Hi-5 is a

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

from

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 South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

singing mainly in

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 ...

language.

Formation

It was formed in 2003 and took part in the ''

Crescendo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpretation by the performer dependi ...

'' annual music contest organized by

ATKV The Afrikaans Language and Culture Association (Afrikaans: Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging), ATKV, is a society that aims to promote the Afrikaans language and culture. The association was founded in 1930 in Cape Town. Since its inception ...

(the Afrikaans Language and Culture Association, in

, Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging), a major event for Afrikaans music, winning the title for that year. Niel Schoombee was the founding member of this popular boy band.

Career

Hi-5 released a 5-track EP ''Soebat'' in 2003 followed by a self-titled album ''Hi-5'' (2004) with their second studio album being ''Versoeking'' released in 2006. The first single from the album, the title track "Versoeking", was an

language cover of

Arash Arash the Archer ( fa, آرش کمانگیر ''Āraš-e Kamāngīr'') is a heroic archer-figure of Iranian mythology. According to Iranian folklore, the boundary between Iran and Turan was set by an arrow launched by Arash, after he put his own ...

's "Temptation". The popularity of their single and music video helped the band to further cement their success on the South African music charts. Hi-5 are also notable outside their home country South Africa for recording

covers of

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

entries.Among the Eurovision songs they have covered in Afrikaans; "Jy Is Die Een" (version of

Elena Paparizou Helena Paparizou (; , ; born 31 January 1962) is a Swedish-born Greek singer, songwriter and television personality. Born and raised in Sweden to Greek parents, she enrolled in various arts schools before launching a career in Sweden in 1999 as ...

's "

My Number One "My Number One" is a song recorded by Greek-Swedish singer Helena Paparizou, written by Manos Psaltakis, Christos Dantis, Natalia Germanou and produced by Christos Dantis. It was the at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, held in Kyiv, awarding ...

"), "Daai Liedje" (version of

Sandra Oxenryd Sandra Oxenryd (born 1 October 1982) is a Swedish singer who won Fame Factory in 2005, and represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. Biography Oxenryd was born in Kristinehamn and is a former economics student and floorball playe ...

's "

Through My Window Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Through My Window" written by Pearu Paulus, Ilmar Laisaar, Alar Kotkas and Jana Hallas. The song was performed by Sandra Oxenryd. The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Televisioon ...

"), "Die Twist" (version of

Sidsel Ben Semmane Sidsel Ben Sémmane (born 9 October 1988) is a Danish musician known since 2017 by the stage name Sémmane. She won the 2006 Dansk Melodi Grand Prix and went on to finish 18th at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens. Her mother is Algeria ...

's "

Twist of Love Denmark participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Twist of Love" written by Niels Drevsholt. The song was performed by Sidsel Ben Semmane. The Danish broadcaster DR organised the national final ''Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2 ...

") "'n Ewigheid" (version of

Carola Häggkvist Carola Maria Häggkvist (; born 8 September 1966), commonly known simply as Carola, is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s and has released albums ranging from pop and disco ...

's "

Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane ...

") and "Vergewe My Weer" (version of

Fabrizio Faniello Fabrizio Faniello (born 27 April 1981) is a Maltese pop singer. He represented Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2001 and 2006. Family Fabrizio Faniello is the eldest of three children born to Vincenzo and Anna Faniello. He has two y ...

's "

I Do I Do may refer to: * "I do", a phrase used in some marriage vows; used by brides and grooms in response to questions posed by either the officiant or the other marriage partner Film and TV Film * ''I Do'' (1921 film), a silent comedic short fi ...

"), all from their third album ''Versoeking'' In April 2007, Hi-5 had some limited success in Europe on an international contract with the resort, Sonamor in

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, in addition to showcasing Afrikaans music in other parts of Europe.

Members

The original members comprised: *Niel Schoombee *Nicolaas Swart *Shaun van Staden *

Dihan Slabbert Dihan Slabbert (born 3 June 1982), is a South African singer, performer, composer, producer, musician, and songwriter. He is best known as one of the lead vocalists in the South African pop group, Hi-5. Career Dihan sang at an early age, as ...

*JP Moggee Later line-up comprised: *Niel Schoombee *Nicolaas Swart *Wynand Buitendag *Lee Scott *Renee Kruger

Discography

Albums and EPs

Singles

*2003: "Een Hart Een Droom" *2003: "Soebat" *2004: "Kinders van die Wind" *2004: "Time After Time" *2005: "Shnappi" *2006: "Versoeking"

References

Culture of the City of Tshwane Pretoria South African pop music groups South African boy bands {{Africa-band-stub