Artist of the Year: Tyla, the chart-topping queen of popiano hits

The city of gold has unearthed yet another rare gem – a megastar by the name of Tyla Seethal (22), known simply as Tyla.

In more than a decade, no game-changing artist has come from outside the US and made tectonic shifts quite like the Grammy Award-winning songstress.

They speak of 50 Cent’s run of the early 2000s and the iconic Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream slew of chart-topping bangers in 2010, but there’s no doubt that the annals of pop history will earmark the Tyla debut album era as the blueprint for 2024.

What makes it sweeter is that it’s been achieved by a pretty girl from Joburg who, on any other day, you could easily see yourself conjuring some coins with and sharing a kota before mustering the strength to make the meanest pap for a family braai later that evening.

“Yeah, she just has that superstar ‘it’ quality about her and that’s coupled with her being South African. It just made me patriotic,” says Charlie, who runs one of the biggest Tyla fan pages on X, @TylaClub, on why she started the page.

“I just feel like we need to pick up our own because if she wins, we win. It just helps that she is insanely talented as well.”

And my Lord, has the world marvelled at the new “it” girl! Whether it was the gritty performance of Jump, her hit single with American rapper Gunna and Jamaican musician Skillibeng at the BET Awards 2024, or the sultry rendition of her latest hit, Push 2 Start, at the MTV Europe Music Awards, Tyla has demonstrated a vocal range, magnetic stage presence and distinct sonic and aesthetic style.

“There’s been a democracy that’s been created where any kind of sound from all across the world can become popular before artists,” says South African cultural critic and entertainment writer Sisa Zekani.

Zekani cites globalisation, in particular the impact of Afrobeats prior to Tyla’s breakthrough, as the joker in the pack that laid the foundations for her success. But success wasn’t a foregone conclusion.

Though stellar, her year was not short of hardships. From her cancelled North American tour because of an injury to the occasional homesickness, to which she admits, Tyla has had many challenges, least of which was friend-zoning American livestreamer and influencer Kai Cenat when he asked her for a date.

Globalisation, however, has proven to be a poisoned chalice as her racial and ethnic identity has left many uppity African Americans projecting their feelings towards her.

“Because of how the apartheid system worked specifically, there’s a cultural sensitivity that Tyla needs to have for her own people. That’s why she doesn’t want to go out of this country representing herself as black,” Zekani says about how the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show performer positioned herself.

“So in her effort to be culturally sensitive to our own countrymen,  Americans would never really understand because of their own socialisation with regard to race.”

In such times, the support of her fans, affectionately known as the Tygers, has become vital because most of the disparaging discourse has taken place online.

In a year in which conversations about parasocial relationships between artists and their fans have risen in prominence, the delicacy with which Tyla has managed her relationship with the Tygers has proven pivotal.

“I feel like she could definitely connect more with the fans, which she has said herself, but as long as everything is kept in balance,” says Charlie.

“Fostering a healthy relationship between the artist and the fans is important, I think, but there needs to be a balance.”

That balance is holding space for her humanity to “breathe me”, in Tyla’s words. She’s a young lady who has suddenly had the weight of expectations thrust on her shoulders. Add to that the ruthless world of “Stan Twitter” (X userfrom who post about celebrities, music and other entertainment)  and “pop girl” pressure, and the concoction can easily become toxic.

In perhaps her boldest moment in the public eye, her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Award for Best Afrobeats saw her boldly implore Western society to release themselves of their monolithic views of African music and pop.

The result was the Grammy-nominated snub in the pop categories. Furore aside, this symbolised an important cultural victory for Tyla by owning her story and being seen as she wants to be: as a pop act, even at the expense of an accolade or two. Besides, the trophies were getting a little heavy for our princess anyway.

But with one Grammy, two Billboard Music Awards and three MTV European Music Awards  among the most prestigious of them all, plus three South African Music Awards, who’s counting?

According to Charlie, some die-hard Tygers. You see, in the pop world, like it or not, numbers matter.

“The Tygers are a good fan base where we can balance it out. Not everything is about the numbers. It’s about the music and the output, first of all – everything else that follows is a bonus.”

Balance is the theme for Charlie, as it would seem to be for Tyla herself. Her fanbase, present in full force at her two most recent shows in Cape Town and Pretoria, also embodies this balance. From literal toddlers and tweens to even middle-aged men and women, there is a resonance Tyla exudes that sets her apart from any star Mzansi has produced – past and present.

Her impact is undeniable, whether it be on sonics, aesthetics, sociopolitical discourse and even dance. But she is young and so the room to grow is immeasurable. 

“I think what’s going to be the determining factor in whether or not Tyla sticks around in the same way that Rihanna did is whether she’s able to move on from this sound and have it be a part of her sonic identity, and not only thing she has to offer,” Zekani says.

With her Coachella debut in 2025 already a tantalising prospect, Tygers like Charlie, who has devoted her time to celebrating her success, only want more for the queen who, upon the announcement of this momentous achievement, spoke of how she manifested it.

“I just want to see her take it to the very, very, very top, to constantly push herself to be better. And I know that she’s hungry for this, like she wants this more than anything. And because she wants it more than anything, that’s exactly why she will succeed.”

Charlie is as sure of Tyla’s success as a miner is of the presence of gold below the concrete jungle of Jozi. Whether it was a result of manifestation or pure luck, South Africa has produced a female pop star whose album has now been streamed more than Beyoncé’s latest, Cowboy Carter.

Tyla is here to stay. In her words: “People are going to see me everywhere. So, if you don’t like me, I’m sorry.”

So, we’re streaming and buying Tyla even more in 2025. Grab your phone, download the deluxe version of her debut album, titled Tyla+, and push to start. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.