An English-language version of the song, "We Are Growing", was used as soundtrack to the South African TV series Shaka Zulu.
In the 1950s, she moved from Queenstown to Johannesburg in the then Transvaal, where she found work as a domestic servant.
The producers of the musical Sponono, written by Alan Paton, gave her a part as a chorus singer in 1964.
"Singana" was an adaptation of her surname "M'cingana", meant to make it easier for white people to pronounce.
In 1973, Singana was cast as the lead singer in the musical Ipi Tombi, and soon made herself famous with the song "Mama Tembu's Wedding".