American singer and songwriter, Anthony Hamilton is undeniably one of the most prolific vocalists in the world. He has won a number of accolades for the contributions he has made into the music industry throughout his career, so when he announced that he was heading to South Africa, his fans knew they were in for a treat.
Anthony Hamilton recently visited South Africa for the second time since his sold-out concert at the Ticketpro Dome in August 2014. The Grammy award-winning singer’s second visit to the motherland had him take centre stage at the Sun Arena Time Square in Menlyn in late August this year for a one night only concert.
Prior to the show, Hamilton had hinted on his social media pages that he had been learning how to speak isiZulu in order to show gratitude to his fans in Mzansi, saying: "I love my fans in South Africa!! So, I learned a little Zulu to let them know."
Sanibonani South Africa!! We’re ready for you tonight! See you at Sun Arena, Time Square!!
— Anthony Hamilton (@HamiltonAnthony) August 24, 2018
During his performances, Hamilton caused an uproar as he shocked his fans by saying: "Ngiyani Thanda", translating to I love you in isiZulu.
The singer went on to serenade his audience with his mellifluous vocals, playing around with the word. Watch the video below:
I love my fans in South Africa!! So, I learned a little Zulu to let them know. ❤️🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/KL0fYm4AoI
— Anthony Hamilton (@HamiltonAnthony) August 27, 2018
After the show, Hamilton went on to show off the other isiZulu words he had learnt in another post:
Last night was amazing! The energy was so high; I couldn’t get to sleep after the show. Ngiyalala!! 🇿🇦
— Anthony Hamilton (@HamiltonAnthony) August 25, 2018
Although there might have been quite a number of fans that were impressed with the American singer saying that he had learnt how to speak isiZulu because of the love of his fans, there were some that were unsettled by the fact that he chose to speak Zulu at a predominately Setswana and Sepedi speaking city (the most prominent African languages spoken in Pretoria).
With there having been many South African talents that travelled abroad representing the country in isiZulu attire, speaking Zulu during their interviews - remember Andile Jali's interview in Belgium, and with the most popular South African story being 'Shaka Zulu', would you have expected any different?
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Main image credit: twitter.com/@HamiltonAnthony