Donald urges young artists to fix their live performances

Award-winning musician Donald has sparked a wide-ranging conversation in the local music industry after sharing blunt advice aimed at young South African artists about the importance of live performance.

Taking to X, the singer warned upcoming musicians not to rely solely on hit songs, stressing that strong stage presence is what sustains a career when the hype fades.

“Young South African artist. Please work on your live performances like your life depends on it… one day you won’t have the hottest song in the street and your live performance will carry you through,” Donald wrote.

The post quickly gained traction, drawing praise from fans and industry voices who agreed that many artists are falling short when it comes to performing live. Podcaster Penuel weighed in, echoing Donald’s sentiments and pointing to long-term career strategy.

“Great advice 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Studying Afrikaner artists will help a lot. They build sustainable careers, performing in churches, schools, town halls & small town festivals,” he commented.

Other users shared frustrations from the audience perspective, particularly around paying for shows that fail to meet expectations.

One commenter noted, “Some artists really struggle to perform live and it’s so painful to watch, especially after paying for those tickets.”

Radio personality Sol Phenduka also joined the discussion, criticising what he described as a growing trend of artists treating performances like appearances rather than actual shows.

“Performers these days, it’s as if they booked for an appearance. They don’t perform their songs. They MC on their songs,” Sol wrote.

“Don’t ask us why ‘singalali emakhaya’. Just sing your song. We came to see you sing your song.”

Performers these days , it’s as if they booked for an appearance . They don’t perform their songs . They MC on their songs .

Don’t ask us why ” singalali emakhaya” . Just sing your song . We came to see you sing your song . https://t.co/7JlKx4V9AA

— Thandubuntu (@Solphendukaa) December 28, 2025