Cinderella Sanyu (born 28 August 1985) known professionally as Cindy or Cindy Sanyu is a

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

n musician. She was one of the original members of Blu*3, along with Lilian Mbabazi and Jackie Chandiru. She has performed with

P-Square P-Square are a Nigerian music duo composed of the twin brothers Mr. P (singer), Peter Okoye and Rudeboy (singer), Paul Okoye, who co-write and co-produce most of their songs. Noted for their artistic reinvention, musical versatility, and Visual a ...

, Wahu,

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, Chameleon,

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, Mr. G and Radio & Weasel.

Early life and education

Cindy was born on 28 August 1985 in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, Uganda, but hails from

Mbale Mbale is a city in the Eastern Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Mbale District and the surrounding sub-region. Location Mbale is approximately northeast of Kampala, Uganda's capital city, on ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Music

Cindy started singing when she was 6 in her local church at a small town called Ntinda. She took part in "Capital Radio All Stars talent search" when she was 16 years old. She took third place. She worked with producer Steve Jean who made sure she participated in the "Coca-Cola Pop Stars" contest, which led to the formation of Blu*3 in 2003. With Blu*3, Cindy found music success winning the Best Artist/Group from Uganda & Best Music Video from Uganda in the

2005 Kisima Music Awards The 2005 Kisima Music Awards continued the expansion begun in the previous year, incorporating both entrants and acts from across East Africa including Musaimo, Ida and Diaspora. The ceremony was hosted by Tedd Kwaka ( Big Ted), Ugandan Diana Muyer ...

, Video of the Year ("Hitaji") in the 2005

Pearl of Africa Music Awards The Pearl of Africa Music Awards (also known as the PAM Awards) was an annual national music award event held in Uganda. The inaugural event was held in 2003. In 2006, categories for musicians from other East Africa East Africa, also known ...

and Video of the Year ("Burrn") in the 2007

and being nominated for best East African Group in the 2005

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, Best East African Album (''Hitaji'') in the 2005

Tanzania Music Awards Tanzania Music Awards are national music awards held annually in Tanzania. They are also known as the Kilimanjaro Music Awards or the Kili Music Awards after their sponsor (Kilimanjaro Premium Lager). The awards were established in 1999 by the ...

Best East African Video ("Frisky") in the 2006

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, Best Group & Best Performer in the 2009 MTV Africa Music Awards and Best East African Song ('Where you are' with Radio & Weasel) in the

2010 Tanzania music awards The 11th edition of the Tanzania Music Awards took place at the Diamond Jubilee Hall in Dar es Salaam, on Friday 14 May 2010. The event was anchored by Jokate Mwegelo.The CitizenNewcomers ruling the roost 21 May 2010 Bongo Flava singer Diamond P ...

. Cindy was dropped from the group. In 2008, she embarked on a solo career. Her debu solo album ''Ayokyayokya'' (2009) topped charts all over East Africa with hits like "Mbikooye" and "Nawewe", "Ayokyayokya", and "One and Only". She has had more successful songs, like "Selekta".

Acting

Cindy got her debut film acting role as the lead in the Ugandan musical drama film ''

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''. Her performance earned her nominations at the

Africa Movie Academy Awards The Africa Movie Academy Awards is an annual entertainment award ceremony presented to recognize excellence among African and non-African professionals, who have contributed to the African film industry. The award was founded by Peace Anyiam-Osig ...

for Best Young Actor, Africa Lead Role In Film (Non Nigerian) at the

Nigeria Entertainment Awards The Nigerian Entertainment Awards were established in New York City in January 2006. The awards recognize the contributions of African entertainers with a special focus on Nigerians. Ceremonies * 2006 Nigeria Entertainment Awards * 2007 Nigeria ...

and Best Actress at Uganda Film Festival Awards, all in 2018. She later worked on the film '' November Tear'', released in 2019.

Personal life

Cinderella Sanyu was in a relationship with Mario Brunetti and the relationship produced a daughter, Amani. She got engaged to actor, producer and film director Joel Okuyo Prynce in March 2020 in Kampala. She married Joel Okuyo Prynce on 11 December 2021. She had a child with him.

Leadership roles

Cindy is currently the Acting President of the Uganda Musicians' Association (UMA) after the resignation Ykee Benda as his deputy, Cindy stepped forward and filled the president’s shoes.

Controversy

Cinderella Sanyu was involved in a relationship with Ken Muyisa. On leaving Blu*3, her fellow band members Jackie Chandiru and Lillian Mbabazi claimed that "she was not candid" about her reasons for leaving. It was not long until Cindy embarked on a solo career with her hit single "Mbikooye" and wrote more hits like "Ayokyayokya", "Amateeka", "Party", "Selecta", "Ndi mukodo", and "Run this city".

Discography

Songs

*Mbikooye *Amateeka *One and only *Party *Total satisfaction *Nawewe *Selekta *Tempo remix *Ndi mukodo *Samodat *Dat dat *Run this city *One by one ft Skales *Dancehall ft Eddy Kenzo *Onnina *Faded *Copicat *Boom party

Albums

*''The King Herself'', 2019 *''Ayokyayokya'', 2009

Awards and recognition

*Female artiste of the year in the DIVA awards, 2009 *Teenies' dancehall artiste in Buzz teenies awards, 2010 *Best female artiste of the year in Buzz teenies awards, 2010 *Afrima awards best female artiste (East Africa) 2016 *Bingwa awards best artiste from Uganda 2016https://twitter.com/Mdundomusic/status/694593397022146562 Artiste of the year Uganda

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanyu, Cinderella 1985 births Musicians from Kampala 21st-century Ugandan women singers Living people Kumusha Ugandan musicians