South African R&B singer-songwriter, Motswedi Modiba aka MOE is one of the stars that have put the country on the global map, as she has become the first “black and African” contestant to participate in one of China’s biggest singing competitions, Sing! China.

Born and bred in Tshwane, the singer recently took the stage of Sing! China, which is a rebrand of The Voice of China, and sang in fluent Mandarin, leaving the judges in awe.

Taking to her social media account, the musician posted clips from her appearance. On her Instagram page, she captioned one of her posts saying: “I took a huge leap of faith and joined one of China’s biggest singing competitions, Sing! China. It is a competition that is loved and watched around Asia,”

Modiba said this is the first season a black and African has graced the legendary stage. “The reception since the show aired a few hours ago has been overwhelming. This is a historic moment: for me, for China, for South Africa, for the world. And it’s one I’m so honoured to be a part of.” – she added.

Modiba also thanked her team and everyone who has been supporting her in her music journey. “Thank you for helping me iron out my Mandarin chops and giving me so much courage!… Thank you to my team in SA for holding me down and supporting me.”

Sing! China takes the format of The Voice, where judges do not initially see the singer’s faces when they sing. As the muso took to the stage, she gave sensational vocals that didn’t give the judges a choice but to turn their chairs and want her on their teams. She had two chairs out of four turn for her.

Once a South African, always a South African, even in China. The musician also shared a video where she was picking who to battle, and she taught them how we pick in Mzansi when we can’t make up our minds. MOE said: “in my country, if we can’t make a decision, we do this (pointing at the other contestants, she sings) ke mang a jileng bohobe ba ntate?” and then she chose her battle mate.

The singer released her breakout single last year, titled It Was a Vibe, which was co-written and produced JR Bogopa, and she also recently won a Metro FM award.

Watch her performance below:

Main Image: The citizen