Riana Nel (9 November 1981) 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, which ...

she moved to

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, South Africa, to start her career.

Professional career

Her songs have been described as including elements of "pop & country". She 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 vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

with the 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 languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

movie, ''

'n Saak van Geloof ''n Saak van Geloof'' () is a South African Afrikaans-language drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, o ...

'' alongside her co-star Robbie Wessels, the well acclaimed South African singer-songwriter and 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 who won the sixth season of '' Holland's Got Talent'' in 2013, at the age of nine. Early life Amira Willighagen was born in Nijmegen to a Dutch father and a South African mother whose m ...

. Nel has shared a stage with her sister

Nianell Sonia Aletta Nel (born September 25, 1971 in Omaruru, Namibia), better known as Nianell, is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist. Biography After growing up in Windhoek, Namibia, Nianell graduated with a three-year diploma in light musi ...

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 Turkish lira, currency of Turkey and also the local name of the Lebanese pound, currencies of Lebanon and of Syrian pound, Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, ...

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 on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, France, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, the UK,

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in the U.S., Russia,

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

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 ...

in 2019.

Personal life

Nel's sister,

, is also a singer–songwriter.

Discography

Studio albums

References

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