Tyla (South African singer)

Tyla Laura Seethal (born 30 January 2002), known mononymously as Tyla, is a South African singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Johannesburg, she signed with Epic Records in 2021 following the domestic success of her 2019 debut single, "Getting Late" (featuring Kooldrink).

Tyla rose to international fame with the release of her 2023 single "Water", which entered the top ten in sixteen countries including the United Kingdom and 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 in 2024. The single preceded her self-titled debut album (2024), which was released to critical acclaim and moderate commercial success, entering the top 25 in six countries including the United States.

Tyla is the youngest African artist to win a Grammy Award, and has also earned nominations for a BRIT Award, a Soul Train Music Award, a MOBO Award, and two South African Music Awards. She has been dubbed the "Queen of Popiano", a fusion of the pop and amapiano genres.

Early life
Tyla Laura Seethal was born on 30 January 2002 in Edenvale, East Rand, to a Coloured family with Indian, 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. During her final year of high school, she began pursuing a career in music, posting original songs 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.

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 also later released the song "Water" in July 2023 as the lead single from her upcoming self-titled debut studio album. After spawning a viral dance challenge on the social media platform TikTok, the song became a top 10 hit in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, among several other countries. It also made Tyla the youngest-ever South African and the first South African soloist in 55 years to enter the US Billboard Hot 100, 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. Its accompanying music video, released on 6 October 2023, accumulated 3 million views on YouTube in three days. Tyla was then featured on a remix version of the song "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 March release of her debut studio album, Tyla (2024), and simultaneously released three new tracks called "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 became the first person to win 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 single "Art" and its accompanying music video were 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.

Artistry
Tyla's biggest musical influences include Michael Jackson, Aaliyah, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Drake, Cassie, Tems and Wizkid. 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.

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