Explore every episode of the podcast Celeb Savant

Maxon - an Australian singer and songwriter - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Maxon takes us through her creative journey, which includes what surprises her about the industry, her creative process, and why it took her until 2026 to release her debut album, Talking With Strangers.
Instagram - @itsmemaxon
TikTik - @itsmemaxon

Philip Oakey from the British synth-pop Brit Award-winning band, The Human League, joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Philip takes us through a multi-decade journey of success, which includes 40 million albums sold. Philip explains that he never planned to be in a band until he was in one, how fear of failure kept them going, and more about their upcoming tour in South Africa and their Generations Tour in the USA.
This episode of Celeb Savant was recorded at Solid Gold Podcasts, Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Website - www.thehumanleague.co.uk
Instagram - @humanleaguehq
Facebook - @thehumanleague
TikTok - @the_human_league
YouTube - @thehumanleague

Nicole Alyse Nelson - an American actor - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Nicole takes us through her journey in front of the camera, which includes explaining (from experience) the importance of networking in the entertainment industry, the difference between being a series regular compared to acting in a film, and from starting out on Nickelodeon to becoming part of the Oscar-nominated live action short, Jane Austen's Period Drama.
Instagram - @thenicolenelson
Facebook - @thenicolenelson
TikTok - @thenicolenelson
YouTube - @thenicolenelson

MR.BLACK Psytechno DJ & Producer joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. MR.BLACK takes us through his journey, including how his second track was signed to one of the biggest psytrance labels in the world, collaborating with the likes of Madonna, Cashmere, Hardwell, Vini Vici, among others, his creative process, and more about his symphonic rave.
Instagram - @mr_black_music
Facebook - @mrblackmusic
TikTok - @mr_black_music
YouTube - @MrBlackmusic

Nick Lawrence - a British entertainment executive and founder of BigStar - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Nick takes us through his journey, which includes how music influenced his childhood, how he moved from finance into the entertainment industry with roles including owning a record label, being a professional DJ, and founding BigStar… as well as what services the management consultancy provides.
Website - www.bigstarbiz.co.uk
Instagram - @bigstarbiz

Lin Nelson - a Grammy- nominated producer and songwriter - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Lin takes us through her experience in the entertainment industry, which includes working for the Grammys for 15 years, how she then went freelance and worked in a variety of roles within the industry, and how she now produces and writes different genres of music.
Instagram - @dreamwithfaith
@dalagirlmusic

Simon Ratcliffe from multi-platinum production duo Basement Jaxx - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Simon takes us through their Brit and Grammy Award-winning career, which includes how the duo was formed, exploring different areas of the industry (like the full live show they created), what he loves about performing live, and what’s coming next.
Website - www.basementjaxx.com
Instagram - @basement_jaxx
Facebook - @BasementJaxx
Twitter - @TheBasementJaxx
TikTok - @thebasementjaxx
YouTube - @basementjaxx

Lotte Petri - a Danish bestselling crime author - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Lotte explains what inspired her to start writing crime novels, why she loves writing in that genre, what type of research she conducts for her books, and what she finds interesting about adapting the books into film manuscripts.
Website - www.lottepetri.dk/english/
Instagram - @lotte.petri
Facebook - @lotte.petri

Katharina Benjamim - a Brazilian-born, Monaco- based filmmaker, producer, and director - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Katharina explains how she started her career in costume and set design, explains the importance of continuity in productions, what inspires the projects she creates, and the difference between creating a documentary and a film.
IMDB - Katharina Benjamim
Instagram - @kat.benjamim
LinkedIn - @katharinabenjamim

Jimmy Nevis - a South African award-winning singer, producer and songwriter - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Jimmy takes us through his over a decade of success, which includes how he chose his stage name, and what shocked him when he started professionally in the industry. We also dive into the intricacies of the behind-the-scenes of the industry.
website - www.jimmynevisepk.com
Instagram - @jimmynevis
Facebook - @JimmyNevis
Twitter - @jimmynevis
TikTok - @heyjimmynevis
YouTube - @jimmynevis

Daniel Baron - a South African award-winning, platinum selling singer, songwriter, and producer - joins us live in studio on this episode of Celeb Savant. Daniel takes us through his chart-topping career, which includes how he intentionally tries to step out of comfort zones, how he picks up talent in other artists, what he loves about producing other artists, and how he creates for himself compared to other artists. He also gives advice to upcoming artists.
This episode of Celeb Savant was recorded live in the studio at Solid Gold Podcasts in Randburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Website - www.danielbaron.co.za
Instagram - @danielbaronsa
Facebook - @danielbaronofficial
Twitter - @danielbaronsa
TikTok - @danielbaron
YouTube - @danielbaron01

Keith D. Robinson - an American actor, singer, and dancer - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. The triple threat takes us through his journey, which includes his path in the music industry, how acting came calling later in life, about working on a Soap Opera - Beyond The Gates - and his latest music project, Love Episodic ll.
Website - www.keithsings.com
Instagram - @keithsings
Facebook - @keithrobinsonsings
Twitter - @keithsings
TikTok - @keith.drobinson
YouTube - @KeithRobinsonsings

Massive Wagons - Baz Mills from the UK rock band joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Baz explains how the band got together, how they started out being a covers band, why they started creating original music, and what he loves about performing and creating music… 17 years into his career.
Website - www.massivewagons.com
Instagram - @massivewagons
Facebook - @massivewagons
Twitter - @massivewagons
TikTok - @massivewagonsofficial
YouTube - @massivewagons

Somyo - an American-born, Lisbon-based electronic dance singer, producer, and DJ - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Somyo explains how he started his career as an actor in Los Angeles and how getting music projects allowed him to realise his passion for creating in the space, and why he changed his stage name from Barrett Crake to Somyo. We also bond over our love of Kylie Minogue.
Instagram - @somyomusic
Facebook - @somyomusic
TikTok - @somyomusic
Youtube - @somyomusic

Freeman Gumede - a South African singer, songwriter, and bassist - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Freeman explains how he started out playing bass and singing in a choir, but due to self-confidence issues, it took him a while to start his solo career. We also hear more about his debut EP, Kuhlangene.
Instagram - @freemangumede
Facebook - @freemangumede01
TikTok - @freemangumede
YouTube - @freemangumede

LamBros - an Australian duo, singers, songwriters, and brothers Connor and Harry Lambrou - join us on this episode of Celeb Savant. The brothers take us through their journey, which includes what they learned from starting off busking as teenagers. They explain how they create their live palette of sound, and why there is friction between them during the creative process.
Instagram - @lambrosmusic
Facebook - @lambrosofficial
TikTok - @lambrosmusic
YouTube - @lambrosmusic

Kwelagobe Sekele - head of A&R Publishing, music supervisor, and curator for Gallo Music/The Music Arena - joins us live in studio for this episode of Celeb Savant. Kwelagobe takes us through his entertainment journey and what his role at Gallo entails. It is the 100th anniversary of Gallo Music Africa, and Kwelagobe unpacks the impact and how the label will be honoring the milestone.
This episode of Celeb Savant was recorded live in studio at Solid Gold Podcasts, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Website - www.gallo.africa
Instagram - @GalloMusic
Facebook - @GalloMusicSA
Twitter - @GalloMusicSA
TikTok - @GalloMusicSA
YouTube - @GalloMusicSA

Con The Artist, a South African-born, Canadian-based singer, songwriter, and producer, joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Con takes us through his entertainment journey, how he started out in the band, and the reason behind following a path as a solo artist, the difference between creating songs for himself compared to creating for others, what he loves about film composition, and how he is working on his 'decision paralysis'.
Website - www.contheartist.com
Instagram - @contheartist
Facebook - @itscontheartist
TikTok - @itscontheartist
YouTube - @contheartist

Joey Rasdien - a South African award-winning comedian and actor - joins us live in studio on this episode of Celeb Savant. Joey takes us through his multi-decade journey of being a comedian… we discuss his acting in front of the camera, and deep topics such as the art of introspection in comedy, cancel culture, street light effect, attribution error, and pluralistic ignorance.
This episode of Celeb Savant was recorded live in studio at Solid Gold Podcasts in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Website - www.joeyrasdien.co.za
Instagram - @Yusuf
Twitter - @joeyrasdien
TikTok - @joeyrasdien
YouTube - @joeyrasdien

Sean Smith - a British singer, songwriter, and theatre performer - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Sean details his multi-faceted career, which includes his experience of coming 3rd on X Factor season 4 as part of the duo, Same Difference, with his sister Sarah, performing in theatre productions such as We Will Rock You, and about his new EP - Stay Human.
Instagram - @seansmithsolo
Facebook - @seansmithsolo
Twitter - @seansmithsolo
YouTube - @seansmithsolo

James Johnston - an Australian rising country singer and songwriter - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. James explains how he decided to start releasing his original music after performing covers for 10 years, that songwriting is a muscle that needs practice, and how performing in Cape Town, South Africa, was one of the top highlights of his career.
Website - www.jamesjohnston.com
Instagram - @jamesjohnstonmusic
Facebook - @jamesjohnstonmusic
TikTok - @jamesjohnstonmusic
YouTube - @jamesjohnstonmusic

Billy Raffoul - a Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer - joins us for the second time on the Celeb Savant podcast. Billy catches us up on what has happened since we last spoke, which includes releasing two albums one month apart in 2025, and more about his latest collaborations. We also discuss comfort zones in the creative process, and his upcoming tour of South Africa.
Website - www.billyraffoul.com
Instagram - @billyraffoul
Facebook - @billyraffoul
Twitter - @billyraffoul
TikTok - @billyraffoul
YouTube - @BillyRaffoul_Official

Tynisha Keli - an American singer and songwriter - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Tynisha tells us how Scott Ross from Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch became her guardian at 13 and taught her how to be hyper-focused as an artist, and how her previous management screwed her over and the only legal way to get out of the contract was to step away from the industry. She also talks about her journey back to the spotlight with her third album... The Chronicles of TK: The Phoenix.
Instagram - @thetynishakeli
Facebook - @thetynishakeli
TikTok - @thetynishakeli

Donia Youssef - a British multi-award-winning author, film producer, writer, entrepreneur, and acting agent - joins us on this episode. Donia takes us through her journey, which includes how she built up a successful talent agency, and how being diagnosed with cancer allowed her to turn trauma into power... which resulted in her success as an author, producer, scriptwriter and creating a new successful talent agency.
Instagram - @the.monster.series
Facebook - @donia.youssef78

Nianell - a Namibian-born, South-African-based SAMA award-winning singer, songwriter, author, mentor, and spiritual influencer - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Nianell takes us through her impressive career, which includes why she chose her stage name, and why her ignorance of the music industry when she started out was her saving grace. We also discuss NLP and the training programme she created - EMIT change
Website - www.nianell.com
Instagram - @nianellemitchange
Facebook - @nianellemitchange
TikTok - @nianellemitchange
nge.YouTube - @nianellemitchange

JJ McCann - the new guitarist from ARIA Award-nominated indie power pop and rock band Moler - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. JJ takes us through his journey in the music space, how he met and joined the band (which returns after a long hiatus), what he enjoys about performing live, and about their latest album - 69.
Instagram - @MolerOfficialPage
Facebook - @MolerOfficialPage
YouTube - @molerofficialpage

Karyn White, an American Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, entrepreneur, and queen of New Jack Swing, joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Karyn takes us on her multi-decade journey in the music industry, as we discuss how important it is to have discipline at the beginning of a music career, about her new music, and the strategy thereof… and we unpack the current music industry landscape.
Website - www.karynwhite.me
Instagram - @karynwhiteofficial
Facebook - @KarynWhiteMusic
YouTube - @karynwhiteofficial

Ayrton - a South African singer and songwriter - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. We hear Ayrton's recent musical journey, which includes his surprise of how important social media is as part of the music industry, the challenge of social media, and how he got signed to David Gresham Records.
Instagram - @realayrtonmusic
Facebook - @realayrtonmusicc
TikTok - @realayrtonmusic
YouTube - @realayrtonmusic

AC Scott - a Scottish chart-topping broadcaster, Sony Award-winning radio host, bestselling novelist, singer, and songwriter - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. AC takes us through her entertainment journey, which includes her time as a radio host, how a health issue 10 years ago stopped her broadcasting career, which led to her writing bestselling novels, and more about her debut album - Out Of The Blue.
Website - www.acscott.co.uk
Instagram - @acscottsings
Facebook - @AlisonsDiary
TikTok - @acscottsings
YouTube - @AlisonCraigScott

Bruno Tilley - a British creative director, designer, writer and music video director - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Bruno takes us through his fascinating journey in the entertainment industry, which includes starting out designing album covers for artists at Island Records, how he got into directing and producing music videos, with his first director credit being Bob Marley's Buffalo Soldier. He also reveals his current projects, which include design work and turning one of his screenplays into a novel.
Website - www.brunotilley.com
Instagram - @brunotilley
Facebook - @bruno.tilley
LinkedIn - @bruno-tilley-5802366

Rayne - a South African singer and songwriter who signed with David Gresham Records in 2025 - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Rayne explains that he always wanted to go professional and went for it when he felt confident with his songs, how he is working on the challenge of being overly self-critical, and he explains what recession pop is.
Website - www.raynemusic.co.za
Instagram - @rayne.music
Facebook - @raynemusic.co.za
TikTok - @rayne.music
YouTube - @rayne6851

Andrew Meyer - American movie producer, developer, executive, and author - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Andrew takes us through his multi-decade career as we dive into each of his jobs, namely producing stadium concerts, record producer, executive producer for films (that have been nominated for Oscars, Golden Globes and BAFTAS like The Breakfast Club, Fried Green Tomatoes etc), and about his book, Walking in the Fast Lane: Stories of a Lifetime.
Website - www.andrewmeyerentertainment.com
Instagram - @andrewmeyerentertainment
Facebook - @andy.b.meyer

Alessia Labate - an Italian dance singer, songwriter, and rising star - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Alessia explains how she grew up in a musical family, why she says that it is important to detach one's self from their art, and why she says that the dance music world is more open and welcoming than the pop music world.
Instagram - @alessialabate_
Facebook - @alessialabateofficial
Twitter - @alessialabate_
TikTok - @alessialabate__
YouTube - @AlessiaLabate

Apple Gule - a South African singer and songwriter - joins us live in studio on this episode of Celeb Savant. Apple tells us the story behind his stage name, how he started out singing the national anthem at sports events, and how he has remained positive through the challenging times of his career.
This episode was recorded live in studio at Solid Gold Podcasts, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Instagram - @applegule
Facebook - @applegule
Twitter - @applegule
TikTok - @appleguleofficial
YouTube - @Itsgulehome

Shannon Esra, a South African Award-winning and SAFTA-nominated actress, joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. As we share the stage and screen, Shannon tells us about how she hates waiting when it comes to being on set, and what seasoned actors taught her when she first started. We also discuss her show-hopping character Sandra Stein, and the character’s latest iteration on Law, Love & Betrayal S2.
Instagram - @shannonesra_official
Facebook - @Shannon.Esra
Twitter - @ShannonEsra

Dennis Matkosky - an American producer and songwriter with over 70 million record sales - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. We hear about his multi-decade and multi-award-nominated career, which includes writing the smash hit song 'Maniac' for the movie Flashdance, producing and writing for Sarah Brightman, Chicago, LeAnn Rimes, Smokey Robinson and many more… and we find out what it means to produce for an artist.
Instagram - @dennis_matkosky
Facebook - @dmatkosky

Jon Secada, a Cuban-born and American-based singer and songwriter, joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Jon takes us through his Grammy Award-winning career, which includes what motivates him to keep creating music and performing live after being in the industry for over three decades, the challenges in the current music industry landscape, and more about his latest project, Fascination - a tribute to Nat King Cole with Gonzalo Rubalcaba.
Website - www.jonsecada.com
Instagram - @jonsecada
Facebook - @jonsecada
Twitter - @jonsecada
YouTube - @JONSECADAYOUTUBE

Dina Renée - an American singer, songwriter, actress, and model - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Dina explains how she left for Los Angeles at the age of 18 to pursue her music career, we hear why she calls her latest releases 'empowerment pop'… and the importance of going for voice lessons.
Website - www.dinareneemusic.com
Instagram - @dinarenee
Facebook - @dinarenee
Twitter - @dinarenee
TikTok - @dinarenee1
YouTube - @dinarenee

Alex Davies - a British musician, TV composer, songwriter, producer, and front man of Elliot Minor - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Alex takes us through his multidisciplinary career, which includes the journey of the band, what surprised him about being a professional artist, and his writing of music for television and songs for other artists.
Website - www.alexdaviesmusic.com
Instagram - @alexdaviesmusic
Facebook - @alex.davies.146
Twitter - @alexdaviesmusic
TikTok - @alexdaviesmusic

Maryze - a Canadian and French singer and songwriter - joins us from Los Angeles on this episode of Celeb Savant. Maryze tells us about her story, which includes how she got over the challenge of doors closing at the beginning of her career, her experience being a queer artist in the industry, and how she has found a balance for her perfectionism.
Website - www.maryzemusic.com
Instagram - @maryzemusic
Facebook - @MaryzeMusic
Twitter - @MaryzeMusic
TikTok - @MaryzeMusic
YouTube - @MaryzeMusic

Razeen Dada - a South African actor and producer - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Razeen tells us how he started out in the entertainment industry as a model, how taking up acting classes put him on the path to acting, and about his latest project - The Cane Cutter.
Instagram - @razeendada
Facebook - @RazeenDadaActor
TikTok - @razeendada
YouTube - @razeendada1605

Ben Provest - an Australian singer, songwriter, producer, and musician - joins us from the USA on this episode of Celeb Savant. Ben explains what surprised him about becoming a professional artist, the difference between creating music for himself compared to creating for others, and what he loves about performing live.
Website - www.benprovestmusic.com
Instagram - @ben_provest
Facebook - @BenProvestMusic
TikTok - @benprovest
YouTube - @BenjaminProvest

Sketchy Bongo - a South African DJ, songwriter and producer - joins us from Dubai on this episode of Celeb Savant. We dive into Sketchy's creative mind, which includes how he came up with his stage name, the story behind why he wore the ski mask, which is part of his brand. We also get into his creative process, and the current music industry landscape.
Instagram - @sketchybongo_official
TikTok - @sketchybongo_official
YouTube - @sketchybongo

Thereza Bazar, a Canadian-born and Australian-based singer and songwriter, joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Thereza tells us about her multi-decade career in the music industry, which includes the success of being part of the '80s duo Dollar. Find out what motivated her to start creating music and performing again, and we discuss the relevance of the music charts.
Facebook - @TherezaBazarOfficial

Justė, a Lithuanian-born, Denmark-based electronic music DJ and producer, joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Justė explains how it was her dream to become a DJ and producer since she was a child. We hear how her determination and focus took her out of survival mode and into following her dream to become an artist, about her creative process and more.
Instagram - @djjuste_
YouTube - @djjuste

What So Not - an Australian DJ and producer - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. What So Not explains the meaning behind his stage name, and how seeing Justice at a music festival motivated him to follow his current path. We also discuss his creative process, and what’s coming next.
Website - www.whatsonot.com
Instagram - @whatsonot
Facebook - @whatsonot
Twitter - @whatsonot
TikTok - @whatsonot
YouTube - @whatsonot

Andre Lotter - a South African stage, screen, and Royalty Soapy Award winner - joins us live in studio on this episode of Celeb Savant. Andre explains how partaking in theatre productions at school motivated him to pursue acting as a career. He discusses the concept of research when it comes to acting, we unpack performing on stage, in front of the camera, and dive into the world of soap operas.
This episode of Celeb Savant was recorded live in studio at Solid Gold Podcasts in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Instagram -@andrelotter
Facebook -@andrelotter
Twitter - @andrelotter
TikTok - @andrelotter

JP Cooper - a British multi-platinum-selling singer and songwriter - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. JP tells us that it was a long, slow process until he became a professional artist, signing his first record deal at the age of 30. We hear about his creative process, how he has grown in his confidence to be comfortable to write songs by himself, and why it is freeing to write for other artists.
Website - www.jpcoopermusic.com
Instagram - @jpcoopermusic
Facebook - @jpcoopermusic
TikTok - @jpcoopermusic
YouTube - @jpcoopermusic

Chellcy Reitsma - a Dutch-American, Malta-based singer, songwriter, visual artist, and poet - joins us on this episode of Celeb Savant. Chellcy explains that she was a professional dancer who ended up in a wheelchair due to ankle injuries, how she started singing and writing songs, her creative process, and why she says, “I don't want to do a genre, I want to do me."
Website - www.chellcyreitsma.com
Instagram - @chellcyreitsma_official
Facebook - @chellcy.reitsmaartist
YouTube - @ChellcyReitsma

Phil Cunningham - a Zimbabwean-born, South African-based producer and director - joins us for this episode of Celeb Savant. Phil takes us through his journey in creating movies, unpacks the world of animation filmmaking, and tells us why it took 37 years to create the movie 'David'... from ideation to release.
Website - www.sunriseproductions.tv
Instagram - @sunriseanimationstudios
Facebook - @sunrisehq
TikTok - @sunriseanimationstudios
YouTube - @SunriseAnimationStudios