ABOUT MELANIE LOWE
Achievements, Highlights & Notable Performances
Recognised by SAMRO as one of South Africa’s Top 20 Songwriters
Standout finalist on the inaugural season of Idols South Africa, described by national media as “the dark horse of the competition”
Co-wrote and performed the theme song for Big Brother South Africa, which won a South African Music Award for Best Pop Single
Selected Chart-Topping & Notable Releases
Tonight – original track from the album The Other Side (Ichabod) Islands in the Stream – with Garth Taylor
Strange Emotion – original track from Yesterday’s Diary Sweetest of Rhymes – original track from Unspoken Truth
As – original track from Unspoken Truth
Come Back Home – original track from Unspoken Truth
Studio Albums
Yesterday’s Diary Unspoken Truth
(SAMA nominee – Best English Adult Contemporary Album)
I Choose Me
(released independently through Mellow Music)
Toured extensively across South Africa for over a decade, sometimes performing multiple shows per day
Raised over R100,000 for the Little Eden Society through nationwide school performances
Motorsport & Achievement
Pioneer Rally – Three Consecutive Wins
Melanie competed alongside a visually impaired navigator, relying on Braille route notes and verbal navigation throughout the rally.
After two consecutive wins with the same navigator, organisers changed her navigator, believing the partnership to be too strong.
Melanie went on to win the rally for a third consecutive year regardless, reinforcing her reputation as the competition’s “dark horse.”
International & UK Performances
Melanie has performed internationally, including appearances in Egypt and the United Kingdom.
Her UK performances include shows at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and headline performances at The Bedford.
Large-Scale Productions & Special Performances
Her performance career includes large-scale productions such as Showgirls at the Durban ICC, the Miss South Africa pageant, and the South African Music Awards.
She has also collaborated on several performances with the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra and performed at major national sporting and cultural events.
Television, Media & Projects
Melanie has appeared on a variety of South African television programmes, including Idols South Africa, Noot vir Noot, Ontbyt, Felisha, 20-Something, as well as televised live performance features on local talk and variety shows.
She appeared twice on The Jerry Springer Show (South African segment). Her first appearance was on a New Year’s special, where she performed Auld Lang Syne. Following her South African Music Award win, she was invited back for a full interview and a live performance of her original song I Remember You.
Melanie was a founding member, lead singer, and songwriter for the alternative funk-rock band Ichabod. The band was active for five years, during which they recorded a full-length studio album and toured nationally. The album produced a number-one radio single, Tonight.
She was also co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist in the South African band The Reckoning, performing alongside Stuart Irving.
Major Artists & Shared Stages
Melanie has shared stages with leading South African and international artists, including Westlife, Katie Melua, Sam Bettens (K’s Choice), Hothouse Flowers, Prime Circle, Tree63, Watershed (including several collaborative performances) Danny K, The Parlotones, Nianell, Kurt Darren, Lebo M, Vicky Sampson, Wendy Oldfield, Theuns Jordaan, Juanita du Plessis, Nicholas Louw, Garth Taylor, Bok van Blerk, Dozi, Karen Zoid, Chris Chameleon, Nádine, Bobby van Jaarsveld, Timothy Moloi, Robbie Wessels.
Her collaborations extend beyond live performance. Melanie also contributed guest vocals to Watershed’s album Wrapped in Stone, appearing on the track Refuse to Move at the personal invitation of frontman Craig Hinds.
Identity, Inclusion, and Lived Experience
Melanie is openly queer and neurodivergent, and her work is shaped by lived experience rather than labels. Living with ADHD and parenting neurodivergent children has deeply informed the way she moves through the world, teaches, and creates.
These experiences influence how she holds space – with patience, flexibility, and an understanding that people learn, feel, and express themselves in different ways. Whether on stage, in a lesson, or in conversation, Melanie prioritises safety, consent, and authenticity over expectation or performance.
Her approach is not about fitting into predefined systems, but about creating environments where people can show up as they are. Music, for Melanie, is both a creative practice and a relational one – a way to connect, regulate, express, and belong.
This commitment to inclusion is not a statement or a strategy. It is simply how she lives and works.
