Mroza Fakude made history this week as the first maskandi artist to win the prestigious SABC Summer Song of the Year, with his hit track Van Damme.

Van Damme's success surprised many fans, who thought that Babes Wodumo's Wololo or King Monada's Ska Bhora Moreki would take the crown.
Fans flooded social media with comments about the win, many of them admitting that they had never even heard the song.

So how did this virtually "unknown" song become the year's biggest hit?
People voted for it!
As some celebs like Lerato Kganyago and Loyiso Gola have pointed out, social media hype doesn't always guarantee success.


The song was voted the biggest in the country because people voted for it more than any other song.
In other words, people didn't just tweet their support for the song, they actually used their energy and airtime to vote.
It also probably didn't hurt that fans stood the chance of winning a new car simply by voting.
It's a hit for Ukhozi FM
It's no secret that Ukhozi FM is the biggest radio station in the country, with a listenership of over 7 million. So when the station's listeners think something is hot, you better believe it will make some waves.
The song was voted as the number one song by Ukhozi FM listeners, who by sheer numbers, had the power to put the song on its throne.

SA loves traditional music
A lot of this has to do with South Africa's love for traditional music.
According to radio host Lerato Kganyago, Van Damme and Moreki were leading the votes in the final hours leading up to the close of polls.

The SABC may have made all local music "lekker" with its 90 percent local content quota in 2016, but it seems that the real winner was traditional music, which dominated those number one spots.
Give Van Damme a listen below.