There are many Scriptures in the Bible that speak of God’s perfect timing, something gospel sensation Lebo Sekgobela has learnt since seeing major success with her third studio album, Restored.

Sekgobela is no stranger to the music industry – she has three studio albums and live DVDs – but it wasn’t until last year that she became a gospel powerhouse. Now she has just been nominated in one of the biggest categories, Best Female Artist of the Year in the South African Music Awards.

“The success of Restored has really overwhelmed me, to be honest, so when I got the news that I was nominated for a Sama, I could not believe it. It is such a huge category and there is such amazing talent in South Africa, so the fact that I am included is a little surreal. It’s only by the grace of God that this nomination came my way,” she said.

Sekgobela was born in Sebokeng and started her career as a backing vocalist for gospel stars like Benjamin Dube and William Sejake. She later released her first album, Ithemba Lami, in 2013 and her second album, By His Grace, in the same year. However, her 2016 release of Restored saw her become a household name.

“I did not expect Restored to be so successful. When I released it, I obviously hoped that people would enjoy it. When I released my previous albums, I thought those would be extremely successful, but they were not, and I thought that some of my best work was on those albums. So when I put Restored together, I did not expect much,” she said.

Little did she know that she would win over the hearts of South Africans and that her album would reach multi-platinum status.

“This album has really shown me that everything happens in God’s time. It has also shown me that God thinks very differently to us. He took this album and did more with it than I could have ever imagined. When I saw it as just an ordinary album, he saw it as a multi-platinum album,” she said.

“Now I definitely think that all my previous work was a ladder for me. You know, sometimes with a ladder, it won’t work if the ladder is not placed on the ground correctly. Once you have it placed on the ground correctly, you can use it as much as you want to, and it feels like my previous albums have been my ground work and my journey up the ladder. It’s my time now,” Sekgobela said.

She is also behind one of the biggest gospel songs right now, Lion of Judah, off her latest album. “There is a funny story behind that song. When I was recording my live DVD,

I wasn’t going to sing Lion of Judah. Then I randomly decided while on stage to perform it, and I didn’t expect it to blow up the way it has.

“People absolutely love it. Whenever I perform, people expect me to sing that song first, and honestly I sometimes get tired of it, but I understand that it means a lot to people,” she said.

She added that awards like the Samas were needed: “Many people think award ceremonies and the system of recognising great talent and work is overrated, but I think they are important because you get to recognise hard work.

“Having said that, I must also say that winning awards or being nominated for them is a bonus because for me, people loving and enjoying the music I make is an award on its own.”

On the gospel industry, Sekgobela said: “I think for the longest time we have undermined ourselves as one of the biggest genres in the industry. We have amazing talent, power and influence, and I think it’s time we started using that.”

The singer is working on new music and hopes to release a new album later this year.

Laim Karabo Joyce

Sekgobela's faith more than Restored by Samas