Tyla Rose To International Fame With Her 2023 Single “Water”
Tyla, is a South African singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Johannesburg, she signed to Epic Records in 2021 after the domestic success of her debut single “Getting Late” featuring Kooldrink.
She’s been dominating just about every device with a speaker with her breakout hit “Water,” and now South African singer-songwriter Tyla delivers another dose of R&B and amapiano-infused pop on “Truth or Dare,” a seductive tug-of-war that challenges a would-be lover to get on her level. Pre-add the album now and you’ll also hear “On and On” and “Butterflies,” and once it’s released, the entire album will be available in your library instantly.
Tyla was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, into a Coloured family of Zulu, Indian, Mauritian and Irish descent. She matriculated from Edenglen High School in 2019 and was the head of culture in that year. She was studying towards a degree in mining engineering before she decided to commit to her music career full time.
As to her music, she started out posting original songs and covers to her Instagram account, as well as sending them out to a number of figures in the music industry. She was subsequently discovered by her first manager, Garth von Glehn, who then organized her first recording sessions.
2023-present: “Water”, International Breakthrough And Debut Album
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 entered the top 10 in New Zealand, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, where it topped the UK Afrobeats Singles Chart. Entering at number 67, “Water” 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. She performed the song live on The Bianca Show in Sweden and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in the United States. Its accompanying music video, released on 7 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. She is nominated for Best African Music Performance with “Water” at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in February 2024.
