TRACE Gospel, South Africa’s newest 24-hour channel dedicated to the very best of local and international gospel music, have announced the Top 3 finalists for their Music Video Competition.

A competition that began with hundreds of entrants has now been narrowed down to the final three, as voted for by TRACE Gospel viewers, friends and family of the contestants and fans of gospel music. These finalists are:

  • Shana Ray for her single titled “Go”.

Hailing from Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town, Shana is a worship leader at her local church and works as a secretary for the City of Cape town. Her inspiration for her single “Go” came during a time when she was going through a tough time.

“I am a heavy girl and always struggle with low-esteem (even though to the outside world I seem very bubbly and people’s person). I found myself always wanting to sing in the background, because I was afraid of being seen and judged because of my size. I sang for groups and choirs from the age of 14 until 2018”,

says Shana

“I came home from work and was sitting in the living room feeling very frustrated with myself and kind of questioning God in terms of my purpose and why I’m feeling so empty even when I do so much”.

says Shana.
  • Rajey for his single titled “Tendre Ami”.

Born and raised in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and later moving to South Africa in 2014, Rajey is a part-time student currently studying towards a BTech in Business Management at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) while balancing a position as a junior lecturer teaching computer literacy. The inspiration for his single “Tendre Ami” came through mild depression.

“I was going through mild depression around June 2018 so much so that I had stopped making music and even started questioning my faith. My past mistakes were haunting me: things that I had done or not done…,”

says Rajey

“I felt as though I was sitting atop a heap of ruins. But amid all that, after a moment in prayer, I clearly heard His voice, telling me that he’d give me not a second chance but a fresh start for the love that He bore me. That is where I got the inspiration for my opening verse and song”.

says Rajey
  • Thuso Wa Sibini for her single titled “Magnificat”.

Johannesburg wife and mother of one, Thuso Wa Sibini is an office manager by day and musician by night. Her single, “Magnificat”, was inspired by her journey into finding out who God was to her.

“I was raised Catholic and I still am, but I always had issues with how God was taught to us – as a this God who created us in order to judge us harshly when we sinned or did not do as he pleased. I ended up fearing God, not in a good way but a bad way, as a person that is coming for us”,

says Thuso

“So, one day I heard this bible passage, which makes up the chorus of the song “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in you my God “… Those words really felt SOOO good to hear and stuck with me and from that day I started longing to experience God differently”.

says Thuso

The top three will be battling it out for the chance to win a music video production to the value of R80,000.

The voting period will commence from 18 March – 31 March 2020, place your vote for your favourite artist by logging onto www.trace.tv. Terms and conditions apply.

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