Lloyiso Steps Into Global Spotlight With New Album and European Tour

South African singer and songwriter Lloyiso, 26, is ready to take his music to the world stage with upcoming performances in Paris, Berlin, Manchester, and London this October. This comes shortly after the release of his new album Never Thought I Could, a project he describes as deeply personal and true to who he is.

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“I never thought I could do the things I am doing. Never thought I could get out of the situations I found myself in, never thought I could put out music that sounds this quality, music that is true to me,” Lloyiso shared, according to TshisaLIVE.

His journey has been filled with both challenges and triumphs. He signed with Ambitiouz Entertainment in 2018, but it was his international covers on social media that drew global attention and eventually landed him a record deal with Republic Records under Universal Music Group in 2021. That same year, his career took a glamorous turn when he performed at high-profile events, including the wedding of Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz in Palm Beach, USA, in 2022.

But success came with its struggles. Lloyiso admitted that entering the industry young left him vulnerable. “It was a tough time because I was young. For me it started early. I needed to learn a lot of things [such as] rejection. One of the mistakes was doing things prematurely. Signing contracts, not reading them. I think a lot of artists are hungry to do that without reading the details. I missed a lot of things. I found myself in a 360 deal. The next thing, I am being bought out of a deal. I felt like a sheep being traded to the highest bidder and it didn’t feel good for me as an artist.”

Reflecting on those years, he says it was the hardest period of his life. “Once you have a purpose, with great power comes great responsibility — and the responsibilities came early in my life when I couldn’t really understand them. A lot of things came to me earlier than I had the capacity or the maturity to be able to understand them, and I think now I do.”

After his contract with Universal ended, Lloyiso decided to go independent. “This time I had a choice. I’m going to do it my own way. I don’t want to be signed to a major label; I want to do it independently. I want to make the music I want to make. I don’t want to be told what to do.” He explained that having full control over his work has been empowering. “It’s more about the control over what I make. Because I’m a producer and I write my own music, that took a toll on me… I realised there’s nothing anyone can tell me that I don’t know about myself and about the music. So I stay true to who I am.”

Along with his creative freedom, Lloyiso has been focusing on his health. Over the past year, he has taken up weightlifting, running, rugby, and tennis, saying it has helped him feel “lighter mentally, physically, and emotionally.”

Now, with his new album and European tour ahead, Lloyiso feels ready to fully embrace his identity as an artist. “I was in the limelight. I was making mistakes. Now I just got a grip on it. I’ve learnt about myself more and feel better in my body now. This is a transitional time where I realised all I have is me.”