Lira: Feeling good

The 2009 Channel O Video Music Awards arrive in Jozi next week Thursday (29 October) — at Carnival City.

They're being hosted by KB, Lungsta and Nonhle Thema and will be broadcast on Sunday 8 November at 21h00 — with a half-hour Red Carpet build-up before.

To get into the vibe for them I caught up with Lira, whose video for 'Wa Mpaleha' has been nominated in three categories: Best Female Video, Best R&B Video; and Best African Southern.

Of course I had to ask more-more than whether she thinks she's going to win because she recently married producer Robin Kohln, which happened secretly, until everyone knew, in Mauritius.

Here's what she had to sing:

Tashi: What's your take on the Channel O Awards? How do you see them in the greater scheme of music Awards?
Lira: The great truth about them is that they expose an artist to the African continent — from that point of view they're extremely important and can't be discounted.

Although, sadly for us as South Africans — we either don't have enough people with DStv or South Africans don't vote — South Africans rarely win because the people in other African states really support their own.

Every year it's the same — it's an honour to be nominated but you think "Don't hold your breath". It's a pity. It's one thing I feel, so many people from other African states don't have — we've got lots of Awards — there are a few accolades that we have in the year but they don't have as many so they really go out there for them.

The song that's been nominated: 'Wa Mpaleha' — could you tell us more about the meaning behind it?
Absolutely, very often in African culture it’s quite a taboo for a woman to approach a man so in the song, it's a girl who says: "I sincerely feel the love I have for you in my heart and all I want to do is just be next to you.

"I'd love to hold you by the hand, and if I do, it means it goes two ways: I'll be by your side so please, please don't run away. Don't be afraid that just because I'm a woman coming towards you saying 'I do love you,' — don't run away from it."

Wa Mpaleha is: you're running away — it's a fun take on it. It's sung in my father tongue, a Sotho song, which I hadn't yet sung in — I thought it would be fun to reverse the roles and people have liked it for that.

So did you ask Robin to marry you?
Haha no. *laughs*

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