South African singer and songwriter Holly Rey is not letting online critics dim her shine ahead of her Hey Neighbour music festival appearance, where she’s scheduled to perform on August 31, 2025, at Legends Adventure Farm in Pretoria.
The Afro-electro star came under fire from an X (formerly Twitter) user, @Shaun_thefirst, who questioned her inclusion in the festival’s star-studded lineup.
“Guys who is making these decisions!!?? Bona themselves do they listen to Holly Rey? Have they ever picked their phone up to play a Holly Rey song? Would you leave your house to go listen to Holly Rey? Name me 5 Holly Rey songs.”
But Holly didn’t stay silent. In a bold clapback, she shut down the hate with facts:
“My bank account, Spotify streams and multiple songs that have gone multi platinum, in more than just Mzansi, would beg to differ, but who am I to argue with a wanna-be DJ who puts ‘umthandi wegqom’ as their bio.”
Fans Rally Behind Holly Rey
Her response quickly went viral, with supporters flooding her timeline with praise and encouragement.
@Inqama97 defended her, saying:
“He is such an insensitive and misinformed artist. He is just jealous of your talent and success. Glad you put DJ Ma Shaunisa in his place.”
Another user, @mqhelenqabankos, wrote:
“You aren’t the benchmark target market. There are people from a different lifestyle that do listen to her music.”
@_wangwangwang added:
“Holly Rey’s music is loved and streamed. She has multiple platinum and gold records. You might not love it or know it, but she has her fanbase. Stick to DJ Tira and Babes Wodumo — Hey Neighbour knows what they’re doing.”
A Proven Hitmaker
Holly Rey first rose to fame with her chart-topping single “Deeper”, which earned her the Record of the Year award at the 2019 SAMAs — making her the first independent female artist to win the coveted prize. Since then, she has released a string of hits and garnered millions of streams on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
Final Word
With a multi-platinum catalog, loyal fans, and unwavering confidence, Holly Rey is ready to own the Hey Neighbour stage — and she’s not letting critics distract her from the music.