While it felt as if 2021 was 2020 part two, the entertainment industry got back on its feet – in the rest of the world – with award shows and concerts returning to personal occasions.
Looking to 2022, there’s a lot to look forward to when it comes to entertainment both locally and internationally.
But who or what will be the big trendsetters for 2022?
We’ve compiled a list of celebrities, music genres and award show darlings that will be making headlines for the coming year.
Amapiano
The SA-born genre has moved from taking over the country as the most popular genre to taking over the world. 2021 saw the South African amapiano fraternity take the genre to places like never before for a local music export.
Amapiano festivals happened in the UK, Netherlands, US and across other African countries.
While there was a little bump in the road when British singer Jorja Smith was accused of appropriation when she released a sanitised amapiano song, “All of This”, with Ghanaian producer GuiltyBeatz.
This singer has rectified the situation and has released remixes of the song produced by the Scorpion Kings, DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small, and Major League DJz.
The twin DJs also hit that while on their many trips to the US, they record a track with Doja Cat, which is sure to propel the genre to greater heights when released.
Lady Gaga
More than 10 years into her career, the “Just Dance” hitmaker has been on an upwards trajectory since the release of “A Star Is Born” in 2018, following a career slump during the ARTPOP era.
The “American Horror Story” actress is set to be a frontrunner for the Best Actress Oscar for her role in “House of Gucci” for her stellar performance as Patrizia Gucci.
Gaga is also set to add more Grammys to her collection following the announcement of the nominations in November for her joint project with Tony Bennet, “Love for Sale”, which received six nominations, two of them being in the major categories.
The Cole Porter tribute album, along with their CBS special “One Last Time: An Evening with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga”, was also the jazz legend’s final project and live performance to due Alzheimer’s Disease.
Uncle Waffles
The viral star’s 15 minutes of fame seems to turn into a fully-fledged career.
Waffles has been touring across the continent and wowing crowds with her electric DJ sets, and yes, people are still in going when she plays “Adiwele”.
For 2022, the next logical step for the biggest breakout star would be to release her original music, which has been a common trend for local Mzansi.
Only time will tell if her career will have real longevity, but her being on everyone’s lips the last couple of months, landing on the Twitter trends constantly, indicates so.
The sky is the limit for one of South Africa’s hottest DJs.
Chloe Bailey
The “Do It” singer has been on the tip of everyone’s tongue with her solo debut.
The hit single “Have Mercy” has gone on to be a certified banger with Chloe performing on several major awards shows and late-night shows, with it also being featured in TV shows such as the “Gossip Girl” reboot.
She also teased her second single, possibly called “Flex”, which, already become a TikTok trend.
While the “Ungodly Hour” singer faces criticism for “doing too much”, the era of showstopping live performance seems to be back and, she’s set to make waves just like her peers, Lil Nas X and Doja Cat.
Blxckie
SA hip hop’s new golden boy Blxckie seems to be invigorating new life into the genre that’s fallen out of popularity with the general public.
The 22-year-old was crowned Mzansi’s hottest MCs on the MTV Base list for 2021.
He dropped “B4Now” earlier in the year after the massive success of his two previous singles, “YeX4” featuring Nasty C and “Big Time Shlappa” featuring Lucas Raps.
He's also been on a scorching feature run that's seen him make guest appearances on songs from the likes of Young Stunna, The Big Hash, Priddy Ugly, Una Rams, Tshego, Ckay and Oxlade.
The rapper appears to be set to lead the pack of his class in 2022.