Ami Faku (28th May 1993) is a 30-year-old South African singer who gained public attention when she took part in The Voice South Africa music contest in 2017 at the age of 24. She went on to release her first viral album two years later at the age of 26, and has continued to shine since then.
Despite not winning The Voice South Africa, Ami Faku has proven to the world that she deserves to be a celebrity singer. She has done so through the kind of songs that she has released since she left the show that gave her the recognition she needed to scale up her career.
The singing pattern of the 30-year-old vocalist is one that serves as a perfect blend of Afro-Soul and modern pop music which makes her songs acceptable by both the elderly and the young. Though it took her 18 years after she started singing as a child to come to the limelight, all those years do not seem to count any longer as she has finally arrived at the top and is stopping at nothing when it comes to proving that she deserves the status she now has in her music career.
Summary of Ami Faku’s BiographyÂ
- Full name: Amanda Faku
- Nickname: Ami Faku
- Gender: Female
- Date of birth: 28th May 1993
- Place of Birth: Gqeberha, South Africa
- Ami Faku’s Age: 30 Years Old
- Ethnicity: Black
- Nationality: South African
- Zodiac Sign: Gemini
- Marital Status: Unmarried
- Occupation: Singer and songwriter
- Genre: Modern Afro-soul
- Ami Faku’s Net worth: $250,000-$400,000
- Famous for:
- Ami Faku’s Instagram: Ami Faku
- Twitter: Ami Faku
- Facebook: Ami Faku
Ami Faku Started Singing At The Age Of 6 In The Church Her Father Pastored
Ami Faku, who is of Xhosa origin, was born on the 28th of May 1993, at Ezinyoka, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Not much is known about her parents, except that they had been of great support to her through her journey to fame.
The sensational singer started blessing the hearts and souls of people with her voice as early as the age of six when she started singing in her family church; her father was a pastor. Though this does not seem like formal vocal training, those days of little beginning have also helped polish and improve her vocal skills.
Ami Faku started recording music in 2012 with a producer who lived around her neighborhood. However, none of her songs at that time gained national recognition.
Information about the primary and high school she attended is not available, but we know that as of 2018, she was an accounting student at Nelson Mandela University. All things being equal, she should have graduated or is looking forward to graduating in no time from now.
She Had Her Breakthrough From The Voice After Two Rejections From SA Idols
What most of us know about Ami Faku is that she is famous for being on The Voice South Africa. What we do not know is that before making it to the competition in 2017, she had been rejected twice by the judges of South African Idols at the audition stage, but that did not stop her from chasing her dreams. She rather went back and improved her skills so much so that she was able to finally convince the Judges of The Voice in 2017 that she deserved to feature in the competition.
Although her beautiful voice and amazing performances on the show were good enough to keep giving her a place in the competition, it was not enough to help her win the competition.
Fortunately for her, the Vth Season record label had been observing her during her time on the show and was impressed with her talent. After she left the competition, they offered her a record contract which was a breakthrough for her following the disappointment of leaving the competition early.
Going through all the ups and downs – her rejection at SA Idols, acceptance at The Voice, leaving the show before the finals, and finally landing a major recording deal that made her more popular – Ami Faku’s family remained her greatest support system.
The Talented Songstress Released Her First Viral Album In 2019
The very first song Ami Faku released from her debut studio album, Imali, with the Vth Season record label was a major hit. It was as though South Africa was waiting for her, and she just exploded like a timed bomb with the song titled “Ndikhethe Wena”. Another of her songs titled “Imali” which was released on the 26th of September 2019 has amassed over a million views on YouTube.
“Into Ingawe” which saw her feature Sun El-musician was another major hit. It has been certified 3x platinum by the Recording Industry of South Africa. As though that is not enough, her single “Uwrong” is also certified gold. Ami Faku has further released other sensational songs like “Ungowam”, “Babuyile”, “Lose You”, “Drunk Love”, “Inde Lendlela”, “Ndiyeke”, and “Mbize”.
One thing about herself that she is proud of is her language and origin. According to her, when she finally gets the opportunity to collaborate with international artists, she will not follow the regular norm of singing in English. She would instead sing in Xhosa because she is proud of where she is from. She advocates for other Africans to be proud of their origin as well.
Ami Faku Gets Inspiration For Her Songs From Her Experiences
We can’t deny that Ami Faku’s songs are so inspirational and relatable. That’s simply because she gets her inspiration from her experience, and she believes that most people may have experienced the same things or are still experiencing them.
A good example of this is her single “Drunk Love”. According to her, she was inspired to write that song from her experience in a previous relationship, where she made efforts to improve her partner but he felt she was trying to change him. According to her, he was not yet drunk in love like she was, and that caused their relationship to crash.
Ami Faku is able to sing whatever she is inspired to because her record label does not try to force their opinion on the singers, rather they allow them to express themselves fully. She is grateful for having people like that around her who are helping her succeed.
Is Ami Faku Her Real Name?
Ami Faku’s real name is Amanda Faku, but she decided to shorten it to ‘Ami’ because she did not want anybody to mistaken her with other ‘Amandas’ in the industry. According to her, Ami is different. The vibe Ami brings is not something anyone has done before, so to differentiate her uniqueness, it was best to give herself a name that immediately anyone hears, you know who is being referred to.
Amy is certainly determined to take her career to the next level and does not want to be bothered about being compared with another artist because of her name. And truly, her efforts are paying off as she has been nominated for a couple of awards so far.
In 2020, she was nominated for the award of Female Artist of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Best Afro Pop Album at the South Africa Music Award. She managed to win the gong for Female Artist of the Year. The following year, Ami was again nominated for three awards: Best Female Artist, Best Song of the Year, and Best Rising Star for the upcoming South African Afro Music Awards (SAAFMA) award. Hopefully, she will be taking at least one if not all the awards (she has been nominated for) home.
