# Tyla

Tyla Laura Seethal (born 30 January 2002), known mononymously as Tyla, is a South African singer and songwriter. Her musical style is characterised by a fusion of pop and amapiano, with many publications dubbing her "Queen of Popiano".
Born and raised in Johannesburg, Tyla signed with Epic Records in 2021 following the domestic success of her 2019 debut single, "Getting Late". She gained international recognition after the release of her 2023 single "Water", which entered the top ten in multiple countries including her native South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. "Water" was the first song by a South African soloist to enter the US Billboard Hot 100 in 55 years and was awarded the inaugural Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance. The single preceded her self-titled debut album (2024), which was released to critical acclaim and moderate commercial success, entering the top 25 in multiple countries including the United States.
Tyla is the youngest African artist in history to win a Grammy Award. Her other accolades include an MTV Video Music Award, two BET Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and the honorary Global Force Award at the first Billboard R&B's No. 1's and the iHeartRadio Music Award for World Music Artist Of The Year, among nominations for a Brit Award, an Ivor Novello Award, a Soul Train Music Award and nine South African Music Awards.

## Early life

Tyla Laura Seethal was born on 30 January 2002 in Edenvale, Gauteng, to a Coloured family with Indian, Indo-Mauritian, Zulu, and Irish ancestry. She grew up in Johannesburg, Gauteng, and graduated from Edenglen High School in 2019, where she was the Head of Culture. Tyla has 3 siblings, an older sister, Whitney, and a younger brother and sister, Tyrese and Sydney.
During her final year of high school, she began pursuing a career in music, posting original songs and covers on Instagram and actively seeking out opportunities in the music industry. She was discovered by her first manager, Garth von Glehn, who organized her first recording sessions. Tyla stated that she spent every weekend of her final year of high school in the recording studio.

## Career
### 2019–2022: "Getting Late" and national success

In late 2019 after finishing high school, Tyla self-released her debut single, "Getting Late" featuring production from Kooldrink, which achieved national success. Filmed by her own manager intermittently throughout the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, the accompanying music video was released in January 2021. It amassed several million views on YouTube, and was nominated for South African Music Award for Best Music Video of the Year in 2022.
She had been studying towards a degree in mining engineering, and after much persuasion and "a lot of crying", her parents had agreed to let Tyla take a year off university to attempt to lift her music career off the ground. She then signed a recording contract with Epic Records through a joint venture with Fax Records in the United States in May 2021. She followed up her debut single with the singles "Overdue" in October 2021 and "To Last" in November 2022.

### 2023–present: International breakthrough with "Water"

Tyla's first public performance occurred in 2023 during the Dolce & Gabbana afterparty at Milan Fashion Week, following the release of her single "Been Thinking", which earned Tyla her first chart placements of her career, on the Billboard Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay charts. Heven Haile of Pitchfork described it as a "slick club anthem that channels the seductive pop-R&B hits of mid-2000s Ciara and Rihanna". Tyla then joined Chris Brown as the opening act for his Under the Influence Tour. In May 2023, she released the single "Girl Next Door", featuring Nigerian singer Ayra Starr.
She released the song "Water" in July 2023 as the lead single from her self-titled debut studio album. After spawning a viral dance challenge on the social media platform TikTok, "Water" peaked within the top 10 in multiple countries including South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Tyla became the first and youngest-ever South African soloist in 55 years to enter the US Billboard Hot 100 with "Water", following Hugh Masekela's "Grazing in the Grass" in 1968.
Tyla performed "Water" live on The Bianca Show in Sweden and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in the United States. The music video for "Water" was released on 6 October 2023, it accumulated 3 million views on YouTube in three days. Tyla was then featured on a remix version of "Girls Need Love" by Summer Walker, released as part of the latter's Girls Mix extended play in October 2023. On the eve of December 2023, she announced the release of her debut studio album, Tyla (2024), and simultaneously released three songs: "Truth or Dare", "On and On", and "Butterflies", as promotional singles from the project on an extended play of the same name. Tyla performed a medley of "Water" and "Truth or Dare" on the season 24 finale of The Voice on 19 December 2023. At the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2024, Tyla won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance with "Water", also becoming the youngest-ever African artist to win a Grammy Award.
Tyla's self-titled debut album was officially released via Fax and Epic Records on 22 March 2024. The accompanying music video for "Art" was released in tandem with the album. Tyla received widespread critical acclaim, and was a top-25 album in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, and Switzerland. Tyla received the most nominations at the 18th Metro FM Music Awards in South Africa, with six nods. She went on to win the most awards at the 2024 BET Awards, tying with Usher and Victoria Monét at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, where she delivered a live performance of "Jump" for the first time alongside Gunna and Skillibeng. On 11 October 2024, Tyla released the deluxe edition of her self-tilted debut studio album comprising three additional songs including "Push 2 Start". Musically, "Push 2 Start" is a reggae-infused amapiano pop-R&B track, which was positively received and its music video premiered on YouTube on 8 November 2024. Tyla performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2024. On November 11, 2024, she made her debut appearance at the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs), performing her singles "Push 2 Start" and "Water". During the same night, she won 3 EMAs for ‘Best African Act’, ‘Best Afrobeats Artist’ and ‘Best R&B Artist’. Released in February 28th, Tyla was featured on the song When I'm With You from the album Alter Ego from the Thai Rapper Lisa

## Artistry

   "When I was a kid, I always hoped that a pop star like Rihanna, Britney Spears or Michael Jackson would come out of South Africa. I wanted a star to come from my hometown. Now, for the people of my hometown, I want to be a pop star who represents South Africa"
Tyla's biggest musical influences include Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Drake, Wizkid, Freshlyground, Aaliyah and Cassie. She has said that her dream is to become the first global pop star from Africa. She has since been deemed the "Queen of Popiano", a fusion of the pop and amapiano genres, infused with elements of R&B and Afrobeats.

## Discography

* Tyla (2024)

## Tours

Headling
* Tyla Tour (2024)
Supporting
* Under the Influence Tour (for Chris Brown) (2023)