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, It amassed several million views on YouTube, and was nominated for
South African Music Award for Best Music Video of the Year in
2022. As of 2021, she started studying towards a degree in
mining engineering, and after much persuasion and "a lot of crying", her parents agreed to let Tyla take a year off university to attempt to lift her music career off the ground. She followed up her debut single with the singles "Overdue" in October 2021, and "To Last" in November 2022.
2023–2024: International breakthrough with "Water" Tyla's first public performance occurred in 2023 during the
Dolce & Gabbana afterparty at
Milan Fashion Week, 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 released the song "
Water" in July 2023 as the lead single from her self-titled debut studio album. "Water" peaked within the top 10 in multiple countries including South Africa, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Tyla became the first and youngest-ever South African soloist in 55 years to enter the US
Billboard Hot 100 with "Water", 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. The music video for "Water" was released on 6 October 2023, it accumulated 3 million views on YouTube in three days. Tyla was then featured on a remix version of "
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 release of her debut studio album,
Tyla (2024), and simultaneously released three songs: "
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 won 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 accompanying music video for "
Art" was released in tandem with the album.
Tyla received widespread critical acclaim, and was a top-25 album in the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, New Zealand, and Switzerland. Tyla received the most nominations at the
18th Metro FM Music Awards in South Africa, with six nods. She went on to win the most awards at the
2024 BET Awards, tying with
Usher and
Victoria Monét at the
Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, where she delivered a live performance of "
Jump" for the first time alongside
Gunna and
Skillibeng. On 11 October 2024, Tyla released the deluxe edition of her self-titled debut studio album comprising three additional songs including "
Push 2 Start". Musically, "Push 2 Start" is a
reggae-infused
amapiano pop-
R&B track, which was positively received and its music video premiered on YouTube on 8 November 2024. Tyla performed at the
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2024. On 11 November 2024, she made her debut appearance at the
MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs), performing her singles "
Push 2 Start" and "
Water". That night, she won three
EMAs for 'Best African Act', 'Best Afrobeats Artist' and 'Best R&B Artist'. These shows preceded the start of her
Tyla Tour in 2025, mainly consisting of
festival appearances throughout spring and summer 2025, with additional shows in Europe to be rescheduled after Tyla sustained an injury.
2025–present: WWP and A*POP Tyla was featured on the song "
When I'm with You" by the Thai rapper
Lisa from her album
Alter Ego, which was released on 28 February 2025. On 18 April 2025, a remix of the
WizTheMc and Bees & Honey song "
Show Me Love" featuring Tyla was released. The remix was debuted live at her
Coachella 2025 set, where she also performed her upcoming single "Bliss" for the first time. On 9 May 2025, Tyla released the single "
Bliss", and hosted the
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards the following month. A second single, "
Is It", was released on 11 July. She wrote and performed the song "Everything Goes with Blue" for the
Smurfs soundtrack, which was released on 18 July. "Bliss" and "Is It" were included on her second extended-play
WWP, also known as
We Wanna Party, which was released on 25 July 2025. Tyla described the EP as "a bridge to the second album", which is set to be released later in 2025, and is "going to be such a totally different vibe than what people are expecting". On 7 September 2025, Tyla attended the
2025 MTV Video Music Awards, where she won the
Best Afrobeats award for "
Push 2 Start" (2024), marking her second win in the category after she previously won the award for "
Water" (2023) at the
2024 ceremony. While attending the ceremony, Tyla wore an outfit on the red carpet from the
Chanel SS '93 collection, and later shared an Instagram post with the caption "PUT ME IN CHANELLLLL", seemingly hinting at the release of a song she had previously teased in July of that year titled "Chanel". Tyla featured on "
Talk To Me", with
Damiano David and
Nile Rodgers, which was released on 11 September 2025. On 24 October, Tyla released the song "
Chanel", which became her highest charting entry on the
Billboard Global 200 since "
Water" (2023), peaking at number 30. On 11 November 2025, Tyla embarked on her second concert tour, the
We Wanna Party Tour, with a sold-out show at
Tokyo's
Ariake Arena. On 15 December 2025, the
South Korean entertainment company
HYBE announced a global management partnership with Tyla's management company, Africa Creative Agency (ACA). Under the newly created NFO LLC, HYBE and ACA's Brandon Hixon and Colin Gayle will manage Tyla as part of a larger "expansion strategy" to "amplify" continental African artists using Hixon and Gales' creative expertise and HYBE's "scale and resources." At the
68th Annual Grammy Awards, Tyla won the Best African Music Performance award for her song
Push 2 Start. She became the first artist to win the category twice, having previously won in 2024 for "
Water". She won ahead of nominees including
Ayra Starr,
Burna Boy,
Davido, and
Eddy Kenzo. Tyla also announced her upcoming second studio album,
A*Pop, set for release on 24 July 2026. ==Artistry==