At the time of her death, Mathosa was preparing for a performance at a Channel O concert in Angola.
According to a statement issued to the press, "it is with great sadness that Channel O learnt of the passing of Lebo Mathosa. She was an inspiration to music lovers from across the musical spectrum, a complete natural who won new fans with every performance, and over the years her music has been central to much of what we have accomplished as Africa's number one music channel."
The sultry diva shot to fame in 1994 as a lead vocalist and dancer for Boom Shaka, a multi platinum selling group that remains an icon of post apartheid South African music. Her live performances were legendary - she performed at the then North Sea Jazz festival in Cape Town, the Celebrate South Africa concert in London's Trafalgar Square, on tour in Malaysia and Singapore and for the Malaysian queen. She also sang before 16 000 people at Nelson Mandela's 85th birthday celebrations.
Her album Dream won her a Best Dance Single and Best Female Vocalist at the SAMA's in 2001.
Her video Awu Dede won a Channel O award in the Best Choreography category in 2005. Her latest accolade was that of a nominee at the MOBO awards in London in the category Best African Act.
The Channel O special show will be rebroadcast on Sunday, 29 October, at 5pm.
