Kelly Khumalo, the singer with a powerful voice and a commanding stage presence, was expected to deliver a stunning performance. However, her show at the Lemo Festival, which took over from Macufe Festival, in Bloemfontein, Free State, over the weekend was disrupted by technical glitches. Khumalo’s microphone and sound quality were not working properly, and she showed her frustration throughout her set.
She repeatedly stopped her band and asked the technical crew to fix her mic and sound. The crowd, however, enjoyed Kelly’s performance and wanted more. “She has talent, that’s undeniable. The crowd was mesmerized and sang along,” the source said. It turned out that Khumalo had skipped the rehearsal, which annoyed the festival organisers.
Her performance was not as good as her usual standard because of her lack of preparation. The incident sparked a lot of controversy, with many fans expressing their dissatisfaction and annoyance at the singer’s lack of preparation.
Some even demanded that Khumalo be banned from future festivals unless she takes her rehearsals more seriously. A source at the festival said that the Asine singer could not make it to the rehearsal because of her busy schedule. “She had a lot of bookings; I know she was busy the previous weekend so she couldn’t rehearse,” the source said.
The source also said that the organisers were unhappy with her onstage drama because it made them look bad to those who did not know what was going on. “She upset the organisers, she was the only one who complained about her mic. Zonke and other big singers who came to the event did not have any problems with anything or anyone.” Khumalo did not respond to requests for comment.