Riana Nel (9 November 1982) is a Namibian singer and songwriter. After growing up in

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

she moved to

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

, South Africa, to start her career.

Professional career

Her songs have been described as including elements of "pop & country". She is known for the singer who can make up a song with just a few words on the spot. She had firmly placed her roots in

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

on release of the albums ''Oopmond'', ''The Cure'', ''Breathe'' and ''Someone with Skin'' and has won several awards including the Crescendo Award in 2000, a SAMA, Huisgenoot tempo's and Ghoema awards. The album ''Die Moeite Werd'' appealed more to the secular market and has reached platinum status and continues to top South African music charts. Nel has also starred in the

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

movie, '' 'n Saak van Geloof'' alongside her co-star Robbie Wessels, the well acclaimed South African singer-songwriter/comedian. Nel is a well acclaimed songwriter having written songs for Juanita Du Plessis, Bobby Van Jaarsveld, Lianie May, Touch of Class and world-renowned

Amira Willighagen Amira Willighagen (born 27 March 2004) is a Dutch soprano singer who won the sixth season of '' Holland's Got Talent'' in 2013, at the age of nine. Early life Amira Willighagen speaks both Dutch and Afrikaans because she was born to a Dutch ...

. Nel has shared a stage with her sister

Nianell Nianell (born September 25, 1971 as Sonia Aletta Nel in Omaruru, Namibia) is a singer, pianist, guitarist, and composer. Biography After growing up in Windhoek, Nianell graduated with a three-year diploma in light music from Pretoria Technikon ...

Bobby van Jaarsveld Pieter van Jaarsveld, professionally known as Bobby van Jaarsveld, (born 6 March 1987) is a South African Afrikaans-language pop singer-songwriter and actor. Early life Van Jaarsveld, who was nicknamed "Bobby" after his father, was born on 6 Ma ...

, Lianie May,

Lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...

and many more. She recorded duets with André Swiegers (''Blou''), Bobby van Jaarsveld (''Die Liefde kom net eens in 'n Leeftyd''), Die Heuwels Fantasties (''Doen net wat ons wil''), Retief Burger (''U's my God'') and Steve Hofmeyr (''Skree''). She has performed in South Africa,

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, France, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the UK,

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

in the U.S., Russia,

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and Australia. Nel was a coach on

The Voice South Africa ''The Voice South Africa'' is a South African reality singing competition and local version of ''The Voice'' first broadcast as ''The Voice of Holland''. Its first season started on 31 January 2016 and proved to be a hit on M-Net. The second se ...

2019.

Personal life

Nel's sister,

, is also a singer and songwriter.

Discography

Studio albums

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nel, Riana 1982 births Afrikaans-language singers Living people People from Windhoek Namibian emigrants to South Africa 21st-century Namibian women singers