SOUTH AFRICAN POP ARTIST LEE COLE HAS BEEN DROPPING A STRING OF HIT SINGLES IN THE LAST 3 YEARS & opened FOR GLOBAL ACTS RONAN KEATING & CALUM SCOTT. Find out more about LEE in the interview BELOW!

LEE COLE is an Indie pop artist from Johannesburg/South Africa. His music genre is considered anywhere between pop, post-teen pop and confessional pop. His raw vocals remind undoubtedly of Lewis Capaldi and Lee has already been coined the Lewis Capaldi of South Africa.  

Lee Cole has released 9 singles in the past 3.5 years achieving over 2.5 Mio. Spotify streams. He also dominated South African Radio as well as charting within the top 5 of South African Radio’s Top 40 charts. 2021 also saw Lee perform at the prestigious South African Film & Television Awards (SAFTAs).

In November 2022 and in March 2023 Lee has been sharing the stage with global superstars Ronan Keating and Calum Scott and was the opener for their concerts across South Africa. 

We sat down with Lee for a short insightful interview about his music, his live performances with global acts and his plans for the remainder of the year 2023.

If you are interested in his musical journey, you can follow Lee on his Socials below. 
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With your last single release „With Or Without You“, you experimented with a different Genre, something that we haven’t heard from you before. It´s an awesome song and we love the vibe and rhythm. What trends inspire your music and your current songwriting style? Where do you find inspiration from?

Lee Cole: 
Yeah, With Or Without You was something a little different from me. I like experimenting a lot and enjoy taking my voice and sound to places `I usually wouldn’t go. I’m normally very in tune with global trends although when adapting and keeping up, I try and head in directions that still sound like Lee Cole. It’s a balancing act that usually takes a little time to get right.

Is there one track you feel especially proud of, that you could give us a little backstory on?

Lee Cole:
I would say I’m quite proud of my song I Don’t Wanna Wait. It was the first song that got people to sit up and notice me. It was also the first song that many people, upon first listen, reacted very strongly too.

Your music has always been very emotional and is about love and heartbreak. How does it feel to perform such emotional songs?

Lee Cole:
I’ve always been a very emotional performer; preferring slow, heart-felt songs to upbeat songs. I feel I connect more with my audience because of this fact, so to me it feels more natural.

You have already become an opening act for major artists such as Calum Scott and Ronan Keating. How did these performances influence and/or inspire you? 

Lee Cole:
It’s been a crazy few past months getting to open for some insane major international acts. It’s been an honour but more so an affirmation that one day I’ll be there too. Life is really about full-circle moments I would say.

Who would you love to be on stage with in the near future?

Lee Cole:
I have many artists that I’d love to share the stage with one day but Billie Eillish and Adele would have to top that list. I just feel like I could create magic with either of them.

We know that you have a strong follower base on Socials and that you are very engaged with your fans and your community, which is awesome. Since this is all very time consuming, how do you manage your time on Socials and what platform do you get the most out of it and why? 

Lee Cole:
Social media can be very draining: both emotionally and mentally, as well as physically with regards to time. I try to plan a lot of my social media in advance and try to create content that people can relate to. For me, relatability is key. On top of all that, I try to be as real as possible so that when my fans meet me I’m not too different to what they’re used to experiencing on my instagram or Tiktok etc.

What else do you have planned for the reminder of the year? Any releases that we can look forward to in 2023?

Lee Cole:
There’s quite a bit to look forward to this year and I’m super excited. When I eventually do release my new album, I think it’s going to be a brave direction for me and I hope it connects with everyone in the same way my previous records did.​