Holly Rey Claps Back at Critic Over Hey Neighbour Festival Booking

South African singer and songwriter Holly Rey is standing up for herself after receiving online criticism about her upcoming performance at the Hey Neighbour music festival.

Holly Rey is set to perform on the second day of the festival, which will be held on 31 August 2025 at Legends Adventure Farm in Pretoria. The popular event features local and international artists, but not everyone seemed pleased to see her name on the lineup.

Guys who is making these decisions!!??

Bona themselves do they listen to Holly Rey? Have they ever picked their phone up to play a Holly Rey song? Would you leave your house to go listen to Holly Rey? Name me 5 Holly Rey songs. https://t.co/ztdC4kQx3Z

— maShaunisa. (@Shaun_thefirst) June 25, 2025

One X (formerly Twitter) user, @Shaun_thefirst, questioned the decision to include Holly Rey. He posted: “Guys who is making these decisions!!?? Bona themselves do they listen to Holly Rey? Have they ever picked their phone up to play a Holly Rey song? Would you leave your house to go listen to Holly Rey? Name me 5 Holly Rey songs.”

My bank account, Spotify streams and multiple songs that have gone multi platinum, in more then just Mzansi, would beg to differ, but who am I to argue with a wanna be DJ who puts “umthandi wegqom” as their bio pic.twitter.com/NINdSg69dX

— HOLLY REY (@Hollyreymusic) June 25, 2025

Instead of staying silent, Holly Rey responded confidently: “My bank account, Spotify streams and multiple songs that have gone multi platinum, in more than just Mzansi, would beg to differ, but who am I to argue with a wanna be DJ who puts ‘umthandi wegqom’ as their bio.”

Her comeback quickly gained attention, and many fans jumped in to support her.

@Inqama97 replied, “He is such an insensitive and misinformed artist. He is just jealous of your talent and success. Glad you put Dj Ma Shaunisa in his place.”

Another fan, @mqhelenqabankos, commented, “If you asking us, the answer is obvious to us blacks. You aren’t the benchmark target market, there are people from a different lifestyle that do listen to her music.”

And @_wangwangwang said, “Holly Rey’s music is loved and being streamed man, she has multiple songs that have gone platinum, gold and the streams speak 4 themselves. You might not love it or know but she has her fanbase. Stick to DJ Tira and Babes Wodumo, Hey Neighbour knows what they doing.”

Despite the negativity, Holly Rey’s fans made it clear that she is appreciated and has earned her spot on the Hey Neighbour stage. With platinum songs and strong streaming numbers, she remains a respected voice in South African music.