Amanda Black on Mthokozisi, her career ambitions & her love life

It's been over a year since Amanda Black released her award-winning debut album Amazulu and the star is still getting used to the fame her meteoric rise to the top of the charts has brought.

Amanda, who shot to fame as a top 8 finalist on Idols SA, won over the hearts of fans for much of 2017 with her unique sound and strong vocals. She told TshisaLIVE that despite the pressures of the industry, she was determined to succeed on her own terms.

"I don't know if there is a formula for success but I know that if I keep being me and be real, then I will be fine. I feel like the honesty in my music and the stories I tell have been some of the reasons why people gravitate towards me."

Reflecting on her own experience on Idols SA, Amanda said that she could sympathise with this year's runner-up Mthokozisi Ndaba, who received assistance after struggling to deal with the emotions after losing out to Paxton Fielies in the show's finale on Sunday.

"I never got that far and for me it felt like I got so far, but not far enough. I can only imagine how it must feel for him to go so far and not win. Everyone wants to win, but only one person can. I hope that he is okay and that he remembers that he got so much out of it."

The transition from Idols to a major player in the music industry saw Amanda work with several artists, but the singer said she is looking forward to working with big players in the industry.

"I would love to work with the likes of Zonke (Dikana) and Thandiswa Mazwai. It would be interesting to see what would come out of our approaches to music."

While speaking about music came easy to Amanda, she has always been shy to speak about her private life, only revealing that she wrote a recent single with La Sauce about the emotions of being in a new relationship.

She told TshisaLIVE that she was still in the relationship and couldn't be happier.

"I am still in that relationship. When you are in a new relationship you are so happy and you want it to last forever," she said.

She joked that she might one day write her own wedding song.