Hitting number 1 on the national charts

Most certainly, one of my biggest accomplishments so far was reaching number 1 on the Mix FM SA Top 40 Chart.

On the 27th of January 2023, I released my first single for the year, a song titled Surface, which I wrote during the COVID Pandemic while I was feeling defeated and left without inspiration or drive.

Radio personality Damian Schmidt, who does the Midday Mix on Mix FM, invited me to do an interview on the day of the release and suggested after the interview that I enter the song into the SA Top 40 chart. I followed his suggestion, and after waiting to hear back for about two weeks, I finally got the word: my song had entered the chart at number 38.

The very next week I realized there were no updates regarding the charts, and two days later there was an announcement that the chart would most likely not continue after the departure of the chart's compiler, Darren Scott. This was obviously a disappointment and left me thinking about Murphy and his law.

A few more days passed, and another announcement came that the chart would continue and that Al Your Pal would be taking over as compiler.

This was great news! Surface kept on slowly crawling up the chart over the following few months until the 14th of April, when my wife got a call: Hi, this is Al Pal from Mix FM. I have a song to play on the Top 10 in 20 minutes, but I can't find the track!" The station had relocated and somehow lost the track I sent them. Luckily, I was able to send it from my phone just in time.

Every week, my song kept on climbing the Top 10, not in any hurry, I should add. And eventually, on the 26th of June, five months after its release, it reached number 1, and it was such a great feeling. After many years of writing, recording, performing, and just trying my best to get somewhere in my career, this was definitely the win I needed to give me some renewed inspiration and drive.

Now, it's onto the next. I plan to continue writing, recording, performing, and doing collaborations with other musicians. All of this is because I believe in the power of this beautiful art form.