Tyla has always wanted to be the world\u2019s first global South African pop star \u2014 and she\u2019s already well on her way. In the past month, Tyla\u2019s summer single \u201cWater\u201d became her first Top 10 hit in the United States and also landed her a Grammy nomination for Best African Music Performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt makes sense,\u201d she tells Variety <\/em>nonchalantly over the phone. \u201cI\u2019ve been ready for this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Born Tyla Laura Seethal in Johannesburg, South Africa, Tyla grew up listening to the piano-driven, tech-house beats of the amapiano<\/em> music she heard at parties and gatherings throughout the 2010s. Those faster-paced tempos, paired with Tyla\u2019s love for American singers like Aaliyah and Britney Spears, were what made \u201cWater\u201d a standout on the charts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAmapiano has done so much for South Africa, to the point where the vibe of the country has changed,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s more events, there\u2019s new music scenes popping up everywhere because it\u2019s the first South African-born genre that has crossed these borders. It\u2019s given us jobs, it\u2019s given us opportunity to travel. In my case, it\u2019s already given me more than I could\u2019ve imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tyla is part of the inaugural class of nominees for the new Grammy category for African music alongside her friend Arya Starr and Asake, Burna Boy, Davido, along with featured acts Olamide and Musa Keys. She was in her hotel room in New York when she found out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn all seriousness, I didn\u2019t really<\/em> think I was going to get nominated,\u201d she admits. \u201cBut my label asked me to watch the livestream announce and I was so nervous \u2026 And then I saw my name pop up, and I died (laughs)<\/em>. I couldn\u2019t stop screaming. I called my family and my best friend who travels with me. She came to my room and we just screamed and screamed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tyla signed with Epic Records in 2021 after seeing success with her debut single \u201cGetting Late,\u201d featuring Kooldrink, which was featured across streaming playlists for R&B, pop and Afrobeats. Then came \u201cWater,\u201d an ode to the summer of 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The song was embraced on TikTok, where Tyla and Litchi, her friend and choreographer launched an accompanying dance trend inspiring others, including Jennifer Hudson, to give it their best shot. Incorporating a South African dance move called Bacardi, the trend also involves pouring a bottle of water down your back as Tyla sweetly sings: \u201cMake me sweat, make me hotter, make me lose my breath, make me water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just feel like everything started to flow like this whole year,\u201d she says. \u201cBacardi is not usually done to music like this. My choreographer came up with the dance, and I learned to do in rehearsal, and then I was like, \u2018I need to pour water on myself! Feels like that would be fun!\u2019 It\u2019s all been so authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After dropping a remix of \u201cWater\u201d with labelmate Travis Scott, Tyla has announced the release of a bundle of three singles that will appear as part of her upcoming debut album. In addition to R&B pop singles \u201cOn and On,\u201d and \u201cTruth or Dare,\u201d there is also a track called \u201cButterflies\u201d that is much more stripped back compared to its sister releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s been a lot of \u201cexperimentation\u201d for Tyla to get to the sound she\u2019s ready to present now. \u201cEvery weekend I was in the studio recording music, trying all different types of things, from rap to straight pop music, to R&B, dance music, everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She feels \u201cWater\u201d was the perfect prelude for her big debut. \u201cWhat I like is mixing [amapiano beats] with pop and R&B and \u2018Water\u2019 is exactly that. You\u2019ll find that vibe in most everything I do but I\u2019m definitely experimenting a bit [for the new record] but it all sounds like me \u2014 the music and production styles I enjoy, especially the music I heard growing up. Now, I can\u2019t wait to properly introduce myself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Originally published at Variety<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Thania Garcia Tyla has always wanted to be the world\u2019s first global South African pop star \u2014 and she\u2019s already well on her way. In the past month, Tyla\u2019s summer single \u201cWater\u201d became her…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,8],"tags":[2480,1288,2849],"class_list":["post-8506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment-art-culture","category-international","tag-album","tag-grammy","tag-tyla"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/towncryyers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Tyla_phAnnieReid_02_LR-Cropped-1920x1080-1-1024x576.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1\")
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