violence against women and girls.

His partnership with 46664 lead him to put on a stellar performance for an audience of over 46,000 at the Nelson Mandela 46664 concert in Hyde Park, London in July 2008, and at Radio City Hall, New York for Nelson Mandela's 91st birthday celebration on the 18th of July 2009.

In addition, he was one of the few local artists chosen to perform alongside Alicia Keys, Shakira, the Black Eyed Peas and John Legend at the FIFA World Cup Kick-Off celebration concert, which took place at Soweto's 30,000-capacity Orlando Stadium on the 10th of June, which was the day before the opening match of the 2010 World Cup.

Loyiso also produced and co-wrote Idols Season VI runner up, Lloyd Cele’s debut album One, which won Lloyd his first SAMA for the Best Pop Album category Loyiso his first SAMA nomination for Best Producer at the MTN SAMA18 awards in 2012.

He is the host of a TV Program “Called to Worship” and he also hosts a weekly Christian radio show “The Open Book” on CliffCentral.

However, his main passion is his Christian Music and in 2012 he recorded his much-anticipated live Christian music DVD called Love Complete (released in July 2012). He then went on to release his chart topping single ‘Time to Dance’ in March of 2013, which garnered huge success as a crossover track on the airwaves, and was a precursor to his second Christian music project. Power | Love | Sound is his second live DVD that hit the shelves at the end of May 2014.

Loyiso is one third of ‘Bala Brothers’, a group consisting of Loyiso and his two equally talented brothers, have recently released they’re self- titled album with Warner Brothers Records, USA. Their American produced live DVD was broadcast to over 80% of the USA audience and it debuted at no.8 on the Billboard Charts.

Most recently Loyiso launched his new talk show ‘TBN Meets’ on TBN Africa and has been working on his latest album ‘Kingdom Come’ that was officially released on the 10th of June 2016. The second single ‘How Great Thou Art (Great And Mighty)’, is a collaboration with world renowned worship leader, Don Moen, was released in March 2016. His most recent and third single off the album is the title track, ‘Kingdom Come’, which really encompasses the message of the album and features well known South African Worship Leader Janine Price.