After the resounding success of her album Wonderful Day, award-winning gospel singer Thobekile Mkhwanazi has dropped another smash hit.

Wonderful Day achieved gold status by selling more than 21 000 copies and the title track became an anthem at weddings.

Mkhwanazi still cannot believe how the hit song launched her career. "I'm overwhelmed by the reception the song got. I have never anticipated that it will become this famous. I get pleased when I drive around the township and hear people playing it.

"For me that proves that the songs speaks to people's souls."

She hopes her latest album, Mangizifihle Kuwe, will carry the momentum forward.

It is packed with 13 beautiful tracks, all with a signature style of Mkhwanazi.

Mangizifihle Kuwe ([God] Let me take refuge in you) showcases Mkhwanazi's strong spiritual side in songs such as What a Mighty God We Serve and Umhlengi Wam.

Her craft is to rearrange and record well-known gospel standards, giving them a new feel and meaning.

This time Mkhwanazi features Sipho Makhabane, Phindile Gumede and Zuzu Buthelezi.

"My music preaches about hope and faith. I know as Christians that the journey is not easy and if people could just have faith in God and never give up," says the artist from Escourt in KwaZulu-Natal.

"When I was in the studio working on the album I had every fan in my mind and tried to accommodate each and everyone."

Mkhwanazi, who has been singing for over 15 years, turned professional in 2009 after she was featured in Hlengiwe Mhlaba live DVD recording in Durban.

"People loved my singing style and kept asking when am I going to release an album. [Before then] I was not recording my music because I never thought It could sell," she says.