SA: Apple Music features Amy Lilley on Up Next programme

The announcement comes ahead of the release of her nine-track debut album called Petrichor, which features Manana, Moonga K. and Jabulile Majola. The record is available for streaming on Apple Music in Spatial Audio. The collection is aptly named after the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm weather.

Influenced by Bruce Springsteen and Patsy Cline, Petrichor is steeped in nostalgia and introspection, and is a deeply personal release that finds Lilley having journeyed through the metaphorical rain to make it out on the other side.

As the latest artist to be spotlighted, Lilley will be featured across Apple Music’s South African Up Next playlist.

“I feel so honoured to be an Apple Music Up Next South Africa artist. It feels like a dream,” Lilley told Apple Music. “To be amongst such amazing artists, and to be picked by the team at Apple, makes me feel that much more driven to keep making the music that I love. I feel so proud of how far I have come and can’t wait for what’s next.”

Lilley's soaring debut single ‘Formidable’ (2020) topped the charts of some of the biggest South African radio stations like 5FM, KFM, Heart 104.9 FM and Jacaranda FM, introducing her as a lyrical force. The single also earned her a first SAMA nomination for Best Pop Album.