Just a few hours before she had to jet off to Washington for her performance at President Barack Obama’s Inaugural Ball, ZAlebs attended Lira’s Inaugural Ball send-off at O.R Tambo International Airport.

Fresh off the stage after giving off a spectacular performance at the AFCON opening Ceremony, Lira entered the conference room with such poise and elegance as she humbly greeted all the media and engaged in some light-hearted conversations with her usual journalist acquaintances.

Lira first praised her band, also known as The Love Band and mentioned how, with all the success she’s had in her career, this inaugural invitation was one surprise she definitely did not expect.  She jokingly explained how they received the unexpected news via her manager.

“We received an e-mail via my website. My manager read it to me and I remember thinking, what are the chances of me performing for Barack Obama. Lo and behold here we are…I’m not quite sure how they found out about us but we’re just honoured to be part of such an event.”

Lira hinted at how they’ve prepared a delicious show mixed with some African flare that will most definitely represent African royalty too.  The introduction segment of her performance even includes the royal African salutation Bayede iNkosi (All hail the King) which will not only pay homage to the first African-American president, but will also be a salutation to South African culture as a whole.

“I feel that it’s about time we as Africans claim our spot on the international stage, not to be arrogant about it but to show the international audience that we’re not only passionate about what we do, but we also work hard towards achieving our goals.”

Lira mentioned that the outfit she’ll be wearing was designed by renowned South African designer – David Tlale.  She revealed that the dress has a reference to the late Mama Miriam Makeba, staying true to her African royalty theme.

ZAlebs asked Lira about the rehearsal process behind this specific performance especially considering her hectic schedule.

“It’s been a bit difficult because I had to divide my time between rehearsing for the AFCON Opening Ceremony and for the Inaugural Ball. We actually had two days to rehearse for the inauguration and my band was just begging me to make time for them.  But because we have so much faith in each other’s talents, when we rehearsed everything just fell into place. Rehearsing with them automatically becomes my favourite part of the day.  Our intention is to make the audience move so if our spirits and intentions are achieved, I think whatever song we perform will be magical.”

The Inauguration ball takes place 21 January 2013 in Washington D.C.