Heinz Winckler

Izimvo is honoured to introduce winner of South Africa’s first Idols competition: Heinz Winckler.

Heinz, winner of South Africa’s first Idols in 2002, has gone on to release 3 chart topping studio albums, a Live DVD, performed Chasing Shadows on the sound track of Disney’s Treasure Planet, came fourth in World Idols (Dec 2003) beating the UK’s Will Young, and has been nominated for 2 South African Music Awards. He was chosen for Cosmopolitan’s Sexy Man Calendar for 2003 and won People Magazine’s Crystal Awards for “Best Male Personality”, “Hottest Hunk”, and “Hottest Artist”.

Today Heinz is a house hold name in South Africa where he has done countless shows, including opening for Westlife. He has also guest starred on several local soapies and has been a guest on almost every local talk show. Heinz’s  recently released studio album, Ek Kan Weer In Liefde Glo, has gone gold in only 4 months.

Website: http://www.heinzw.co.za
Twitter: http://twitter.com/heinzwinckler
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heinz-Winckler/41471650756

Heinz was kind enough to answer the following questions:

Personal

Q: How would you like to be introduced at a social event hosted internationally?

A: Heinz Winckler, the pop sensation from South Africa!

Q: Tell us something that not many others know about you. This could be anything from a phobia to your favorite movie.

A: I have a Brown II belt in karate and music production is a hobby of mine.

Q: What do you enjoy doing when you want to get away from it all?

A: Watching good movies or TV series, going for a walk along the beach with my wife, swimming or bodyboarding in the ocean.

Q: How would you describe your dream home and where in South African would you want it to be?

A: It would be a Cape Dutch style home with traditional finishes, wood and leather in the interior with beautiful stylish local art and photos of family and friends on the walls. It will be a small wine farm in the Stellenbosch area where I will have a small vineyard and a state of the art studio with a guest house setup where artists and bands can come and work.

This question was proudly sponsored by Private Property – Looking for the ultimate Cape home? How about this R22m 5 bedroom, 5 bathroom luxury home  on a golfing and wine estate with amazing views of the mountains, fairways and vine yards.

South African Music

Q: Congratulations on the success on your latest album, “Ek Kan Weer In Liefde Glo“. Tell us a little about the album and the story behind the title track.

A: Thank you. I’m very excited about my first Afrikaans album. My supporters have been asking for it for years now and since I am Afrikaans I thought I would give it a bash doing Afrikaans in my own style.

The title track is actually based on an English pop song that we got from last year’s Eurovision winner. It is a co-write by Ronan Keating and two other writers. We translated it and changed the meaning of the song to have a more positive message of hope in love after heartbreak or disappointment. I have had many people come up to me to thank me for what the song has done for them.

Q: Can you describe the moment when you first heard one of your songs on the radio?

A: Yes! It was Once In A Lifetime and I was in the Highveld Stereo studio the morning after I had won when the played it – it was an awesome feeling! I still get goosebumps every time I hear one of my songs on the radio.

Q: Which one of your many accolades are you most proud of?

A: At this stage it’s a toss-up between playing a lead role in the US touring company of Rent and my latest album going gold in 4 months!

Q: What changes would you make to the Idols format both internationally and here in South Africa?

A: I think the format works well. The purpose of the show is to find a new pop singer based on public vote. It does just that. The main thing we need here is a better voting system that can handle any amount of votes, better broadcast sound quality and the contestants also need better sound on stage and more time to rehearse. I think that’ll help to up the level of the show locally.

Q: What are your predictions for the music industry, record labels and the manner in which music will be distributed in the future?

A: The easiest answer is to look at what is happening in Europe, the UK and the US and then know that we will follow suit in about 10 – 15 years. I think CD’s will become collectors items and/or redundant and most people will only buy online.

There will be a small market segment in SA that will get there quite soon, and the masses will only get there in a few years time as the middle class becomes stronger and technology becomes more affordable.

Artists and labels will rely more and more on ringtone downloads, internet purchases and syncing rights for income and live performing will become more important for all artists as a source (maybe even main source) of income.

I think we’ll see more independent labels doing well and the majors merging and even failing.

And lastly I think we’ll see more and more artists who become famous on the internet on their own.

Q: What can we look forward to from Heinz Winckler in 2010?

A: First of all lots of new music in the form of a few more radio singles from the new album. I will also be performing live all around the country – for more info go to www.heinzw.co.za and my fan page on Facebook. I will also be a coach on the new season of Supersterre on SABC2. And I’m playing one of the lead roles in the new season of Getroud Met Rugby as well as the movie that will follow-on the movie. There is also the possibility of doing 2 overseas trips for shows this year – but more on that later.

Life in South Africa

Q: What do you enjoy most about living in South Africa?

A: The space, the rich culture, the amazing scenery and the fact that it is my home.

Q: When asked about crime in South Africa internationally, how do you respond?

A: I tell them that yes it is bad, but that they need to take it with a pinch of salt as the media tend to exaggerate things and that I choose to not live in fear.

Q: With less than 100 days to the first African Soccer World Cup, what advice would you offer to first-time visitors looking for the ultimate South African experience?

A: Eat the food, because it will lead you to the people, and the people are what makes this country great. There is too much to experience, and you will not get to everything, so do what you can and come back for more later. But my top three activities would be to take the cable car to Table Mountain, drive the pass from Gordon’s Bay to Kleinmond and do some wine tasting at the Stellenbosch, Paarl and Robertson wine farms.

General

Q: Which of your lyrics would you most like to be remembered for?

A: It’s Your Song, and no one can take it away. Just let me sing along, to your song, we’ll sing all day long, to your song. (It’s from Real Song from the new album and song is a metaphor for the calling and purpose we each have.)

Q: Do you follow any rituals before getting up on stage to perform?

A: Just practical stuff – pray, warm up the voice, drink water, tune the guitar and make sure I know my set list.

Q: If you were to write a message for your unborn son to open on his 18th birthday, what would it say?

A: I’ve actually already wrote him a song that I surprised my wife with on her baby shower.

It’s in Afrikaans though – but the jist of it is based on the meaning of his name (Lian) which means Willow and is connected to my wife’s favourite scripture, Jeremiah 17:7,8. So the lyrics are something like this:

A willow Tree
By a waterstream
No worrying in drought
Son of promise
Son of hope
Man of God

Your mom and I stand together
And bless you in Jesus’ name

My son, my blessing
Borrowed from our creator
To raise and to cherish
To lead in the fear of God
My son

Q: If you could invite any three South Africans to an intimate dinner party, who would you invite and what music would you play in the background?

A: My wife and my parents. Beethoven.

Q: Who would you most like to read about on Izimvo and what would you like to ask them?

A: Jacob Zuma. What is your true, actual vision for this country.

A massive thank Heinz for taking the time to answer our questions. We’d like to wish him every success for the future and wish him and his wife, Alette, all the best with the birth of their first child any week now.

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