In 2023, a dance challenge set to a sultry, bass-heavy song spread across social media. Within months, the song was on the Billboard Hot 100 and its singer was holding a Grammy. The song was “Water”. The singer was Tyla.
Johannesburg
Tyla Laura Seethal was born on 30 January 2002 in Edenvale, on Johannesburg’s East Rand. She grew up singing and posting videos online, and she released her debut single, “Getting Late”, in 2019. Its success at home led to a deal with Epic Records in 2021.
Popiano
Tyla’s style blends pop, R&B and amapiano, the South African house music style with deep log-drum basslines. Fans and media call her the “Queen of Popiano”. Her music takes amapiano’s rhythms and puts them under melodies built for international pop radio.
“Water”
“Water”, released in 2023, became her international breakthrough. A dance challenge on TikTok helped push it around the world, and it entered the US Billboard Hot 100, the first song by a South African solo artist to do so in 55 years.
The Grammy
At the 66th Grammy Awards in 2024, the Recording Academy introduced a new category, Best African Music Performance. The nominees included Burna Boy, Davido, Asake, Olamide, Ayra Starr and Tyla. Tyla won, becoming the category’s first winner and one of the youngest African artists ever to win a Grammy.
Beating the big names
Many had expected one of Nigeria’s Afrobeats stars to win. Tyla’s victory showed how far South African sounds had travelled and how quickly a new artist could rise in the streaming era.
Her debut album
Her self-titled debut album followed in 2024, building on the success of “Water” with more songs mixing amapiano and pop.
Controversy over identity
Tyla sparked discussion when she described herself as “coloured”, a term with specific meaning in South Africa’s history. The debate showed how differently racial terms are understood in South Africa and the United States.
A second Grammy
Tyla later won another Grammy, making her the youngest African artist in history to hold two.
From the East Rand
Amapiano grew up in South Africa’s townships and house parties. Tyla took its log drums to the Grammy stage in Los Angeles, and in doing so became the answer to a trivia question that will be asked for years: who won it first?
