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Thembi Sibanda

Danisa Masuku
Esigodini gospel musician, Thembi Sibanda and her group, Sisters of Paradise attracted hordes of people at Egodini Bus terminus in Bulawayo last Friday when they launched their fifth album.

While most artistes prefer launching their albums at five-star venues to make it a glitzy affair, Sibanda fondly known as the gospel diva said she opted for the bus terminus, the biggest in the city because wanted to reach out to a wider audience.

“Egodini is frequented by many people and that’s where we usually hold our outdoor shows.

“We’ve established a following there and attendance over the last months has been overwhelming.

“It is against this background that we decided to launch the album at the very venue where we have been meeting our fans and the turnout was impressive,” said the gospel diva.

Prior to the launch of the album titled Ngiyohlala Ethembeni, the gospel diva had embarked on a series of promotional tours inviting gospel music lovers to attend her album launch and this seems to have paid dividends.

The gospel diva said the latest album that has 10 tracks, was recorded in South Africa at Kabamba Studios.

“I took about six months working on the praise and worship songs as we wanted to produce a quality album in order to give people value for money. The songs include Ngokubonga Ngani, Igama Lami and Ngiyohlalela Ethembeni,” she said.

The gospel diva said her previous albums had performed fairly well on the market.

“Although competition is stiff, my previous albums did fairly well on the market. Since the launch of my debut album, I’ve managed to survive on music.”

Her previous albums are Mhla uJesu Ebuya, Ngubani Ozayongena, Sinjalo and Kulungile Baba.