On February 5, South African singer Tyla made history when she bagged the coveted award for ‘Best African Music Performance' the 66th Grammy Awards beating her Nigerian counterparts Burna Boy, Davido, Asake and Ayra Starr.
The 22-year-old, real name Tyla Laura Seethal, won the inaugural prize was dedicated exclusively to ‘Afrobeat’ music from the African continent, thanks to her hit song ‘Water’, the viral song from her debut studio album Tyla named after her name.
The top-charting Amapiano banger which reached global popularity and made various achievements after an electrifying performance at The Giants of Africa festival in Kigali, Rwanda, in August 2023.
From there on, it went viral, sparking a Tik Tok challenge trend that earned her over 15 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
In an Instagram snippet during what appeared to be an interview with a host, Tyla revealed her astonishment at the unexpected success of her performance and the far she has reached in a blink of an eye.
She said: "You have gotten that video that went viral of me dancing in Rwanda. I hated that performance literally after, I was so worried. We had a whole meeting and I was like hey guys I am not happy with the performance and all that but let’s do this next time. But that was the performance that really changed my life”... "crazy!”
When questioned about why the video resonated with so many people, Tyla shared that she tends to be self-critical and always strives for improvement.
"I am just hard on myself, like I always want to do better all the time. So, after the performance I was just like I could have done it better,” she said.
"But it just shows that you must not think so much like people will not know when you make a mistake unless you pour it out. So, I learnt that after that performance. But the video is now my favorite,” she said.
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During her acceptance speech at the Grammy Awards ceremony, she expressed overwhelming joy and gratitude.
"Oh my gosh, guys. This is crazy. Like I never thought I'd say, ‘I won a Grammy at 22 years old," excited Tyla said after receiving the award, adding, "If you don’t know me, my name is Tyla. I'm from South Africa and last year God decided to change my whole life, so thank you so much to God.”
"Thank you to my team, my family; I know my mother’s crying somewhere in here.”