Zoë Modiga
South African singer and songwriter
Palesa Nomthandazo Phumelele Modiga, professionally known as Zoë Modiga is a South African singer and songwriter. Modiga first gained recognition as contestant on The Voice South Africa 2016.
Modiga's second studio album Inganekwane (2020), debuted number one on the Apple Music World Chart.
01Career
Palesa Nomthandazo Phumelele Modiga was born Overport, Durban and raised in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, her musical interest began at the age of 10, singing for local music competition.
Modiga attended the National School of Arts in Johannesburg where she studied classical piano, clarinet and vocals.
From 2013 to 2015, Modiga enrolled College of Music, University of Cape Town in Jazz performance studies. That same year, Modiga won South African Music Rights Organisation's (SAMRO) Overseas Scholarships Competition for Jazz. Following year, she contested on The Voice South Africa and made it to the Top 8.
Her debut studio album Yellow: The Novel was released in 2017. The album was nominated Best African Artist Album and Best Jazz Album at the South African Music Awards.
On June 26, 2020, her second studio album Inganekwane was released. Inganekwane incorporates jazz composition, motown soul, and African storytelling. The album debuted number one on the Apple Music World Chart.
Modiga headlined to 14th Annual Mzansi Fela Festival, which was held in State Theatre, Gauteng in December 2021.
2023-present: Nomthandazo, Cos Cos Tour
In September 14, Modiga announced her Cos Cos Yaphela Tour and her third studio album. The tour includes 3 dates that ran from September and concluded at The Star Theatre, Cape Town on October 20.
In November 2023, Modiga was honoured with Women of the Year title by Glamour.
In early April 2024, Modiga announced pre-save of her third studio album Nomthandazo.
The album was released on April 26, 2024.
In early June 2024, Zoë was announced as EQUAL Africa ambassador for June by Spotify.
In September, Modiga announce her Nzalabantu concert, was held at The Star Theatre, Cape Town on 4 October.
02Discography
- Yellow: The Novel (2017)
- Inganekwane (2020)
- nomthandazo (2024)
- The Vault (2026)
03Singles
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZA | |||||||
| "Lengoma" | 2019 | , | Non-album single | ||||
| "Umdali" | 2020 | , | Non-album single | ||||
| "Intsha" | , | Inganekwane | |||||
| "Umlolozelo" | 2021 | , | African Lullabies (Part 1) | ||||
| "Ngelosi" | 2024 | , | nomthandazo | ||||
| "amen" | , | ||||||
| "Something New" | 2026 | , | Non-album single | ||||
| ", " denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||
04Awards and nominations
| Awards | Year | Prize | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFRIMMA | 2021 | Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African Jazz | Nominated | |
| Basadi in Music Awards | 2022 | AC Wines Jazz Artist of the Year | Nominated | |
| Glamour | 2023 | Women of the Year | Won | |
| Feather Awards | 2024 | Musician of the Year | Won | |
| Basadi in Music Awards | 2025 | Songwriter of the Year | Nominated | |
| South African Music Awards | Best African Adult Contemporary Album | Nominated |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Zoë Modiga”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
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