Two members of South Africa’s Ndlovu Youth Choir discuss their hit song about preventing the spread of COVID-19 — Assembly

The choir shares an important message with their community about how to stay safe during the pandemic.

17-year-old South African students Nonhlanhla Somo and Lwandile Felicia Shabalala are used to their songs going viral. As members of the Ndlovu Youth Choir, it’s a regular occurrence. After the choir’s 2018 cover of Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” in isiZulu racked up millions of views, the group became a global phenomenon, travelling to Hollywood to compete on “America’s Got Talent” and recently signing a record deal with Sony Music in South Africa.

While Nonhlanhla and Lwandile are proud of all of the Ndlovu Youth Choir’s accomplishments, they’re particularly pleased with their latest hit: a musical public service announcement on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Released last month and sung in a mixture of English and isiZulu, “We've Got This” offers tips on how the choir’s rural Limpopo community can help limit exposure to the coronavirus, including washing hands, coughing into a tissue or elbow, and not touching faces or spreading rumours. Lwandile explains that the group created the song and video to “help those who don’t have the right information know what to do in order to prevent the virus from spreading.”

Misinformation was an issue in their community during the HIV crisis, shares choir director and co-founder Ralf Schmitt. “We’ve Got This,” he says, is about “getting the correct messages across” regarding COVID-19. Measures like social distancing are challenging in their area where many family members live under one roof and trips to communal water taps are a necessity. The Ndlovu Youth Choir focused their song on the public health advice that made the most sense for their community.

Although you wouldn’t know it from watching the video, it only took half a day to write the lyrics, choreograph the dance, rehearse, film and edit the video. To begin, the choir joined Ralf in the studio in Johannesburg to work on the lyrics and record the song. Then the choristers created the choreography with their choreographer, Sandy Dyer, in Ralf’s garage while he focused on producing the song. “It was recorded that afternoon, edited that evening and released the following morning,” shares Ralf. They wanted to get the message out to their community as soon as possible.

Nonhlanhla believes that videos like “We’ve Got This” can be an effective way to share information. Musical PSAs have become a popular method to raise awareness about the coronavirus. Vietnamese health officials created a song featuring advice from the World Health Organization (WHO), which inspired a viral TikTok dance. Ugandan singer Bobi Wine released a new song called “Coronavirus Alert” about symptoms of the virus and how to limit transmission. And Elmo updated his tooth brushing classic "Brushy Brush" to “Washy Wash” to help parents teach their children to wash their hands.

(Courtesy of Ndlovu Youth Choir Facebook)

While South Africa remains in lockdown, Nonhlanhla is working out at home and eating healthy foods to stay strong. Lwandile tries to stay positive by “reading the Bible to remind myself that we are not alone in this because the God above will never forsake us.” It can be hard to maintain optimism in the face of such challenging circumstances. “We can't even hug each other at home anymore,” Nonhlanhla laments. But both girls know these protective measures are helping to keep themselves and their families safe.

Nonhlanhla and Lwandile first heard about the Ndlovu Youth Choir through friends and decided to audition. For the past 11 years, the choir has offered talented, underprivileged young people from Limpopo the opportunity to perform across South Africa and around the world. Originally Ralf planned to make the age limit of the choir 18, the typical age students complete their secondary education. However, after meeting students in Limpopo, he realised that “there are kids in eighth grade who are 18, through no fault of their own.” In South Africa, poor quality teachers and lack of education infrastructure delay or prevent many students from completing their education. The choir’s age limit is now 30 to accommodate students of all ages.

Because choral music requires such intensive rehearsals, participating in the Ndlovu Youth Choir helps students avoid distractions that could derail their future, like alcohol, drugs and teenage pregnancy. For Nonhlanhla, the Ndlovu Youth Choir has helped her find purpose. “I no longer stay in the streets,” she shares. Lwandile is able to be more self-sufficient thanks to the lessons she’s learned from the choir and the money she’s earned since the choir went professional. “I have to say I became very responsible and I can now do my own things instead of asking from my mom or dad. Things like buying myself clothes, toiletries and all that,” she explains.

For such a close-knit group, being apart can be tough while the country is under lockdown. But they’re staying in touch through daily WhatsApp messages and trying to keep each other’s spirits up. Even while they’re apart, the Ndlovu Youth Choir lives by their motto of unity: “Injury to one, injury to all. Glory for one, glory for all.”