Last year, singer Makhadzi gave a state-of-the-art performance at the annual Phalaphala Royal Heritage Festival at Nandoni Dam in Thohoyandou, Limpopo. She flew on across the audience and onto the stage, changing into three looks by designer LSJ. However, this year, her fans are disappointed that she did not make it to the lineup due to alleged affordability issues.
NOT ON LINE-UP
The Number One singer, real name Ndivhudzannyi Ralivhona, took to social media to say she had not reached an agreement with the organisers about her booking fee. "I am not going to Phalaphala Royal Heritage; they say they don't have a budget. I am setting the record straight so that my fans and followers shouldn't say I intentionally refused to be there or I am becoming big-headed,' she wrote. "I realised that there were already false rumours spreading about my name in this regard. I'm still Makhadzi of the nation under the motto; no pay, no job, and vice versa,' she said. "As someone who's organising my upcoming one-woman show at Peter Mokaba Stadium on 21 December, I really get on good terms with the fact that organisers aren't compelled to book an artist without a proper budget to do such," she added.
NO HARD FEELINGS
Makhadzi has since organised her own Road to One Woman Show on the same day as the festival, 14 September 2024, at Exclusive Chillas Restaurant in Vuwani, less than 20 km from where the Royal Festival will be held. "This is a build-up to my One Woman Show in December. This has nothing to do with anyone. Just because I am not booked elsewhere does not mean I cannot be busy with something else," she clarified.
MOVING FORWARD
A close associate to the Phalaphala FM Royal Heritage Festival said the organisers have been booking Makhadzi since she was unknown. "They contributed highly to her growth, not that they owe her, but they consider her to be part of the royal family," she said. "But if she feels she cannot accept the R150k they offered her, then they need to respect that, which is what they apparently did. They didn't badmouth her or even question why she hosted an event on the same day." The event organisers said they would not be commenting on the matter.
