My name is Tebello May and my stage name is Bello. I am a 20 year old independent pop/soul singer, songwriter and recording artist based in Pretoria, South Africa.
My love for music developed at the age of 7 when my dad bought me Stacey Orrico's CD (which was my very first CD). My favourite line from one of her songs on that album was "There's gotta be more to life than chasing down every temporary high to satisfy me…"
I was somehow able to understand that at that age... it made me realise that out of all the things that intrigued me back then and even now, it would be important for me to find something that gave me a never ending "high". A feeling of ... FREEDOM! 13 years later and music is still one of them.
A few years ago my grandmother got diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. So she doesn't really remember who I am and she will probably never be able to point at me to tell someone that I'm her grand-daughter, Tebello. Heartbreak isn't even anywhere close enough to describe how that feels. But that alone is enough to inspire lyrics to a song, motivate me to wake up early in the morning and prepare for a studio session and encourage me to confidently pour my heart out into the microphone and comfortably perform in front of people. She is still able to laugh and dance like she can remember every little detail of her life. My grandmother's condition reminds me that my "high" and the freedom it gives me is all I will have when I am stripped of everything else.
That's why I sing! And it is through listening to other people's musical interpretations of their lives that I got inspired to start my own musical journey. Hopefully, I can share my joys and pains with the world, tell my stories through songs and get people thinking the same way I did years ago.
I'm sure by now you've gathered that I try to speak to the soul. The music I make is a combination of the pretty background melodies that accompany the moving words of a poet, along with all the essential jams you cry, dance and sing along to when life takes you on all kinds of roller coaster rides.
Please make sure you keep up with me on social media.
IG: @bello_may
Twitter: @burgundybello
Facebook page: Bello Music
YouTube channel: Bello Music
