After ending off 2016 on a high note when she won season 12 of Idols South Africa, Noma is ready to conquer 2017 with her debut album.

Titled Joy, the singer describes her album as Afro pop which has something for everyone.

The singer went from being a dedicated teacher to a full-time musician.

“Since winning Idols my life has taken a complete 360-degree turn. I went from being a teacher at a primary school to now focusing on my music every day. It’s been a very exciting journey, overwhelming but exciting,” she said.

Noma said although she knew there had been pressure for her to be the first black female winner of Idols, she did not feel it until the very last stages.

“Every week I made it further to the finale was a surprise for me because I didn’t have a campaign run by my family or friends to encourage people to vote for me. However, when it was the top five and Lucia left and I was the only girl left, I decided that I needed to win this because the country needed a female winner, it had been too long,” said Noma.

“A moment before Proverb announced that I was the winner, I actually switched off so I didn’t hear him say my name so I was very confused when people started running up to me and hugging me. It only hit me that I had won when a fellow contestant said: ‘Noma you made it, you won’, that’s when the penny dropped,” she said.

Just days after being announced as the winner, Noma was booked into studio and within a week her album was complete.

“I would have liked more time to work on the album but the recording company wanted me to release it before Christmas and before the new season of Idols got under way. It was definitely a situation of us wanting to strike while the iron was still hot because it has worked with season 11’s winner.

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“This album is just one of the many albums I plan on recording but this one really taught me that I can work well under pressure. There was absolutely no rest when I was recording this album, my vocals had no rest and neither did my body but it all turned out beautifully.”

One of her favourite songs on the album is the latest single off it, Moving On, in which she teams up with popular DJ and producer, Sketchy Bongo.

“Working with Sketchy was an absolute dream come true. I have always enjoyed his work and to work with him on my debut album was such an honour. He was a lot of fun to work with and I learnt so much from him – definitely a highlight for me so far,” she said.

“This album has something for everyone, there is pop, R&B, gospel, soul, whatever you like, it’s on Joy,” she said.

Noma said she was looking forward to going on tour this year and dropping music videos.

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