IT’S big, it’s blue, it’s made of wool – and she calls it her “Moon Mop”. One of the first things you notice about Moonchild Sanelly is her “hair”, often worn with lipstick and eye make-up to match. “It literally grew as my career grew,” she tells me via video call from her home in Johannesburg, in reference to the mop’s seriously impressive dimensions.
![[Moonchild Sanelly in a pool wearing a teal textured hairpiece and red top.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/moonchild-sanelly-pr-supplied-965558157.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
But I soon discover there’s much more to this trailblazing South African, who — in no particular order — can call herself singer, mother, poet and fashion designer. Sanelly, 40, is known in the UK for her wild live shows, including TEN performances at last year’s Glastonbury Festival, and her association with Damon Albarn, either through Gorillaz or Africa Express.
![[Moonchild Sanelly in a pool float.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/moonchild-sanelly-pr-supplied-965558334.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
She worked with Beyonce, featuring on My Power from the American superstar’s 2019 soundtrack album The Lion King: The Gift. And she hooked up with breakthrough British star Self Esteem (Rebecca Taylor) for one of last summer’s best-loved songs, Big Man.
![[Damon Albarn and Moonchild Sanelly.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/damon-albarn-moonchild-sanelly-966035607.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
“It was ridiculous how well we clicked. We were baddies,” says Sanelly of that collaboration. “She was going through her own situation and then, when we met, the work just started flowing and we were speaking for each other. It was beautiful.”. Now Sanelly is back with her vibrant, life-affirming third studio album, Full Moon, recorded on the road in Malawi, Sweden and London.
![[Illustration of Moonchild Sanelly in a long robe with a full moon for a head, standing in the rain.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/moonchild-sanelly-pr-supplied-965558197.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
