Tyla Laura Seethal (aka Tyla), a Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter from Johannesburg, South Africa, has shaken up the music industry in recent years. With fans calling her the “Queen of Popiano,” Tyla is a unique singer who cleverly fuses mainstream pop with the South African dance genre amapiano. Though her 2023 single “Water” is what catapulted her into worldwide success, Tyla has been an icon since 2019 with her debut single “Getting Late” dominating charts in South Africa.
As a Caribbean person who’s obsessed with all genres of dance music, I’ll never forget hearing “Overdue” in 2021 on the second season of the Netflix series Blood and Water. I thought it was fairly decent at the time, but I didn’t know who Tyla was, and I certainly didn’t expect her to become one of my all-time favorite artists.
From fashion to vibes, I found myself relating to Tyla. She has this bold, early 2000s vibe inspired by Rihanna, Aaliyah and Britney Spears. This style is nostalgic to a lot of people, drawing in many who resonated with the early 2000s era. Not to mention, capitalizing on the tiger aesthetic is nothing short of genius. Her fans even call themselves “tygers.”
The viral TikTok dance for Tyla’s hit single “Water” was choreographed by Litchi: a member of Tyla’s team. As a result of the dance’s social media success, Tyla went mainstream, collaborating with top global artists such as Travis Scott, with whom she made a remix of “Water”.
In an interview with Vogue Magazine, South African designer Thebe Magugu voiced that “Tyla represents South Africa’s cultural renaissance. She unapologetically showcases–even boasts–about our culture. It’s a beautiful reminder to use where you are from as fuel to push you further, not something to hide so you can assimilate. I feel really proud. After everything we have been through, it’s such an amazing feeling.”
Tyla herself said in an interview with Vogue, “it’s really cool that other people are now catching on and enjoying [amapiano], because South Africa didn’t really have a genre that crossed over this hugely.”
I was so ecstatic to see Tyla’s global success allow people from her culture to feel represented on a much larger scale than what they were used to; not too long ago, that was us Caribbeans with Rihanna! Though I am not South African, Tyla resonated with me because of the connection between African and West Indian culture: the accents, clothes, values, and music of the Caribbean are all directly influenced by the African continent. I didn’t grow up listening to amapiano, but the music just sounds familiar; the instruments and rhythms all remind me of our soca and dancehall music. Tyla’s mixed ancestry (especially her Indian indentured descent) is a commonality between most South Africans and people of the West Indies (including myself), hence why her accomplishments on the global music scene are so personal to me. Tyla Seethal embodies the cultural melting pot that many of my people experience with a pizzazz that broadens her audiences to an international level.
WHS senior Ana Luisa Sawaya appreciates artists like Tyla, emphasizing that “through her music and choreographies, we get to experience her culture in ways that can help us connect with one another, even if it’s not our own. Seeing other cultures being represented in different ways can make us appreciate them deeply as well.”
Sawaya also underscores the importance of Tyla’s widespread success to younger generations, specifically since “this visibility is not only just for me, but especially for the little girls who can actually say ‘Wow, that girl who looks just like me, speaks the same language as me, and shares my traditions is on TV.’ Representation like this makes them feel seen and loved and not ashamed of who they are. It especially gives confidence to aspiring artists who now feel like they have a chance to be in the music industry, knowing that there are already people like them in the spotlight.”
Following the success of her music, Tyla released her self-titled album in March 2024, featuring the tracks “Intro” (with Kelvin Momo), “Safer,” “Water,” “Truth or Dare,” “No. 1” (featuring Tems), “Breathe Me,” “Butterflies,” “On and On,” “Jump” (with Gunna and Skillibeng), “Art,” “On My Body” (with Becky G), “Priorities,” “To Last” and “Water” (remix with Travis Scott).
On this album, the most successful tracks were “Water” (both the original and the remix), “Truth or Dare,” “Jump” and “Art”. A few months after, she released her deluxe edition (Tyla+) which featured new solos like “Shake Ah,” “Push 2 Start,” and “Back to You,” and has kept me absolutely hooked since its release. From melancholic songs like “To Last” to the dancehall-inspired “Push 2 Start,” Tyla can always match the vibe and radio stations are aware of it!
While Tyla has her devoted “tygers,” she still encounters thousands of haters online, as most celebrities do. She stayed relatively quiet about concerns regarding her ethnic identity and fashion choices, until two months ago when she released her song “Mr. Media” on her We Wanna Party mixtape. Its lyrics alluded to the online hate with Tyla singing, “I know I’m difficult. You’d be too if you had my visuals. You’d be too if you had material.” After winning a Grammy and two VMAs, Tyla’s melodic comeback quickly clocked those haters.
Thriving, talented, and gorgeous, Tyla is not done with the music industry yet. In fact, this is just the beginning of her unforgettable era. As a devoted fan myself, trust that I will be tuning in to her new song with Damiano David (from the rock band Måneskin) which is set to release on Friday, September 12th, 2025.
